Push and Pull Factors: Influence on Female Managers and Executives’ Exit From the Workplace, Impact on Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment

The entry of women into the professional world has, without a doubt, changed the dynamics of the workplace over the past few decades. That observation still holds true today and becomes more prevalent with the changing face of the labor market in terms of diversity. However, in spite of that strong overall female presence, there still exists an unfair share between the number of women compared to the number of men holding high managerial and executive positions. Women experience difficulties advancing in their careers because of various factors that Hewlett and Luce (2005) divided in two separate categories called “push” and “pull”.This research determined how those factors negatively influence those women's job satisfaction as well as organizational commitment, and therefore increase their propensity to leave the workforce, even after they have achieved somewhat high levels in their career. The research also attempted to provide recommendation approaches to assist organizations in implementing effective retention initiatives.