Indonesian women's civil service leadership : Analysis of career progression opportunity and constraint

Journal article

McLaren, Helen, Patmisari, Emi, Hamiduzzaman, Mohammad, Star, Cassandra and Widianingsih, Ida. (2023). Indonesian women's civil service leadership : Analysis of career progression opportunity and constraint. Administration and Society. 55(6), pp. 1218-1249. https://doi.org/10.1177/00953997231167556
AuthorsMcLaren, Helen, Patmisari, Emi, Hamiduzzaman, Mohammad, Star, Cassandra and Widianingsih, Ida
Abstract

Women in Indonesia’s civil service (n = 320) were surveyed about their career advancement. Analysis of variance identified differences in career progression, and post-hoc comparisons were tested using Fisher’s Least Significant Difference method. We found that family support and interpersonal relationships, paired with superior education to men, were critical to women’s successful leadership progression, especially through the echelon ranks. Qualitative results suggest that interpretations of hadith outweighed more contemporary textual readings, which required strategic maneuvering if women wanted to advance. This is because women’s own career aspirations required their ongoing loyalty to men and strategic maneuvering among filial, societal, and organizational constraints.

Keywordswomen; public sector; female leadership; career progression; Indonesia
Year2023
JournalAdministration and Society
Journal citation55 (6), pp. 1218-1249
PublisherSAGE Publications
ISSN0095-3997
1552-3039
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1177/00953997231167556
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85153789983
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
Page range1218-1249
FunderDepartment of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australian Government
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Open
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online24 Apr 2023
Publication process dates
Deposited23 May 2025
Grant IDAII2018/19033
Additional information

© The Author(s) 2023.

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

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