Career barriers encountered by women leaders in working life: Analysis of Turkish women leaders who left their mark

Throughout the history, women have tried to struggle with the obstacles brought about by gender norms and cultural perceptions, and have faced difficulties in order to overcome the limits of the roles assigned to them. Women, whose struggle has continued through history, have enabled not only their own personal changes but also the transformation of the social perception towards women. The primary purpose of this research is to reveal the place and position of women in society throughout history, the career obstacles they faced on their way to becoming a leader and the solutions to their struggle, through the stories of women leaders who left their mark in the field of management in the history of the Republic. In the first part of this study, which was created using the qualitative research method, the position of women in the historical process was examined together with the concept of leadership, in the second part, the obstacles faced by women such as glass ceiling, glass elevator and marginalization were discussed, and in the third part, which is the last part of the research, 16 female leaders who broke new ground with their leadership aspects in different sectors in the Republic of Turkey were examined. As a result of the research, it was seen that the individual differences of women and men did not create a significant difference in creating discrimination, and that empathy and communication, which are characteristics specific to women, would be effective in management areas. It has been concluded that women's individual efforts alone may not be sufficient for greater visibility in leadership roles; this process needs to be supported by the transformation of gender perceptions and the implementation of women-friendly workplace policies. Keywords: Career management, gender, glass ceiling, leadership, women's leadership.