The effect of perceived gender discrimination on leaving the prefession among Cameroonian women healtcare professionals

This study explores the relationships among perceived gender discrimination, employee engagement, and career abandonment intention among female healthcare professionals in Cameroon. Guided by Social Exchange Theory, the research investigates whether employee engagement is negatively related to career abandonment intention and whether it mediates the relationship between perceived gender discrimination and career abandonment intention. Data were collected from 134 female medical doctors and nurses and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results reveal that perceived gender discrimination is negatively related to employee engagement and positively related to career abandonment intention. Moreover, employee engagement is negatively related to career abandonment intention and serves as a partial mediator in the relationship between perceived gender discrimination and career abandonment intention. These findings highlight the critical role of employee engagement in understanding how gender-based inequalities in the workplace are associated with women's intention to abandon their careers in male-dominated sectors such as healthcare. The study contributes to the growing literature on gender discrimination and career sustainability in Sub-Saharan Africa.