Career counselling at Indian universities : Cases from different regions

Abstract

Career studies indicate that individuals are increasingly responsible for their own careers, which seem to be more diverse than ever. This raises a question for universities regarding how they can develop their career counselling services so that students receive the help and guidance they need to manage their careers. Previous studies show that women have more difficulties advancing in a career than men. To increase women’s career opportunities and empower them to participate in working life, ultimately increasing gender equality in society and at work, women’s career counselling at universities needs special attention. In this study, career counselling at Indian universities in different regions is analysed using a case study approach. The paper starts by describing the main obstacles to women’s career development in India, followed by a presentation of the case study results. In the case study, the following three questions are answered: What kind of career counselling services do Indian universities offer? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the universities’ career counselling services? How is gender taken into consideration in these services? This study contributes to the literature on women’s career development from the viewpoint of university career services by highlighting the often-overlooked contextual nature of the topic. Seen from a practical management viewpoint, this study offers insights into how to advance women’s employability, social mobility, wellbeing and inclusion in working life in the Indian context. Such advances can improve labour market effectiveness as well as social and economic development in India. Open-ended interviews and documentary data were used to produce the data, and content analysis was applied to analyse it. In India, it is significantly more difficult for women to advance in a career than it is for men. Many female university alumni work for only a limited time after graduation and then focus on family. It is a strength of Indian universities that they have career counselling services available and close connections with places of employment. A weakness is that, typically, little attention is paid to the gender perspective in counselling.