Career decisions of Indian female talent: implications for gender-sensitive talent management.

Purpose: Talent scarcity in emerging economies such as India poses challenges for companies, and limited labour market participation among well-educated women has been observed. The reasons that professionals decide not to pursue a further corporate career remain unclear. By investigating career decision-making, this article aims to highlight (1) the contextual factors that impact those decisions, (2) individuals' agency to handle them and (3) the implications for talent management (TM). Design/methodology/approach: Following a qualitative research design, computer-aided analysis was conducted on interviews with 24 internationally experienced Indian business professionals. A novel application of neo-institutionalism in the Indian context was combined with the family-relatedness of work decisions (FRWD) model. Findings: Career decisions indicate that rebellion against Indian societal and family expectations is essential to following a career path, especially for women. TM as part of the current institutional framework serves as a legitimising façade veiling traditional practices that hinder females' careers. Research limitations/implications: Interviewees adopted a retrospective perspective when describing their career decisions; therefore, different views might have existed at the moment of decision-making. Practical implications: Design and implementation of gender-sensitive TM adjusted to fit the specific Indian context can contribute to retaining female talent in companies and the labour market. Originality/value: The importance of gender-sensitive TM can be concluded from an empirical study of the context-based career decision-making of experienced business professionals from India. The synthesis of neo-institutionalism, the FRWD model and the research results provides assistance in mapping talent experiences and implications for overcoming the challenges of talent scarcity in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]