Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Women
- Creators: Crawford, Claudia Laine
The purpose of this study was to interview women executives within corporate America to identify similar means of navigating women-specific issues they may have been presented with within their industry. More specifically, the questions sought to identify how these women became successful within their industry and how their female identities may have provided benefits to them, professionally. Interviewees were selected on a multitude of factors, title and status in company, industry, including availability, mutual connections, and demographics. Interviews were conducted both in person, over the phone, via web video conference and via email. All interviewees were asked the same questions, and interviews ranged from 25-45 minutes each. Each one was recorded and transcribed in order to facilitate comparison between stories, experiences, and other mentions.
The initial intention of analyzing the interviews and stories of these executives was to identify common factors that unified their stories. There were nine categories that the interviews sought to investigate: work-life balance, starting off strong, daily routines, mentorship/support, leadership, impact and legacy, advice and motivation, pros of being a woman, biggest challenges/cons. However, the interviews revealed that there were a plethora of unique factors that identified the stories these women had to tell. Overall, 5/8 of the executives believed that their female identity provided an advantage to them in the corporate sector, 2/8 women said their identity was a neutral factor, and only one woman stated she felt it placed her at a disadvantage. Further, this study concludes that the stories of impenetrable glass ceilings and roadblocks are balanced to some degree by stories of success within the corporate sector. There were 3 key themes for their narratives for success, having a support system, putting yourself first, and giving back.