This article aims to establish how “female manageriality” emerges between social role construction and the construction of professional self-identity. An empirical approach is used to build a new hypothesis for understanding the process. Ten French women managers living in Paris were interviewed. The research aims to identify the particularities of career development among female managers. The stories are divided into three sequences. The first one deals with initial education and training, the second one describes the management of the first team, and the third one shows the cycle of experiential and emotional learning. All three sequences explain how women emerge as managers. In male-oriented organizations, this analysis shows that women need to help themselves to achieve their goals of becoming managers. The issue explores how horizontal feedback can play a role in reflexivity. Thus it seems useful to explore how autodidactic sociability facilitates female manageriality.
- manageriality
- woman manager
- manager
- women’s careers
- self-training