In general, Career commitment refers to the development of personal career goals by an individual and working towards those goals through the life with involvement. Career commitment is distinguished from commitment to the job or to one’s organization. Blau (1988) described a career commitment as “one’s attitude towards one’s profession or vocation”.

Work environments and the pace of careers in organizations have led employees to exhibit more commitment to their careers and perhaps less or conditional commitment to their organizations (Noordin, Williams, and Zimmer, 2002). Career commitment has become a significant source of occupational meaning and continuity as organizations become flatter and less able to provide secure jobs or careers (Colarelli and Bishop, 1990). As a result of the Indian social structure, prejudices and myths women employees especially women Information Technology professionals used to face barriers in work environment. Women IT employees need to balance and integrate family needs and career requirements which is very difficult task.

II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

The term “career” is more broadly applied and is commonly considered to be the lifelong sequence of role-related experiences of individuals (Hall, 2002). In a simple language, commitment means "sense of being bound intellectually to some portion of the action". Greenhaus (1987) described a career as a series of jobs held during an individual’s lifetime. Career commitment is defined as “the strength of one’s motivation to work in a chosen career role” (Hall, 1971). Carson and Bedeian (1994) defined career commitment as “one’s motivation to work in a chosen vocation”. Career commitment involves the development of personal career goals and an identification with and involvement in those goals (Collarelli and Bishop, 1990). The measure of work behavior of employee is correlated positively with the career commitment.

In a study of careers of women which was conducted by Punnett et al. (2007) showed that career satisfaction is influenced by career success. Ballout’s (2009) study revealed that, career commitment has a significant influence of career satisfaction through the moderation effect of self efficacy.

III. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM and NEED FOR THE STUDY:

Career commitment involves determination of personal career goals by an individual and working towards those goals with involvement. In this materialistic world, people are compelled to take up some other job rather than taking up their career goals due to family compulsions. This statement is very much true in the case of Indian women. Indian women need to align their career goals with goals of her father or her husband at the cost of their career goals. Indian women Information technology professionals are not exceptional to above statement.

Family compulsions, work life conflict, work environment, job insecurity and job dissatisfaction influence career commitment of women IT professionals. Therefore, it is essential to examine career commitment of women IT professionals in India particularly in Bangalore.

IV. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

The main objectives of the study are given below;

1. To examine demographic, economic and work related characteristics of the respondents -women IT professionals in Bangalore city

2. To analyze career commitment of women IT professionals in relation to demographic, economic and work related characteristics.

V. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

This study is based on primary data. The quality of data is invariably tied to the method and technique used for data collection. Hence, survey method through structured questionnaire is adopted to collect primary data for this study as it is found suitable for this research. Sample population of the study is women IT professionals in Bangalore city. Sample size is 383 which are determined on the basis of Krejcie and Morgan study. Snow ball sampling method has been adopted for ease of approaching the respondents. The statistical tools of percentage analysis and one way ANOVA test have been employed.

VI. ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION:

VI.1. Analysis of Demographic, Economic and Work related characteristics of the respondents

Table – 1: Demographic, Economic and Work related characteristics of the respondents

No	Particulars	No. Of respondents		Percentages
1	Marital status
	Single	184		48.0
	Married	159		41.5
	Divorcee	032		8.4
	Widower	008		2.1
	Total	383		100.00
2	Number of children
	Only one	171		92.4
	Two	014		07.6
	Total	185		100.0
3	Age
	Up to 20 years	165		43.1
	21 to 35 years	100		26.1
	36 to 50 years	087		22.7
	More than 50 years	031		08.1
	Total	383		100.0
4	Education
	Under Graduate	184		48.0
	Post Graduate	199		52.0
	Total	383		100.0
5	Gross Annual income (Rs)
	Up to 100000	039		10.2
	100001 to 300000	162		42.3
	300001 to 500000	158		41.3
	More than 500000	024		06.3
	Total	383		100.0
6	Number of dependents
	Up to 2 members	146		38.1
	3 to 4 members	095		24.8
	5 to 6 members	091		23.8
	More than 6 members	051		13.3
	Total	383		100.0
7	Total experience
	Up to 3 years		135		35.2
	3 years 1 day to 10 years		117		30.5
	10 years 1 day to 20 years		078		20.4
	More than 20 years		053		13.8
	Total		383		100.0
8	Experience in IT Sector
	Up to 3 years		135		35.2
	3 years 1 day to 10 years		109		28.5
	10 years 1 day to 20 years		087		22.7
	More than 20 years		052		13.6
	Total		383		100.0

Source: Primary Data

The most important features of demographic, economic and work related characteristics of women IT professionals;

1. 48% of the respondents are single, 41.5% of the respondents are married, 8.4% of the respondents are divorcee and 2.1% of the respondents are widower.

2. Out of married women, 92.4% of the respondents (171 respondents) have only one child and 7.6% of the respondents (14 respondents) have two children.

3. Around 91% of the sample respondents are 50 or less than 50 years of the age and only 8.1% of the respondents belong to the age group of more than 50 years.

4. 52% of the respondents have completed post graduation and 48% of the respondents have completed under graduation.

5. 83.6% of the respondents have annual income of Rs 1,00,001 to 5,00,000 and 6.3% of the respondents have annual income of more than Rs 5,00,000.

6. 38.1% of the respondents have 2 or less than 2 dependents, 48.6% of the respondents have 3 to 6 dependents and 13.3% of the respondents have more than 6 dependents.

7. 86.2% of the women IT professionals have 20 years and less than 20 years of experience and 13.8% of the respondents have more than 20 years experience.

8. 86.4% of the women IT professionals have 20 years and less than 20 years of experience in IT and 13.6% of the respondents have more than 20 years experience in IT.

VI.2. Analysis of career commitment of women IT professionals in relation to demographic, economic and work related characteristics

The career commitment levels of women IT professionals are analyzed in detail in this part of the article. The one way ANOVA Table – 2 displays that there is no significant difference between marital status and career commitment level of women IT professionals. From this, it can be understood that career commitment level of women IT professionals do not differ on the basis of their marital status.

Table – 2: Marital Status and Career Commitment of Women IT Professionals

Marital status	Mean Value	F value	P Value	Result
Single	2.2391	.038	.990	Not Significant
Married	2.2055
Divorcee	2.2292
Widower	2.2500

Source: Primary data

Table – 3: Number Of Children and Career Commitment of Women IT Professionals

Number of children	Mean Value	F value	P Value	Result
Only one	2.2242	3.614	.059	Significant
Two	1.7143	3.614	.059	Significant

Source: Primary data

The one way ANOVA Table – 3 indicates that there is a significant difference between number of children and career commitment level of women IT professionals. From this, it can be understood that career commitment levels of women IT professionals differ on the basis of their number of children. Mean scores indicate that women IT professionals having only one child have more career commitment (2.2241) than women IT professionals having two children (1.7143). Post hoc test using Least Square Difference method can’t be applied to have after fact comparisons between number of children of sample women and their career commitment because independent factor (number of children) has only two groups. Post hoc test using Least Square Difference method can be applied only when independent factor has more than two groups.

Table – 4: Age and Career Commitment of Women IT Professionals

Age	Mean Value	F value	P Value	Result
Up to 20 years	2.3758	3.977	0.008	Significant
21 to 35 years	2.0433
36 to 50 years	2.0728
More than 50 years	2.4301

Source: Primary data

The One way ANOVA Table – 4 shows that there is a significant difference between age and career commitment of women IT professionals. From this, it can be understood that career commitment levels of women IT professionals differ on the basis of age of women IT professionals. Mean scores of one way ANOVA indicate that women IT professionals aged more than 50 years have high level of career commitment (2.4301) followed by women IT professionals aged 20 years or less than 20 years (2.3758), women IT professionals aged 36 years to 50 years (2.0728) and women IT professionals aged 21 years to 35 years (2.0433).

Table – 5: Education and Career Commitment of Women IT Professionals

Education	Mean Value	F value	P Value	Result
Under Graduate	2.2772	1.103	.294	Not Significant
Post Graduate	2.1759	1.103	.294	Not Significant

Source: Primary data

The one way ANOVA Table – 5 displays that there is no significant difference between education and career commitment level of women IT professionals. From this, it can be understood that career commitment level of women IT professionals do not differ on the basis of their education.

The One way ANOVA Table – 6 shows that there is a significant difference between gross annual income and career commitment of women IT professionals. Therefore, it can be observed that career commitment of women IT professionals differ on the basis of gross annual income of women IT professionals. Mean scores of one way ANOVA indicate that women IT professionals having gross annual income of Rs 1,00,000 or less than 1,00,000 possess high level of career commitment (2.3248) followed by women IT professionals having gross annual income of Rs 3,00,001 to Rs 5,00,000 (2.2595), women IT professionals having gross annual income of Rs 1,00,001 to 3,00,000 (2.2428) and women IT professionals having gross annual income of more than Rs 5,00,000 (1.7083).

Table – 6: Gross Annual Income and Career Commitment of Women IT Professionals

Gross annual income	Mean Value	F value	P Value	Result
Up to 100000	2.3248	2.671	.047	Significant
100001 to 300000	2.2428
300001 to 500000	2.2595
More than 500000	1.7083

Source: Primary data

The one way ANOVA Table – 7 displays that there is no significant difference between number of dependents and career commitment level of women IT professionals. From this, it can be understood that career commitment level of women IT professionals do not differ on the basis of their number of dependents.

Table – 7: Number Of Dependents and Career Commitment of Women IT Professionals

Number of dependents	Mean Value	F value	P Value	Result
Up to 2 members	2.2534	.418	.740	Not Significant
3 to 4 members	2.2807
5 to 6 members	2.1722
More than 6 members	2.1307

Source: Primary data

Table – 8: Total Experience and Career Commitment of Women IT Professionals

Total experience	Mean Value	F value	P Value	Result
Up to 3 years	1.5235	113.900	.000	Significant
3 years 1 day to 10 years	2.1567
10 years 1 day to 20 years	2.7393
More than 20 years	3.4025

Source: Primary data,

The One way ANOVA Table – 8 shows that there is a significant difference between total experience and career commitment of women IT professionals. So, career commitment levels of women IT professionals differ on the basis of total experience of women IT professionals. Mean scores of one way ANOVA indicate that women IT professionals having total experience of more than 20 years possess high level of career commitment (3.4025) followed by women IT professionals having total experience of 10 years 1 day to 20 years (2.7393), women IT professionals having total experience of 3 years 1 day to 10 years (2.1567) and women IT professionals having total experience of 3 years or less than 3 years (1.5235).

The One way ANOVA Table – 9 shows that there is a significant difference between experience in IT sector and career commitment of women IT professionals. So, career commitment levels of women IT professionals differ on the basis of experience in IT sector of women IT professionals. Mean scores of one way ANOVA indicate that women IT professionals having experience in IT sector of more than 20 years possess high level of career commitment (3.3782) followed by women IT professionals having experience in IT sector of 10 years 1 day to 20 years (2.7241), women IT professionals having experience in IT sector of 3 years 1 day to 10 years (2.1896) and women IT professionals having experience in IT sector of 3 years or less than 3 years (1.4864).

Table – 9: Total Experience in IT Sector and Career Commitment of Women IT Professionals

Total experience	Mean Value	F value	P Value	Result
Up to 3 years	1.4864	118.701	.000	Significant
3 years 1 day to 10 years	2.1896
10 years 1 day to 20 years	2.7241
More than 20 years	3.3782

Source: Primary data

Differences in career commitment perceptions of the respondents on the basis of demographic, economic and work related variables are analyzed and discussed in tables – 2 to 9 using one way ANOVA (F test).

VII. CONCLUSION:

Based on the analysis of the perceptions of women IT professional, comprehensive conclusions are drawn on career commitment perceptions of sample respondents which are given below:

· The study results exhibit that women IT professional, who may be either married or unmarried, either completed graduation or post graduation, having one child aged more than 50 years irrespective of number of dependents with gross annual income of Rs 1,00,000 or less than Rs 1,00,000 having more than 20 years of total experience and more than 20 years experience in IT sector has higher level of career commitment perception.

· On the other hand, the study shows that women IT professional, who may be either married or unmarried, either completed graduation or post graduation, having 2 children aged 21 years to 35 years irrespective of number of dependents with gross annual income of more than Rs 5,00,000 having up to 3 years of total experience and up to 3 years experience in IT sector has lower level of career commitment perception.

VIII. REFERENCES:

1. Ballout, H. I, 2009, “Career Commitment and Career Success: Moderating Role of Self Efficacy”, Career Development International, 14 (7), 655–669. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13620430911005708

2. Blau, G. 1988, “Further Exploring the Meaning and Measurement of Career Commitment”, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 32, 284–297. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0001-8791(88)90020-6.

3. Carson, K. D., and Bedeian, A. G, 1994, “Career Commitment: Construction of a Measure and Examination of Its Psychometric Properties” Journal of Vocational Behavior, 44, 237–262. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.1994.1017

4. Collarelli, S. M., and Bishop, R. C, 1990, “Career Commitment: Functions, Correlates, and Management”, Group and Organization Studies, 15, 158–176. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/105960119001500203

5. Greenhaus, J. H, 1987, “Career Management” Dryden Press, New York.

6. Hall, D. T, 2002, “Careers in and out of organizations” CA: Sage, Thousand Oaks.

7. Krejcie, R. V., and Morgan, D. W, 1970, “Determining sample size for research activities”, Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30, 607-610.

8. Noordin, F., Williams, T., and Zimmer, C, 2002, “Career Commitment in Collectivist and Individualist Cultures: A Comparative Study”, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 13(1), 35–54. http://doi.dx.org/10.1080/09585190110092785

9. Punnett et al., 2007, “Career Success and Satisfaction: A Comparative Study in nine Countries”, Women in Management Review, 22(5), 371–390. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09649420710761446

10. Robert E. and Robin E., 1986, "Perceived organizational support", Journal of applied physiology, 71(3), 500-507.

Received on 28.11.2016 Modified on 10.12.2016

Asian J. Management; 2017; 8(1):92-96.

DOI: 10.5958/2321-5763.2017.00014.2