Career Priority of Malaysian Dual-Career Couples in Professional and Managerial Careers

Abstract

This article investigates the career priority of professional and managerial dual-career couples in Malaysia using role salience theoretical framework. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were used to collect data from 23 dual-career couples. The findings indicate that the participants regard both their spouses and their own careers as very important, although different reasons were given on why both of their careers are important. The results also reveal how differences in terms of the career priorities within the couples affect their perceptions of the challenges they face and their career development. In addition, the experiences described by the participants reflect the salience of family and work roles. The results also reveal how interaction between partners can shape their work and family role salience. This article fills the gap by adding more research on dual-career couples in a non-Western context. Furthermore, it extends the use of role salience perspective to develop an understanding of their experiences.