Strategy of Career Interventions for Battered Women

 an article by Joshua C Collins (Texas A&M University) published in Human Resource Development Volume 10 Number 3 (September 2011)

Abstract

Female victims of domestic violence – also referred to as “battered women” – face serious career development challenges that necessitate the intervention and aid of human resource development (HRD) practice.The purpose of this article is to identify critical factors having an impact on the career development (CD) of battered women and to offer suggestions for how HRD practitioners may begin work to aid battered women in the development of their careers. This article is primarily concerned with career development interventions with battered women who also experience additional economic, educational, or networking hardships. Therefore, the findings of this article should not be considered inclusive of all female victims of domestic violence, but rather the start of an important conversation. The considerations in this article and the interventions suggested herein need testing and development, as do other methods of CD interventions with battered women. The expansion of HRD to include programs for those who have historically been minimized by systems of oppression should be considered a primary concern of current researchers and practitioners.

Hazel’s comment:
Encouraging battered women is wonderful, but so is encouraging anyone in a vulnerable position. It is, however, an ugly fact of life that the most vulnerable in society are much less likely to be employed and will, therefore, not benefit from HR intervention.

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