Grounded theory and me: Data chaos and lightbulb moments

Despite legislative advances, women in high profile, public facing roles continue to face systemic, cultural, and structural barriers that can compromise career progression and mental health. I embarked on an MSc Psychology (Conversion) after a career in corporate and wanted to investigate adversity in the workplace. Having completed my thesis in which I undertook research with high-profile, public-facing women, and on winning both the Outstanding Academic Achievement Prize for coming top of my year at the University of Liverpool and the inaugural QMiP Postgraduate/Master’s Excellence Award, I detail below my journey of undertaking my first qualitative project. Using grounded theory, I analysed 10 semi structured interviews to examine the adversities faced by senior, public facing women and the consequences for mental health and wellbeing. The emergent theory, Embracing Feminine Authenticity to Overcome Adversity, captures a shift from scrutiny and self silencing to reflection, reframing, and authentic leadership. Vulnerability was redefined as a leadership strength, enabling women to navigate systemic barriers and foster more inclusive leadership models; this shift paved the way for building authentic relationships, fostering resilience, creating supportive environments, and, most importantly, overcoming adversity by redefining conventional notions of leadership and public facing roles for women.