Navigating career barriers: Gendered experiences and professional trajectories of female physicians in contemporary China

Amidst evolving gender dynamics in Asia's healthcare sector and broader societal changes, this study applies Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to examine how career barriers affect the professional development of 785 female physicians in China. Quantitative findings reveal a dual-pathway mechanism: career barriers - spanning personal, family, organisational, and social domains - lead to career compromise, which shapes goal adjustment through two routes. One involves goal disengagement via need frustration, intensified by workplace anxiety; the other involves goal reengagement through need compensation, supported by strong intergenerational (parental) involvement. Theoretically, this study extends SDT to gendered career development in a high-stakes context, conceptualising career compromise as a dynamic process linking external constraints to internal regulation. It also highlights contextual factors shaping adaptive responses to structural pressures, offering practical insights into reducing institutional and psychosocial barriers for women in medicine.