How Intersectionality Influences Career Aspirations and Decision-Making Among Ghanaian Youth

Abstract

The rate of unemployment among the youth in Ghana is continuously high, with persistent gender disparities across various sectors of the economy. A situation of this sort justifies exploring the complex interactions among identity, context, and opportunity in the global south, including Ghana. The study examined the influences of some dimensions on the youth's career aspirations and decision-making process in Ghana. Drawing on intersectionality, aspiration, and social cognitive career theories, an integrated theoretical framework was used to explore how interactions among the youth's gender, socio-economic status, and cultural background influence the formation and maturation of career aspirations. The researchers asserted that career aspirations stem from complex interactions between structural limitations and personal or solitary decision-making competence, with sex serving as the main narrative shaping the perspective of what lies ahead. The study, therefore, reinforces the role of intersectionality theory in appreciating the inequalities in aspirations, confirming how diverse power structures generally determine or affect the youth's ability to aspire or pursue their dreams. The study also contributes to the scope of the social cognitive career theory by illustrating how contextual hurdles act as both endogenous (internal) and exogenous (external) impediments in the development of future or potential self-awareness. Ultimately, the paper accentuates the implications of the social cognitive career theory for policy relevant to education, career interventions, and future research within the context of developing countries.