Abstract
Social scientists have been conducting research to explore the reasons behind women underrepresentation in managerial roles in western economies and they have found gender stereotype as a key factor. However, the influence and prevalence of gender stereotyping, its impact on organisational outcome and its intersection with social elements such as influence of family and society are yet to be explored in the patriarchal societies of South-East Asia (SEA), for example, Bangladesh, which aims to graduate as a developing nation in 2024, via improvement against the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs). Hence, adopting Eagly and Karau’s role congruity theory, this research will explore the range of stereotypes and prejudice about women and how these hinder women’s career progression to senior managerial roles. Interviewing 35 current and former banking employees, this research found factors such as lack of family support and family commitments as factors impacting women’s career progression.