Revisiting the kaleidoscope career model: Stage-responsive motivations of Indian white-collar women

Two decades after its inception, the Kaleidoscope Career Model (KCM) is revisited in this study to assess its relevance in a non-Western, collectivist context. Addressing the dominance of Western assumptions in career theory, the research explores how Indian white-collar women navigate structural barriers, career breaks, and evolving life priorities. Drawing on survey data from over 400 participants segmented by employment status, motherhood, career tenure, and age, the study examines how the three KCM parameters—authenticity, balance, and challenge—vary across career circumstances. The findings reveal differentiated motivational patterns across selected circumstances. Women on career breaks reported higher levels of balance and authenticity than employed women, while mid-career women reported greater challenge than those at earlier stages. In contrast, hypothesized differences associated with motherhood, number of career breaks, and age were not statistically supported. Overall, employment status and aspects of career tenure emerged as more consistent correlates of variation in authenticity, balance, and challenge than demographic categories. Although effect sizes were modest, the results suggest that career circumstances may be more closely linked to motivational differences than chronological age or caregiving status. This study refines the contextual application of KCM by demonstrating that career motivations vary across specific employment and career circumstances rather than following uniform demographic or stage-based trajectories. Integrating insights from Life Course, Life Span–Life Space, and Work–Family Border perspectives, the findings offer a more context-sensitive interpretation of authenticity, balance, and challenge. The limited differences observed by motherhood also nuance expectations derived from Social Role Theory, suggesting that caregiving status alone may not adequately explain motivational variation. Practically, the results underscore the importance of recognizing heterogeneous career priorities when designing policies for flexibility, re-entry, mentoring, and development.