Investigates the career development expectations of male and female managers working for a large UK company operating in the brewing and hospitality area, which had undergone significant restructuring and delayering. Compares the company view on career development with those of individual managers, and finds that the company expected individual employees to take responsibility for their own development while managers reported that they were ill-prepared to do this. Asks about the likelihood of promotion, and where the barriers to career development lay (family commitments, prejudice of colleagues, lack of personal motivation, etc.). Discovers that the male and female managers shared the same perceptions of these barriers. Outlines how the attitudes and behaviours of employees could be changed to prepare them to take on the main responsibility for their career development.