Purpose ‐ This paper seeks to explore career centrality, belief in gender disadvantage, and career success definition as the determinants of career persistence among women software professionals in emerging economies like India. The control variables used are marital and parental status. Design/methodology/approach ‐ A survey questionnaire was administered to 190 software women professionals and statistical analyses were used to test the hypotheses. Findings ‐ Belief in gender disadvantage and objective success definition are differentiators for career persistence while career centrality is not. Marital status and parental status are relevant control variables. Research limitations/implications ‐ Further exploration is needed of the dimensions of career centrality constructs and control for demographic variables. Practical implications ‐ Organizations should consider investments in child care support and other flexible work options so that women continue to remain in their careers. Originality/value ‐ This is the first known study to explore career persistence among women with a focus on culture unique to Asian countries like India.