This descriptive study examines the gender pay gap across the income distribution in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas in the United States in two periods in the 2000’s. In metro areas, the raw gender pay gapgrows larger in the top of the income distribution. In non-metro areas however, the raw gender pay gap isrelatively even in the upper tail of the distribution and does not show this accelerating pattern. Moreover,the study takes a quantile regression approach to measure the adjusted gender pay gaps conditional onhuman capital variables. Comparisons show that the raw gender pay gap has decreased over time, while thecorresponding adjusted gender pay gap has increased over time. This seems to be explained mainly by theincrease in women’s educational attainment, but also convergence of men’s and women’s work experience.In non-metro areas, this generates an adjusted gap that is substantially bigger in the top quantiles in thelatter period. In metro areas, the pattern of a successively widening gap in the top of the distribution persists.

This study aims to investigate opportunities to make commercial buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, more energy efficient, which is made by examining prerequisites in South Africa. To achieve this objective, barriers and measures to decrease cooling demand are investigated by a qualitative approach and a roof heat transfer model is developed to get a deeper understanding of the ceiling temperature distribution. The heat transfer model is simulated in MATLAB and is further validated by conducting a two-case scenario sensitivity analysis and by comparing the results to previous research. The results show that there is a great correlation between the Global Horizontal Irradiance [GHI] and the interior ceiling temperature and a higher GHI contributes to a higher ceiling temperature. The hot climate and the long summer period in South Africa indicate that there is a great demand for cooling during a year. Regarding barriers, the socioeconomic aspects in the country and the low electricity prices may contribute to less willingness to adapt to an environmentally friendly behaviour. As some technologies are still perceived as expensive, this may also provide a lower willingness to make changes regarding choices that contribute to a lower cooling demand and thus, energy consumption. Finally, it is concluded that there are several measures that can be applied to decrease the cooling demand, such as constructional changes or enhancement of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning [HVAC] operation.

Bakgrund: Sverige är ett land som jämfört med övriga länder i världen är långt fram i dess jämställdhetsarbete, där lagar kring diskriminering finns för att skydda arbetstagaren och för att främja lika rättigheter och möjligheter oavsett kön, etnisk tillhörighet och sexuell läggning etc. Trots detta visar tidigare studier att det föreligger barriärer för vissa arbetstagare vid avancemang uppåt i den organisatoriska hierarkin och således inte ges samma möjligheter. Statistik visar att det finns en stark snedfördelning mellan kvinnor och män på högre chefspositioner i Sverige där männen är överrepresenterade. En bransch som studien identifierat som jämställd på mellanchefsnivå men som fortsatt är överrepresenterad av män på högre chefspositioner är bankbranschen. Därför undersökte studien varför och hur denna snedfördelning uppstår. Syfte: Det övergripande syftet är att bidra med en förståelse för varför kvinnor är mer vanligt förekommande på lägre chefspositioner men inte på högre inom bankbranschen och få en förståelse för vilka hinder de möter eller har mött under sin yrkeskarriär. Syftet är också att få en förståelse för hur kvinnor på mellanchefsnivå inom bankbranschen upplever sina möjligheter till fortsatt avancemang. Metod: För att besvara studiens frågeställning har en kvalitativ metod använts där sju semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts på kvinnliga mellanchefer inom bankbranschen i en avgränsad region. Slutsats: Studien visar att genusprocesser och könskodning inom organisationer existerar och kan utgöra osynliga hinder för kvinnor. Resultatet visar också att det är kvinnorna som själva ger sig möjligheten till avancemang uppåt i hierarkin där kompetens och mod ger förutsättningar till karriär i den meningen att nå högre chefspositioner. Studien påvisar att trots värdegrunds- och jämställdhetsarbete från organisationer och samhället i stort behövs fortsatta insatser inom detta område då genusprocesser fortsatt utgör hinder för kvinnor. / Background: Sweden is a country that, compared to other countries in the world, is far ahead in its gender equality work, where laws around discrimination exist to protect workers and to promote equal rights and opportunities regardless of gender, ethnic affiliation and sexual orientation etc. Despite this, previous studies show that there are barriers for some workers in advancing up the organizational hierarchy and thus not being given the same opportunities. Statistics show that there is a strong uneven balance between women and men in higher managerial positions in Sweden where men are over-represented. This study identified the banking industry as gender equality at middle management level, but which is still over-represented by men in higher management positions is the banking industry. Therefore, this study investigated why and how this uneven balance occurs. Purpose: The overall purpose is to contribute to an understanding of why women are more common in lower managerial positions but not higher in the banking industry and gain an understanding of the obstacles these women encounter or have encountered during their professional careers. The aim is also to gain an understanding of how women at middle management level in the banking industry perceive their opportunities for further advancement. Method: To answer the study's problem, a qualitative method has been used where seven semi-structured interviews have been conducted with female middle managers within the banking industry in a delimited region. Conclusion: This study presents that gender processes and gender coding within organizations exist and can pose invisible barriers to women. The results also suggest that it is the women who give themselves the opportunity to advance upwards in the organizational hierarchy where competence and courage provide the conditions for a career in the sense of reaching higher managerial positions. The study finally presents that despite presence of human values and gender equality work from organizations and society at large, continued efforts are needed in this area as gender processes continue to be an obstacle to women.

Breaking the glass ceiling of boards of directors has been a hot topic globally for over a decade without any significant results. With an increase in demand for sustainable companies, the current composition of most of the boards of directors is contradictory, where homogeneous boards of directors are more a rule than an exception. Contradicting the fact that diverse teams are proven to make better, long-termed, and more sustainable decisions. Small and medium-sized enterprises are often neglected in the debate to increase diversity in boards of directors, even though they hold most of all boards of directors’ positions. Investigating the small and medium-sized enterprises this paper aims to explore how to break the glass ceiling of the boards of directors in Denmark. Similar to Norway where quotas with boardrooms have been introduced in 2008, this study also wants to reexamine the general attitude towards hard legislation or find alternatives in form of other legislation in Denmark. Therefore, it is essential to understand the dynamics and habits of the boards of directors. This study has through semi-structured interviews investigated the culture of boards of directors to find the barriers of the boardrooms and how to break them down. A recruitment company has tried to offer a new way of recruiting for boards of directors through open positions. Here has the researchers conducted qualitative research to investigate their impact on gender and age in boards of directors, to see if the open positions can exhilarate the implementation of diversity in the board rooms. The results of the study show that there is a need to educate small and medium-sized enterprises on the benefits of diverse boards of directors. The boards of directors are primarily recruited through networks of its members, making it difficult to increase diversity. The reason for recruiting through networks is primarily due to a lack of understanding of both the function of boards of directors and a wish to keep the information of the company close to themselves. The overall attitude towards legislation is mixed with a small overweight against quotas. Mainly from an individual point of view is quotas are seen as an undesirable means for increasing diversity in boards of directors. The recruitment company has been proven cable of recruiting younger candidates. However, not significantly change the percentages of female representations where only a slight increase of women in some positions is seen.

Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur diskursen om glastaket har förändrats under en tjugoårsperiod. Detta med avsikt att utifrån ett genusvetenskapligt angreppsätt belysa vilka föreställningar och maktstrukturer mellan kvinnor och män som förändring i diskursen bygger på. Mina frågeställningar följer mitt syfte. Mina avgränsningar är kön/genus, den ojämna könsfördelningen på svenskt näringsliv och en tjugoårsperiod. Dessa avgränsningar grundar sig i mitt material som är två statliga offentliga utredningar från 1997 och 2014 som har behandlat glastaket. Uppsatsens teori och metod består av en kritisk diskursanalys, varav teoridelen består av Faircloughs tredimensionella modell. Slutsatsen dras från resultatet som visar att diskursen om glastaket har förändrats, från ett fokus på en diskurs om befattningssegregering med faktorer som ålder, arbetstid och utbildning till förändring med faktorerna jämställdhet, genus och föräldraskap. De föreställningar och maktstrukturer mellan kvinnor och män som förändringen bygger på är isärhållning av kön och manlig överordning. / The aim of this essay is to examine how the discourse of the glass ceiling has changed in twenty years. This with an approach of gender studies highlight which performances and power structures between women and men this change is based on. My questions follow my aim. My delimitations are sex/gender, the unequal gender distribution in Swedish industry and a twenty-year period. This is based on my material that are two State public reports from 1997 and 2014 that have treated the glass ceiling. The theory and method are a critical discourse analysis, whereof the theory is Faircloughs three-dimensional model. The conclusion can be drawn from the results and it shows that the discourse of the glass ceiling has changed, from a focus on position segregation to change. The performances and power structures between women and men that this change is based on are separating the sexes and male superiority.

American conglomerates are accountable for the underrepresentation of African American women (AAW) in high-ranking roles. Though some progress is documented, this study revealed that inequalities and stereotypical practices still exist. This transcendental phenomenology study explored the leadership development and lived experiences of 25 high-ranking AAW. All participants worked in private or public sectors, resided in America, and held high-ranking positions within the last 5 years. The goal was to explore the lived experience of AAW and uncover any strategies used to address the influence of intersectionality on leadership development that could abate barriers and create career pathways for forthcoming AAW leaders. During the literature review process, the education sector emerged as the most studied area, exposing substantial gaps in literature concentrated on other sectors. For this study, a broader range of industries was explored that could enhance existing leadership and management practices and augment the body of knowledge in multiple sectors. The theory of Black feminism guided the study, and the conceptual framework of intersectionality corroborated the intersecting barriers caused by gender, race, and class unique to AAW. Purposive samples and open-ended questions designed to guide semistructured interviews, supported by the modified van Kaam data analysis technique, were implemented. The social implications of this study go beyond simple diversity in the workplace to highlight a highly resilient and capable talent pool of AAW who bring new perspectives to senior leadership roles that will enhance organizational resilience, contributing to the economic growth of the organizations they lead.

The subject of this diploma thesis is the design of a new boarding house in Vyškov. The building is designed as a detached house. The land on which the building is designed is located in the southern part of Vyškov on Brněnská Street. The proposed building has 1 underground floor and 3 above-ground floors. The first floor has an L-shaped floor plan with the dimensions of the longest sides 43x28.9 m. The other two floors are different shapes. In the basement there is a technical background of the building and storage space. The other two floors are used for accommodation and have a total of 13 room units. On the second floor there is also an operating office. The construction system of the building is transversely brick. The perimeter of the building is made of ground Porotherm brick blocks, insulated with the ETICS contact thermal insulation system. The ceiling structures are designed as reinforced concrete monolithic ceiling slabs. The roof of the building consists of 3 different flat roofs. The roof cladding above the first floor is designed as a walkable terrace with a tread layer of concrete paving on rectifying pads. The roof above the second floor is designed as a vegetation and the roof above the third floor is designed as a single skin with a classic order of layers.

The subject of this diploma thesis is structural and constructional design of a new multifunctional building in Spišská Belá. It is a new detached building structure with one basement floor and three above-ground floors, designed on a plot number 1859 in cadastre unit Spišská Belá. The designed building is constructed of clay masonry system with contact thermal insulation and supported by strip foundations. Ceiling constructions of above-ground floors are made of prefabricated components. The basement ceiling is made of reinforced concrete. Object is roofed by saddle roof set on wooden roof truss. There are four three room flats, one accessible flat, bicycle shop and flats facilities, situated in the building. The focus during development was on wheelchair access.

Data shows that there is an overall dearth of Asian Americans in the role of the principalship in K-12 public schools. According to the Department of Education (2019), Asian Americans made up 5% of the national student population, but less than two percent of all K-12 public school principals identified as Asian. This mixed methods study is designed to provide insight into why there is an underrepresentation of Asian Americans in roles of the principalship in K-12 public schools. Through the theoretical framework, Asian Critical Race Theory, the aim of this dissertation study is to a) examine the factors that may hinder or encourage Asian Americans from embarking on the journey towards the principalship and b) make recommendations and observations on how to break through the existing barriers that may inhibit Asian Americans from pursuing the role. The dissertation studied 92 principals and assistant principals in K-12 public schools and utilized a quantitative methodology with a questionnaire and a qualitative methodology with semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and field notes as data sources. Findings indicate that it is still difficult to be viewed as a competent, Asian American principal. Additionally, women experienced an added layer of challenges related to their gender; and first- and second-generation participants experienced greater difficulty in navigating the system. The findings hope to be the catalyst for promoting more Asian American principals in ways that their voices and stories may be heard. Moreover, this emancipatory research can serve as a liberating experience and contribute to the greater Asian American community, specifically our students. As we continue to make strides towards a more equitable and diverse society, we must prioritize our efforts to truly diversify our educational systems, which include understanding biases and breaking through the bamboo ceiling.

Glass ceiling is a phenomenon that describes an abstract barrier that hinders career progression and promotion to higher management positions. A majority of studies regarding this discrimination in workplaces have solely focused on women as victims. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the phenomenon is expressed in workplaces and how it could also be intersectionally conditioned by examining how experts perceive glass ceiling discrimination, which is related to several grounds of discrimination. A phenomenographic approach has been implemented to capture perceptions from experts through semi-constructed interviews along with an extraction and examination of several documents to strengthen their perspectives. The experts' contributions are evaluated through a social constructivist approach. The findings of glass ceiling are separated into different themes: individual, situational, and cultural as well as interpersonal relationship barriers. The glass ceiling discrimination has been shown to mostly affect women; however, intersectional factors have shown to create various power structures that strengthen discrimination for individuals who belong to multiple grounds of discrimination. The study contributes to an unique viewpoint of how discrimination and the glass ceiling can occur in workplaces today. The findings are useful when working with discrimination- and gender equality.