The Glass ceiling is a metaphor used to explain how women can be limited from reaching the top positions in their careers by being stuck under a transparent glass ceiling. Despite the fact that Sweden is one of the most gender equal countries in the world, the current statistics show that women in Sweden generally earn less than men, take larger responsibility of parenting and only represent a minority in boards and leading positions. Previous research on the Glass ceiling has been supported by factors such as motherhood, women’s views on their own possibilities and women being promoted to more precarious leading positions. The current study focuses on the auditor sector and is limited to Stockholm. The study aims to contribute to an understanding of the inequalities between men’s and women’s careers by measuring the existence of the Glass ceiling. The research emanated from previous research and affiliated theories aiming to confirm or reject the Glass ceiling. The study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with auditors operating in Stockholm, during spring of 2017. The current study showed evidence for Homosocial reproduction in top positions in the auditor business in that men tend to choose other men when promoting to top positions. The Pipeline perspective theory was also corroborated due to the industry gradually becoming more gender equal. Furthermore, evidence was found of the Leaky pipeline theory on women resigning from the auditor business as they become mothers, due to the auditor business’ seasonally intense workload. The Glass ceiling was hence partly confirmed. / Glastaket är en metafor vilken används för att förklara vissa kvinnors begränsningar till att avancera till de högre positionerna inom sitt yrke. Trots att Sverige är ett av världens mest jämställda länder visar statistiken att kvinnor i Sverige generellt har lägre lön än män, tar större ansvar för barnomsorg, tar ut mer föräldraledighet och tar enbart upp en minoritet av styrelse- och ledarpositioner i stora bolag. Tidigare forskning har förklarat Glastaket som en konsekvens av moderskap och kvinnors synsätt på sina egna möjligheter. Studien inriktar sig på revisionsbranschen och avgränsas till Stockholmsområdet. Studiens syfte är att genom tidigare forskning och teorier relaterade till Glastaket bidra till en djupare förståelse genom studiens undersökning. Undersökningen skedde genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med revisorer i Stockholmsområdet under våren 2017. Resultaten visade att studien kunde finna bevis för Homosocial reproduktion i toppositionerna inom revisionsbranschen genom att män tenderar att välja andra män till befordran inom branschen. Även Pipeline perspective-teorin fick belägg i studien då revisionsbranschen tidigare varit mansdominerad, men successivt blir mer jämställd. Vidare fann studien även evidens för Leaky pipeline-teorin där kvinnor oftare säger upp sig från revisorsyrket då de skaffar barn på grund av att yrket ofta innebär mycket arbete vilket kan vara svårt att kombinera med familjeliv. Därmed bekräftar dessa teorier delvis Glastaket.

Women working in the Canadian Federal Public Service (CFPS) face complex issues and competing demands. However, despite challenges such as obtaining further education, managing home responsibilities, and dealing with workplace issues, some have also developed and managed successful careers. Problems highlighted within literature on career development for women relate to the nature of women’s lives with their many transitional points, in which personal and organizational factors inextricably intertwine. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the career development and advancement of women towards and into entry executive level positions within the Canadian Federal Public Service (CFPS). Three research questions guided this inquiry: 1) How have personal factors influenced career development and advancement of women in the CFPS towards and into pre-executive and entry executive levels? 2) How have organizational factors influenced their career development and advancement? and 3) How have personal and organizational factors combined to influence their career development and advancement? This research was grounded in a social constructivist paradigm which guided the research both ontologically and epistemologically. Schwandt (1994) contends that “objective knowledge and truth is a result of perspective. Knowledge and truth are created, not discovered” (p. 125). The inquiry attempted, therefore, to understand women’s complex career development processes from a holistic perspective through their career life stories. Ten women at the pre-executive or entry executive level from various departments within the CFPS took part in the study. Data collection was carried out mainly through a series of three semi-structured interviews. The findings of the study describe how participants’ personal dispositions, formal education, and home lives (personal factors) influenced their career development and advancement. In addition, it was found that the organization’s culture of long hours, its support for learning, participants’ organizational networks, and superiors’ contributions (organizational factors) also influenced women’s careers. This study contributes to our understanding of women’s career development, thereby providing important insights for future research. The study may have implications for CFPS policymakers, career counsellors, universities responsible for educating future career counsellors, as well as for individual women themselves, and perhaps even men.

In the United States, women remain underrepresented in senior level positions in the information technology (IT) field. Despite this challenge, a few women have successfully ascended into senior leadership in IT. Using the social cognitive theory as the conceptual framework, the purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of senior women leaders in the IT field. The research question explored the lived personal and professional experiences of senior women leaders in IT to gain an understanding of their career advancement into senior leadership positions. Through the use of the modified Van Kaam method of data analysis, 6 major themes emerged from interviews with the 15 participants. The results indicated that self-efficacy, hard work, and mentorship may help women ascend into senior leadership in IT. This study may contribute to positive social change by promoting the understanding of the experiences and perspective strategies for increasing the career advancement of aspiring women leaders in a male dominated industry such as IT. An increased understanding of women senior leaders' experiences in IT could attract more women, leveling the playing field of men and women.

Revisionsbranschen är en mansdominerad bransch som är känd för att ha lägst andel kvinnor bland dem ledande positionerna. Kvinnor har stött på olika hinder och haft svårare att nå högre positioner än män, men på senare år har branschen blivit mer jämställd. Studier har visat att könsfördelningen inom delägarkretsen har förändrats till det bättre. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka kvinnliga delägares uppfattningar av faktorer som påverkat kvinnors möjligheter att bli delägare i medelstora och stora revisionsbyråer samt om de uppfattar att dessa faktorer fortfarande finns.   Studiens teoretiska referensram fokuserar på revisionsbranschen och strukturella teorier. I studien har ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt använts för att få en djupgående förståelse om hur kvinnliga delägare upplever att olika faktorer har påverkat dem att bli delägare samt om de upplever att en förändring har skett i branschen. Vi har genomfört sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med kvinnliga delägare från fyra olika bolag.   Resultatet av empirin visar att de kvinnliga delägarna inte upplevt hinder för att nå delägarskap. Det enda hindret som påverkar möjligheterna för att bli delägare är varje individs egna egenskaper, ambitioner och mål. Föräldraskap ses inte som ett hinder av delägarna, däremot upplever de att kombinationen av familj och karriär kan upplevas vara svår. Delägarna upplever att det har skett en förändring bland könsfördelningen i delägarkretsen och att branschen är under utveckling. Med den här studien vill vi bidra till en ökad förståelse kring vilka hinder som påverkar kvinnors avancemang inom revisionsbranschen. / The auditing industry is a male dominated industry that is known for having the lowest proportion of women among the leading positions. Women have encountered various obstacles and found it more difficult to reach higher positions than men, but in recent years the industry has become more equal. Studies have shown that the gender distribution within the circle of partners has changed. The purpose of this study is to investigate female partners’ perceptions of factors that have affected women’s opportunities to become partners in medium-sized and large auditing firms and whether they perceive that these factors still exist.  The study's theoretical framework focuses on the auditing industry and structural theories. A qualitative approach was used to gain an in-depth understanding of how female partners feel that various factors have influenced them to become partners and whether they feel that a change has taken place in the industry. We conducted six semi-structured interviews with female partners from four firms.  The results show that the female partners don’t experience obstacles to achieve partnership. The only obstacle is each individual's own characteristics, ambitions and goals. Parenting is not seen as an obstacle by the partners. However, they experience that the combination of family and career can be difficult. The partners feel that there has been a change in the gender distribution in the co-owner and that the industry is still changing. With this study, we want to contribute to an increased understanding of the obstacles that affect women's advancement in the auditing industry.

Background and Research Purpose: Women working in male-dominated environments face experiences that are unique. In Sweden the number of women working in the IT field grows, and so should the representation of female managers and female seniors. But does it? The extensive underrepresentation of females in IT continues to add to the inequality between genders and the marginalization of female managers and seniors in Swedish society. For many individuals, being successful and developing in their careers is a common goal (Fagenson, 1989) and one method in particular is through mentorship (Kram, 1983).  Studies of protégés' experiences for career advancement especially in the field of mentoring in IT in Swedish organizations are limited, especially observing it from the female perspective. Women face gender-related interpersonal and organizational barriers which prevent them from attaining mentors as well as opportunities for learning. The aim of this study was to investigate women's careers, mentoring, and the barriers to their career progression from the mentee's perspective. Research Question: How are females working in the IT industry using mentorship as a tool for their career advancement? We used two supplementary research questions to assist in identifying additional information, thereby we wanted to further explore the interdependence between female and male mentors, and junior and senior mentors.   Method: The following study is of exploratory nature, thus, we used the qualitative research design to  collect data through semi-structured interviews. 15  participants helped us explore the experiences of female employees in the IT environment and contributed to a better understanding of a mentor's involvement, their proactive responses, and strategies that aided their mentee's careers. These interviews were performed with employees from 10 different Swedish IT companies.   Conclusion: We developed a model called the mentor relationship matrix, as we found mentoring traits that can be linked to male and female mentors as well as to seniority and juniority. We additionally discovered that mentorship can have a dark side. Our analysis shows that mentors can enable career advancement, though strategies which differ depending on the mentoring liaison and the mentor's personality. In conclusion, we discovered that despite gender, the personality of the mentor is most important for a successful mentoring relationship. Practical Implications: Emerging from our findings, women pursuing careers in IT can utilize our matrix to categorize their mentors and adapt to their surroundings. We want to encourage mentees to become lifelong learners, master speaking up and making their voices heard as well as cultivate a support system in the workplace.

The underrepresentation of female executives is a well studied phenomenon, despite this awareness, the Swedish labor market continues to be characterized by segregation on its hierarchical positions, where females who aspire for executive roles, do not reach the same career advancement as males. When trying to find answers to female underrepresentation in executive roles, evidence points to a shortage of networks that are deemed appropriate for such career advancement. Using qualitative research, this study explores the perceived value of formal networks among female leaders in the tech industry and their influence on the career advancement of women, considering the challenges posed by male-dominated cultures and gender biases. The conclusion of this study acknowledges that the underrepresentation of women in executive positions may be attributed to a scarcity of informal networks, where homosocial behavior restricts female participation within such networks. The findings demonstrate that due to exclusion from the informal sphere, women actively engage in formal networks. Womens formal networks offer various psychosocial and instrumental advantages, and these benefits are interconnected and mutually reinforcing, ultimately promoting women's professional growth. The findings underscore the significance of comprehending the interplay between organizational culture, gender, and network dynamics to cultivate diverse and inclusive networks that enhance female representation and facilitate knowledge sharing.

The manufacturing industry has reported gender equality issues, both in relation to the underrepresentation of female employees within the industry as a whole and in managerial positions as well as the abindant existence of gendered roles and stereotypes. As a result of gender inequalities, women employees face difficulties advancing in their career. The aim of this study is to seek an understanding of how organizarional culture creates gendered career by studying both barriers and enablers. The findings show that the organizational culture is influenced by a masculine ideal disfavoring women and thereby women's ability to have certain working roles and maintain a sustainable work life balance. Further, it is argued that the organizational culture puts pressure on women to conform to the existing culture that hinders women's  careers advancement and continues to promote the masculine ideal. Contributions are made by applying existing theories to a new case within the field attempting to contribute with new empirical data within the research field of gender equality and women's career advancement. / Tillverkningsindustrin har rapporterat om ej jämställda förhållanden mellan men och kvinnor, både när det kommer till underrepresentation av kvinnliga anställda inom industrin i sin helhet men även i chefspositioner samt förekomsten av stereotyper och könsroller. Detta resulterar i att kvinnliga anställda mäter svårigheter och utmaningar när det kommer till att avancera i karriären. Syftet med studien är att förstå hur organisationskultur skapar könad karriär genom att studera både barriärer och möjligheter. Resultaten visar att organisationskulturen är influerad av maskulinitetsideal och starkt könskodade roller och positioner vilket hindrar kvinnors möjlighet att ta sig an särskilda arbetstoller samt upprätthålla balans mellan arbetslivet och privatlivet. Vidare påvisar studien att organisationskulturen sätter press på kvinnor att anpassa sig till kulturen på arbetsplatsen vilket hindrar kvinnors karriärutveckling och fortsätter främja ett manligt ideal. Studien bidrar till tidigare forskning genom att tillämpa existerande teorier på ett nytt unikt fall samt bidtat den med nytt empiriskt material till forskningsområdet inom jämställdhet och kvinnors karriärvägar.

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