This Master thesis investigates how cultural processes exclude, or might include, women from the corporate culture as well as how the cultural processes could impact the women’s abilities to career advancement within an organization that operates in the financial and IT industries. Previous studies have provided knowledge about culture and gender relations within the financial (Rutherford, 2001; Renemark, 2007) and IT-sectors (Davies and Mathieu, 2005: 12-22) respectively, but there is a lack of studies of financial service organizations in Sweden that operates in both these industries. These industries are described in earlier studies as having an uneven female representation at managerial levels (Nordling and Samuelsson, 2014; Rutherford, 2001) and organizational cultures that marginalizes women (Renemark, 2007; Davies and Mathieu, 2005: 12-22; Rutherford, 2001). Thereof is the corporate culture’s effect on women and female managers in particular, important to understand in an organizational constellation that strives to increase the number of female managers such as the case company in this study. This study utilizes a theoretical framework defined by Rutherford (2001) comprising nine cultural constituents that are interpreted as including several cultural processes. These cultural constituents are organizational background, Physical artefacts, Management style, the Long hours culture, Work ideology, Informal ways of socializing, Language and communication, Sexuality, and Gender awareness. The nine cultural constituents and the respective processes could have excluding effects, or possible including effects, on female managers position in the corporate culture and impact their further career advancement. In this study is the framework used to investigate the situation for female managers as well as the situation for the female employees as perceived at the managerial level. A case study methodology is used and the including data collection methods are; semi-structured interviews, secondary data, and a field study. Nine semi-structured interviews with managers that directly report to the executive team members constitute the main data gathering method. The findings show the existence of cultural processes related to all nine constituents at the case organization and how these processes impact women. These cultural processes exclude or include women from the corporate culture and impact female career advancement negatively or positively. The identified excluding cultural processes could constitute managerial implications for gender equality work. In addition, the findings provide knowledge of how the generic framework defined by Rutherford (2001) could be applied in the present corporate environment of an actor that operates in the Swedish IT and financial industries. Further, two adjustments of the framework are proposed. The constant connectivity provided by today’s technology proposes a more interlinked relationship between the long hour culture and the work ideology than earlier defined. Further, an extension of the cultural constituent Informal ways of socializing is proposed to incorporate several hierarchical levels to be applicable for young and less hierarchical actors.

In 2015, 0.2% of African American women were in chief executive officer (CEO) roles and 1.2% were in executive or senior-level roles within a 500 Standard & Poor's (S&P) organization. African American women's lived experiences are underutilized by organizational and human resources (HR) leaders in the development and implementation of recruitment, talent development, diversity and inclusion, and succession planning strategies. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand lived experiences regarding career advancement decision-making strategies for senior-level African American women. The conceptual framework used was social cognitive career theory (SCCT), which addresses the 'what' and 'how' of career development and behaviors across one's life span. The central research questions were about participants' decisions-making strategies used to attain senior-level management positions and how the facets of SCCT impacted their decision-making processes. Snowball sampling was the purposeful strategy used for recruiting 12 African American women who serve/served in a senior-level position within an organization. The data collections sources included interviews and field notes. By deductive and inductive coding, the main themes uncovered were leadership, family, education, authenticity, and faith. The results of this study may benefit organizational and HR leaders as they consider improvement opportunities for their recruitment, talent management, diversity and inclusion policies and programs, and succession planning strategies, inclusive of internal and college recruitment, involvement in community youth initiatives, and strategic alignment of high-level, internal organizational stakeholders.

This study contributes to the 'unwritten chapter' in migration studies, namely transnational return migration, with specific reference to Tongan migrants who have voluntarily returned to live in Tonga. Return migration of transnational Tongans is not 'permanent' as their mobility pre and post-return is characterised by circulation or repeated return rather than staying at 'home'. In examining the circulation of transnational Tongans, two new forms of return migration are identified -- 'return for career advancement' and 'ancestral return'. These additions to a new typology of return migration represent better the contemporary mobility system of transnational Tongans and suggest a means for addressing 'brain drain' through strengthening the 'Tongan-ness' of the diaspora while simultaneously stimulating economic development in the Kingdom. Despite these positive dimensions of return, re-integration is a 'bumpy' process, and there needs to be a holistic migration strategy if greater numbers in the Tongan diaspora are to return and make their potential contribution to sustainable development in the Island Kingdom.

<p>In today’s society there is an ongoing debate concerning gender distribution amongst the top executives and there is a clear distinction between the men and women in leading positions. The reason for this can be because men and women to a certain degree conduct leadership differently. It is said that men are more focused on task oriented leadership while women seem to focus on a relation oriented and more interactive leadership. A leader’s success could be due to his or her ability to set up and use a network. Through professional networks a leader can get in touch with other people with similar life and work conditions and therefore this study was conducted to examine what effects the professional female network has contributed in the career developments of female top executives?</p><p>To answer the question the study begins with the collections of theoretical knowledge concerning the subject followed with in-depth interviews from picturing the real world. With the help of four female top executives, who all are active in the professional female network, empirical data could be collected to be compared with the theoretical references. The study showed that the professional female network had no major impact on the career advancement with the female top executives but that on the other hand it contributed to the personal development.</p><p>For women the work realm and the private realm are closely interconnected which means that family situations have constitute a problem for career advancement for female top executives. The opportunities female top executives encounter lies on the fact of being a woman as they then stand out on the claimed gender distribution.</p>

In today’s society there is an ongoing debate concerning gender distribution amongst the top executives and there is a clear distinction between the men and women in leading positions. The reason for this can be because men and women to a certain degree conduct leadership differently. It is said that men are more focused on task oriented leadership while women seem to focus on a relation oriented and more interactive leadership. A leader’s success could be due to his or her ability to set up and use a network. Through professional networks a leader can get in touch with other people with similar life and work conditions and therefore this study was conducted to examine what effects the professional female network has contributed in the career developments of female top executives? To answer the question the study begins with the collections of theoretical knowledge concerning the subject followed with in-depth interviews from picturing the real world. With the help of four female top executives, who all are active in the professional female network, empirical data could be collected to be compared with the theoretical references. The study showed that the professional female network had no major impact on the career advancement with the female top executives but that on the other hand it contributed to the personal development. For women the work realm and the private realm are closely interconnected which means that family situations have constitute a problem for career advancement for female top executives. The opportunities female top executives encounter lies on the fact of being a woman as they then stand out on the claimed gender distribution.

African women in academia face various career advancement challenges. Employers’ support interventions need to be reinforced to promote an increase of African women in leadership positions. This study on the career advancement experiences of African women in leadership positions within an academic institution is exploratory in nature and based on the qualitative research method. The purpose of the study is to document the challenges, supporting factors, and strategies used by African women in academia in order to guide universities and the African women employed there who aspire to advance their careers. The data collection methods involved were in-depth interviews and a focus group. Purposive and snowball sampling methods in the form of convenience sampling were used to identify potential research participants. The sample for the study consisted of African women who were academics in leadership positions working at the Medunsa campus of the University of Limpopo. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. The results of the study suggest that African women who are academics experience career advancement challenges. Such challenges include family demands and lack of leadership training. Family support and their dedication contribute towards their advancement. Leadership training programmes and supporting structures should be established to reinforce their advancement. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Problem för kvinnor att nå organisatoriska toppositioner har sedan en längre tid varit ett omdebatterat ämne i Sverige. Enligt tidigare forskning ses den svenska revisionsbranschen som mansdominerad där maskulinitet är inbyggd i branschens struktur. Statistiska Centralbyrån visar genom statistik att det råder en jämn könsfördelning för revisorsyrket i Sverige idag. Dock visar tidigare forskning att inom revisionsbranschen tenderar kvinnor att dominera positioner i hierarkins botten och män tenderar i stället att dominera positioner i hierarkins topp. Studiens syfte är att förstå mentorskapets och det sociala nätverkets betydelse för kvinnliga revisorers karriäravancemang. Studien har genomförts genom en kvalitativ metod med ett abduktivt tillvägagångssätt och med ett hermeneutiskt synsätt, för att på så sätt öka förståelsen kring studiens ämnesområde. Ett antal teorier och begrepp ligger till grund för studiens analys av det empiriska materialet som har samlats in via semistrukturerade intervjuer. Slutsatsen av denna studie är att mentorskap och sociala nätverk är två distinkta faktorer som påverkar kvinnliga revisorers karriäravancemang positivt. Mentorskap är en ensidig kunskapskälla där kunskap överförs från en individ till en annan. Ett socialt nätverk är i stället en ömsesidig kunskapskälla där kunskap överförs ömsesidigt mellan olika individer. Både mentorskap och sociala nätverk är två faktorer som bidrar till att de kvinnliga revisorer får ökad kompetens och erfarenhet vilket i sin tur leder till karriäravancemang. / The problem for women to reach organizational top positions has been a topic of debate for a long time in Sweden. According to previous studies the Swedish auditing industry is seen as male-dominated where masculinity is a part of the structure. Nowadays statistics shows that there is an even gender distribution in the Swedish auditing profession. Although, previous studies show that women in the auditing industry tend to dominate positions at the bottom of the hierarchy and men tend to dominate positions at the top of the hierarchy. The purpose of this study is to understand the importance of mentoring and social network that female auditors have. This study has been conducted through a qualitative method with an abductive approach which contributes to a hermeneutic interpretation. This increases the understanding of the examined area. A set of theories and concepts lies as a basis for the analytical area of the empirical material that has been collected through semi structured interviews. The conclusion of this study is that mentoring, and a social network are two distinguished factors which have a positive effect on female career advancement. Mentoring is a knowledge source that transfers knowledge from one individual to another. A social network is a mutual source which transfers knowledge among different individuals. Mentoring and social networks are factors that contribute female auditors getting an increase in competence and experience which leads to career advancement.

In the 2006 census, Statistics Canada recorded that 23% of immigrant women aged 15 and over had a university degree at the bachelor's level or above. These women could help sustain an organization's competitive advantage and respond to labor shortages posed by an aging population. This phenomenological study highlighted self-initiated migration journey and career advancement experiences of migrant women. Through LinkedIn and referrals from non-profit organizations, a sample of 20 women was recruited. All women had migrated to Canada between the ages 32 to 50, all had 5 to 10 years of residence in Canada and all had college degrees from their home countries. Data were collected through in-depth qualitative interviews and analyzed utilizing Moustakas's framework. The themes were driven predominantly by the data from the study. In order to manage structural barriers to their career development, the participants highlighted the importance of career preparation such as postgraduate education, qualification accreditations and international experience to advancing their careers in Canada. The findings of this study showed that, the principles of meritocracy was influenced by ethic discrimination and educational barriers experienced by participants. The participants challenged inequalities by navigating within organizational structures using these modes of engagement; maintenance, transformation, and entrepreneurship as they developed their careers. The results provide a framework to the Canadian government, businesses, and settlement agencies to understand the implications of ethnicity and international experience to the current debate and proposition for reforms to immigration and hiring policies.

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The academic career path for tenure track faculty in most four-year universities in the United States allows those who earn tenure to make an individual choice about whether to pursue promotion to the rank of full professor. Limited research exists on the intrinsic motivators that individuals possess and draw upon to push past obstacles or challenges they encounter along their academic career journey. This study explored the role of intrinsic motivation in the decision of tenured associate professors to pursue promotion to full professor. Using a basic qualitative research design, this inquiry involved two in-depth interviews each with seven participants. Data analysis followed a thematic approach to make meaning of the participants’ thoughts and elicit findings guided by the research questions and the framework of career motivation theory encompassing three constructs: career resilience, career insight, and career identity. The findings from this study show both intrinsic motivations and external influences that are at play in the career decision process and illustrate how the tenured university professor’s career is a journey rife with obstacles that intrinsic motivation alone is insufficient to navigate. The implications of this study suggest ways to better support tenured faculty who aspire to promotion to full professor and offers advice for faculty who find themselves pondering this career decision with limited guideposts to direct them.