The purpose of this case study was to view if there were any differences and similarities between Swedish and American female leaders, with focus on the Swedish female leaders. We also wanted to find out if the American female leaders had problem whit the classcelling. Our case study is a quality method, because we wanted to reach the dep't that quality methods can reach. We interviewed four Swedish female leaders and tried to get in touch whit American female leaders but whit out any success. So instead we analyzed already existing research about the American female leadership.  Our result showed that there were some differences between the two countries; in the same time we also found similarities. The classcelling tends to exist more in Sweden than in the US.

Syfte: Trots att vi lever i ett mer jämställt samhälle är kvinnor fortfarande underrepresenterade på beslutsfattande positioner. Intresset och behovet för mer forskning om dess konsekvenser är därför stort. Studiens syfte är att undersöka om företag med en kvinnlig VD är associerat med ett högre revisionsarvode än företag med en manlig VD. Studiens syfte är även att undersöka om ett eventuellt positivt samband kan förklaras av att kvinnor i högre grad än män eftersträvar mer kvalitetssäker revision.   Metod: Studien antar en kvantitativ metod med en positivistisk forskningsfilosofi, där vi med hjälp av en hypotetisk-deduktiv ansats deducerat prövningsbara hypoteser för att ge svar på studiens syfte. Vi tillämpar en tvärsnittsdesign utifrån insamlad sekundärdata för året 2015. Studiens urval består av företag från tio europeiska länder som inhämtats med hjälp av den finansiella databasen Thomson Reuters Datastream. All data har bearbetats och analyserats med hjälp av multipla regressionsanalyser i statistikprogrammet SPSS.   Resultat & slutsats: Studien visar att det föreligger ett signifikant positivt samband mellan kvinnligt ledarskap och revisionsarvodets storlek. Studien ger även stöd för att ett positivt samband inte uppkommer till följd av att kvinnor i högre grad än män väljer mer kvalitetssäker revision utan att ett positivt samband ger uttryck för en diskriminerande effekt.   Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Studien undersöker företag utifrån ett begränsat geografiskt område, vårt förslag till vidare forskning är därför att studera hur relationen ser ut i andra geografiska områden. Vi anser även att en kvalitativ studie motiveras då företagsledningens egenskaper via en kvalitativ studie skulle få en mer framträdande roll.   Uppsatsens bidrag: Studien bidrar med vidare empiriska bevis för att genusperspektivet är avgörande för revisionsarvodets storlek. Genom att vara den första studien att undersöka vad ett positivt samband ger uttryck för bidrar föreliggande studie med vidare diskussion till redovisningslitteraturen. / Aim: Even though we live in an increasingly egalitarian society, women are still underrepresented in corporate decision-making positions. The interest and the need for more research on its effects are therefore motivated. The study aims to investigate whether companies with a female CEO is associated with a higher audit fees than companies with a male CEO. The study's purpose is also to examine whether a possible positive correlation can be explained by the fact that women more than men strive for more quality assured auditing.   Method: The study adopts a quantitative approach with a positivistic research philosophy, where we are using a hypothetical-deductive method deduced testing our hypotheses to answer the study's purpose. We apply a cross-sectional design based on secondary data collected for the year 2015. The study sample consists of companies from ten European countries gathered using the financial database Thomson Reuters Datastream. All data is processed and analyzed using multiple regressions analyzes in SPSS.   Results & conclusions: The study shows that there is a significant positive relationship between female leadership and audit fees. The study also provides support for a positive relationship does not arise as a result of more women than men choose more quality assured auditing without a positive correlation reflects a discriminatory effect.   Suggestions for further research: The study includes a limited geographical area, our suggestions for further research is therefor to study how the relationship looks in other geographic areas. We also believe that a qualitative study is justified, as management features through a qualitative study would have a more prominent role.   Contributions of the thesis: The study provides further empirical evidence that the gender perspective is crucial for audit fees. By being the first study to examine what a positive correlation expresses, the present study contributes to further discussion of the accounting research.

Family businesses are the backbone of the German economy and, indeed, of almost all economies in the world. Every year business owners face many challenges, one of which is the succession process. Unfortunately, daughters are often considered or perceived as less suitable or viable choice for the position of a successor, compared to sons. The aim of the master thesis is to identify potential challenges a female successor faces when taking over a family business and whether various strategic and/or structural requirements need to be considered by the daughter within the succession process. Empirical data has been gathered within the methodological framework of the grounded theory. Semi-guided expert interviews have been conducted to gain empirical insights. The results indicate that the challenges each individual successor will experience as most crucial or difficult will always depend on her personal character, on the senior family mem bers’ behaviour during the succession process, and on the company ’s hand-over capability at the outset of the process. Moreover, the strategic and/or structural requirements the successor faces are not as much influenced by gender, as by the up- or out-dated circumstances of the existing strategies and structures of the family business, which will ultimately determine the requirements the daughter has to fulfil. In conclusion, the succession process is very complex and burdened with emotions from the family members. Having a clear road map for the succession that leaves room for improvement in case of unpredictable factors in advance can be essential for the success of the succession. Hiring an external expert as support can be beneficial as well. Additionally, the daughter aspiring to lead her fami ly’s company must be 100 % sure that her life’s vision is compatible with the vision of the family business.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka kvinnliga chefers upplevelse och framställningen av deras egenskaper i en mansdominerad bransch. Studien tar reda på hur den mansdominerade kontexten inverkar på kvinnors chefskap när det kommer till upplevelse och framställning av egenskaper. Fokus är riktat mot att kunna tolka den inverkandeeffekten av den manliga konstruktionen på både individnivå och från sin omgivning. Den tidigare forskningen ger en inblick i kvinnor som chefers upplevelse av hinder och möjligheter i sin chefsposition. Vidare har den teoretiska referensramen visat hur den sociala omgivningen skapat förväntningar inom könsroller och egenskaper som är kopplade till kvinna respektive man. Studien använder sig av tolv kvinnliga chefer i höga chefspositioner som arbetar inom IT på Volvo. De kvinnliga chefernas respons bidrar med en förståelse för deras chefskap i den mansdominerade IT-branschen. Resultatet av studien konstaterar att upplevelsen för de kvinnliga cheferna har påverkats av den mansdominerande kontexten. Centrala faktorer som påverkat deras upplevelse i sittchefskap har varit minoritetsställningen, balansen mellan den privata och professionella rollen, strukturella hinder samt högre krav på sin arbetsprestation. Fortsatt har resultatet visat att alla kvinnliga chefer har präglats till att framställa manliga egenskaper för att smälta in den mansdominerade arbetsmiljön. De mest imiterade manliga dragen har visat sig vara, strategisk, analytisk och beslutsfattare. I helhet har de kvinnliga cheferna varit överens om att upplevelse och framställning av egenskaper påverkas av personlighet och omgivning. / The purpose of this study is to examine experiences of female leadership and representation of their characteristics in a male-dominated industry. The study finds out how the male dominated context influences women's leadership when it comes to experience and representation of their characteristics. The focus is on being able to interpret the impact of the male construction on both the individual level and the environmental. The previous research gives an insight into women as managers' experience of obstacles and opportunities in their managerial position. Furthermore, the theoretical reference frame has shown how the social environment has created expectations in gender roles and characteristics that are linked to woman and man. The study uses twelve female managers in higher management positions who work within IT at Volvo. The response of the female managers contributes to an understanding of their leadership in the male-dominated IT industry. The result of the study states that the experience for the female managers has been influenced by the male-dominant context. Key factors that are influencing their experience in their management have been the minority position, the balance between the private and professional role, structural barriers and a higher demand on their work performance. The result has continued to show that all female managers have been characterized to produce male characteristics in order to blend into the male-dominated work environment. The most imitated male features have proven to be, strategic, analytical and decision makers. In summary, the female managers have agreed that the experience and representation of characteristics is influenced by personality and surroundings.

Background – This paper examined the literature on the concept of the glass ceiling in the management field, with an emphasis on Finnish and Swedish female leaders' perceptions of the barriers and facilitating factors of their career. Purpose – The purpose of this thesis was to explore the factors that affect the career development of women in the context of Nordic countries, namely in Finland and Sweden. Furthermore, this thesis tried to understand the welfare state paradox better and how the women in Finland and Sweden perceive it. Lastly, the purpose of this study was to find out if there are any differences between the perceptions of these countries due to the societal and cultural differences. Method – Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 female leaders from different companies in Finland and in Sweden. The grounded analysis was used in the qualitative analysis of the coding. Conclusion – The research resulted that there are several barriers and facilitating factors that have affected the career of female leaders. Finnish and Swedish women highlighted their own individual factors such as motivation, self-esteem and courage as the major facilitating factor, and thereof lack of them a barrier. Based on this research, women’s perception of Nordic welfare policies is that they are beneficial to career development, providing an opportunity to focus on work more. Contrary to the expectations, there were relatively few differences in perceptions between Finnish and Swedish female leaders identified in this study. However, it seems that in Sweden the responsibilities about family are shared more equally and the overall social atmosphere is more encouraging for women's career success.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:48:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Kelen Ribeiro Betim.pdf: 856724 bytes, checksum: fa2eadbed91c6989d3532993701cb90a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-02-27 / This paper aims to discuss the role of the female pastor in Evangelical Pentecostalism. The role of women as agents of leadership in the religious sphere allows for the discussion of the possibility of the religious universe as a place of significant change in relation to a narrowing of differences between the sexes today. Women s participation as leaders in the Pentecostal church as well as the autonomy of women in church leadership is interpreted as a new option for women beyond the domestic sphere. This paper intends to clarify the existence and occurrence of limitations on these establishments that are inserted into the hierarchy of female power in Pentecostal denominations, and to discuss if these limitations are being derived from the thought perspective of men or women. / O trabalho tem como objetivo discutir o nomadismo feminino no campo religioso Pentecostal, o pastorado feminino no pentecostalismo evangélico. A função das mulheres enquanto agente de liderança na esfera religiosa permite a discussão sobre a possibilidade do universo religioso como um espaço de alterações significativas no que se refere a uma diminuição das diferenças entre os gêneros da atualidade. A participação da mulher como agente de liderança das igrejas pentecostais, bem como à autonomia é interpretada como uma nova opção para as mulheres além do espaço doméstico, entretanto, pretendemos esclarecer a existência e ocorrência de estabelecimento de limitações impostas e inseridas na hierarquia de poder feminino dessas denominações religiosas, verificando se são frutos de uma estrutura hierarquizante pensada não na perspectiva do universo feminino, mas a partir do universo masculino.

The purpose of this study is to examine and contribute the understanding on how male and female employees expect and experience male and female leadership. The aim of this study is to get a better understanding on how leadership and gender is socially constructed in organizations. In order to answer the study’s purpose, the study is based on qualitive methods where semi-structured interviews were conducted with two focus groups. The aim of this method was to create a discussion between the group members which could illustrate the groups opinions on male and female leadership. The study shows that male and female employees experience different type of female leadership, but similar experience of male leadership. The study also shows that male leadership is still the ideal leadership.

<p>Att chefstalanger skulle vara speciellt kännetecknande för något av könen finns det inga bevis för. Eftersom det i dagens samhälle arbetar i stort sett lika många kvinnor som män, står kvinnan för hälften av begåvningsreserven. Det vore därför förödande för företag att inte ta till vara på denna tillgång. Statistiken gällande fördelningen av kvinnliga och manliga chefer inom näringslivet ser dyster ut, år 2006 var det endast 23 % kvinnor i chefsbefattning i den privata sektorn. På grund av denna snedfördelning kom vi fram till vårt syfte som är att förklara hur företag  går till väga för att få en mera balanserad fördelning mellan kvinnor och män på ledande befattningar. I uppsatsen har vi använt oss av en kvalitativ metod. Teorin skapades genom att söka information i form av litteratur, artiklar och utredningar. Därefter insamlades material till empiridelen genom två besöksintervjuer. Empirin ställdes sedan mot den teoretiska referensramen i en analys. Det resultat vi har kommit fram till i vår studie är att det finns fler olika tillvägagångssätt som företag använder sig av. Chefsutveckling, mentorskap och nätverk är ofta förekommande åtgärder för att få mer könsbalans på chefpositioner.</p>

Attityder gentemot kvinnors i företagsledningar har under de senaste åren haft en positiv förändring. Trots det har människan länge förutsatt att högt positionerade ledare är män. Detta tyder på att kvinnor som strävar efter toppositioner möter hinder som försvårar deras väg upp för karriärstegen. Med detta i åtanke är syftet med denna uppsats att skapa en förståelse för viktiga dimensioner som påverkar kvinnors strävan mot toppositioner. Som hermeneutiker var teorin utgångspunkten i vår forskningsansats. Efter genomförda interjuver, som berikade oss med en djupare förståelse inom ämnet, återgick vi och utvecklade teorierna. Vi önskade att värdera attityder bland de intervjuade kvinnorna och valde därför en kvalitativ vetenskaplig forskning. Vi erhöll en djupare förståelse för hur kvinnor når toppositioner, eftersom vår forskningsansats tillät oss att komma nära de studerade kvinnorna. Den empiriska informationen insamlades genom djupgående intervjuer med sex högt positionerade kvinnliga ledare. De utvalda respondenterna är i alfabetisk ordning: Amelia Adamo, Eivor Andersson, Gunilla Forsmark-Karlsson, Lena Herrmann, Anitra Steen, and Meg Tivéus. De främsta teoretiska områdena, bidragande till att kvinnor når toppositioner är; självmedvetenhet, motivation, mentorskap, nätverk samt att ha en balans i livet. Hinder kvinnor möter längs vägen måste också övervägas för att få en helhetsförståelse för fenomenet; hur kvinnor når toppositioner. Den empiriska studien, framtagen via djupgående intervjuer med högt positionerade kvinnliga ledare, analyserades med hjälp av existerande teorier. Det är inte en enkel uppgift att förstå faktorerna bakom underrepresentationen av högt positionerade kvinnor i företagsledningarna. Vårt samhälle idag är väl utvecklat och gör det därför svårt att förstå svårigheterna för kvinnor att nå toppositioner. För att skapa en förståelse måste vi kanske se bort från detaljerna och hindren och istället fokusera på kvinnorna som faktiskt har tagit sig den långa vägen till toppen. Detta leder oss till frågan; kvinna, hur kom du så här långt? Resultaten gjorde det möjligt att dra slutsatsen att de största hindren, när kvinnor strävar mot toppositioner, är interna faktorer inom kvinnorna själva. Kvinnorna måste våga tro på sig själva och utnyttja sina kunskaper och erfarenheter. Trots detta är kvinnorna inte isolerade individer. På grund av detta är inte personliga egenskaper tillräckligt för att förklara fenomenet om kvinnors strävan mot toppositioner. Det sker även en stor inverkan på de potentiella kvinnorna genom exempelvis nätverk samt mentorer. / Social attitudes towards women’s role in management have during the last decades had a positive change. However, people have for long assumed that a top executive is a man. This indicates that women striving for top positions often come across barriers that are blocking their attempts to climb the career ladder. With this in mind, the purpose of the thesis was to provide an understanding of important dimensions for women who strive for top positions. As hermeneutic researcher, we used theory as a starting point. After the interviews, which enabled us to get deeper into the subject, we were able to move back to the theory again. We wanted to rate attitudes, beliefs and motivations among the interviewed women, and therefore a qualitative research choice was made. We were then able to get a deeper understanding of how women reach top positions, since the method permits us to come close to the research subject. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with six top positioned female leaders. The respondents selected for this study were, in alphabetical order: Amelia Adamo, Eivor Andersson, Gunilla Forsmark-Karlsson, Lena Herrmann, Anitra Steen, and Meg Tivéus. The major theoretical areas, which are touched upon, are factors contributing to women’s strive for top positions within organizations. Important topics are self-confidence, motivation, mentoring, networking, and balance in life. Barriers must also be considered as obstacles coming across women’s way to top positions. The empirical data, received through the in-dept interviews with top positioned women, was analyzed with assistance of the theories. It is not a simple task to understand the underrepresented part of women on top positions in the business life. The society today is very well developed and it is hard to realize the difficulties for women to get to the top. To understand we might have to look away from the details and barriers and start looking at the how women who actually are in the top made it so far. This guides us to the question; woman, how did you come this far? The findings enabled us to conclude that the major barriers, when striving for top positions, are internal factors within the women themselves and if they want to become top executives. However, the women are not isolated individuals. Therefore, not only the personal characteristics are enough when striving for top positions. There are still huge influences from people around the potential women, like networks and mentors.

Past research reveals that fewer women than men possess top management positions and statistics imply that in Sweden only 24 percent of all board members are women (European Commission, 2008). Gender differences are even more obvious in the private sector and this is the reality facing today’s graduates, regardless of the fact that the number of female and males taking a business degree in Sweden is approximately the same (SCB, 2006). The purpose of this study is to examine if networking can influence women’s career development. Networking and social capital is argued to be a vital tool for career development (Yukl, 2006), and former studies present information that men and women take advantage of their networks rather differently (Burke, Rothstein and Bristor, 1995). However, as the researchers approached the subject, supplementary factors for advancing up the corporate ladder were identified. Theories regarding female leadership, female career progression and the glass ceiling are therefore taken into consideration as vital factors for career development. In order to carry out this study a qualitative approach was chosen, and five business women were interviewed, all considered proficient of the subject. The main conclusion derived from the interviews demonstrates that formal networks were less important than informal networks in order to overcome career obstacles and advance professionally. The networks that were considered most beneficial for the interviewees were the ones that evolved naturally and were reciprocal. Moreover, pure female networks were not considered as valuable as mixed networks since men more often possess access to important information than women. Having a mentor was considered vital at top positions since it provides support and further enhances information sharing. However, the results led to conclude that an additional key success factor for female career development was connected to leadership style; and having a transformational leadership style with transactional characteristics was concluded as most beneficial. Furthermore, the interviewees highlighted the importance of possessing the right personal traits and also to share the responsibilities for home and family life with one’s partner. This study is assumed to be interesting for women in their career with ambitions to reach the top of the corporate ladder. It is also assumed to be interesting for network organisations to use as a benchmark tool.