Boundaries in the growth of women entrepreneurship, in general, are for example family responsibility, gender discrimination, missing networks and the lack of interaction with other successful entrepreneurs. This is especially critical in developing countries where the women have to face additionally barriers. The existence of supportive organizations is crucial in creating opportunities for female entrepreneurship. One example of a female entrepreneurial network that supports women doing business is GSWIM (Grooming a Successful Woman with an Intellectual Mind), operating in Kampala, Uganda. This thesis will study the knowledge sharing behaviour within the organization. The main data collection has been retrieved through interviews held with five business women, members of GSWIM. A developed version of the MOA framework (Motivation, Opportunity, Ability) have been used to analyse the collected data. It is shown that there are a lot of things in GSWIM that facilitate the knowledge sharing behaviour. GSWIM motivate, inspire and are proficient in communicating the value of sharing knowledge. However, there are some crucial aspects for improvements related to increased ability, belongingness of members and decentralization. The long-term orientation is along with team cohesiveness, probably two of the network’s major assets. By providing a network for women, and a platform for knowledge sharing, GSWIM has reduced some barriers to entrepreneurship in Uganda.

<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.