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This qualitative study explores the interrelationship between perceived gender discrimination and its antecedents and consequences while examining the concept of the glass ceiling that presents some barriers to the career advancement of Bahraini female workers in the banking sector. The study examines female bankers’ perception of the existence of both gender discrimination and the glass ceiling concept in this sector. It first examines the factors that cause such phenomena at three different levels namely societal, institutional and individual. The study then verifies the effects of some identified antecedents i.e. whether they foster or lower the perceived gender discrimination and how such effects happen. Furthermore, the study examines the same factors to ascertain if they are barriers that hinder women’s career advancement or enablers that support their advancement as there is a lack of empirical studies on the effect of the factors of the three mentioned levels to women’s career advancement especially in non-western context (Tlaiss, 2010; Hejase et al., 2013; Yokkongdi & Benson, 2005). The study also examines the consequences of perceived gender discrimination that occurs at the individual level. Some previous studies related to this research topic adopted the quantitative approach, hence; this is a qualitative based research that examines the perception of the respondents whose experiences and opinions expound the context. This led to understanding subjective areas such as respondents’ emotions and experiences that address the nature of perceived gender discrimination and the concept of glass ceiling in the Bahraini banking sector, focusing on “How” and “Why” type of questions instead of stressing on the quantities. The existing literature of gender discrimination especially about the area of underrepresentation of female workers in higher positions especially in financial services sector including banking is minimal. (Bruckmuller & Branscombe, 2010; Elumti et al., 2009; Durbin & Conley, 2010). This approach unveils the research questions by conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews with 26 Bahraini females as most of the previous studies examined both male and female perceptions while this research focusing at female only to make it more gender specific. The respondents hold managerial and non-managerial positions in both Islamic and conventional banks in the kingdom of Bahrain. The aim of the interview was to extract their perceptions on the factors and the consequences of gender discrimination as well as the barriers and challenges that hinder their advancement to higher managerial levels. The study captures the factors and the consequences of gender discrimination as well as the most common barriers that impede the Bahraini females’ career advancement within an Islamic and Arabic cultural context. The themes that emerged from the analysis are used to discuss the research issues in the light of previous research findings from different empirical studies. This study identifies different ways of finding factors of perceived gender discrimination and their effects as well as the challenges that may hinder the women’s career advancement in this sector. This study discovers that perceived gender discrimination exists in the Bahraini banking sector especially in areas such as hiring preference and receiving of benefits and compensations. This study also unearths the existence of glass ceiling, which is related to the gender inequality in the advancement opportunities to higher positions especially in the areas such as obtaining a promotion and holding managerial positions in the banks. The study finds out various factors that cause the perceived gender discrimination and the glass ceiling in the Bahraini banking sector which are classified at three levels as explained above.

Bakgrund Revisionsbranschen är en mansdominerad bransch där det råder en vertikal könssegregering, kvinnor rekryteras in i revisionsbranschen men har svårt att nå ledarpositioner och andra högre befattningar. Balans senaste jämställdhetsundersökning visar att 78,9 % av alla partners i de sju största revisionsbyråerna i Sverige är män. Kvinnlig framgång vad gäller maktfulla och inflytelserika positioner i organisationer är absolut nödvändigt för att uppnå jämställdhet och lika möjligheter för kvinnor som män. Frågan som ställs är om det finns skillnader i utförandet av revisionsarbete mellan kvinnor och män och om det är det som förklarar den rådande könssegregeringen i revisionsbranschen. Syfte Syftet med denna studie är att utforska och jämföra kvinnliga respektive manliga revisorers revisionsarbete samt utforska huruvida deras karriäravancemang påverkas till störst del av deras individuella revisionsarbete eller av deras kön. Metod Studien delas upp i två delstudier, en litteraturstudie och en intervjustudie. I litteraturstudien samlas tidigare forskning in och bearbetas. I intervjustudien används en kvalitativ metod och datainsamling sker genom intervjuer. Slutsats Vårt resultat visar att det inte finns några skillnader mellan hur kvinnor och män utför en revision. Trots detta missgynnas kvinnor i revisionsbranschen och når inte lika höga positioner som män. Resultatet indikerar att det främst beror på att kvinnor blir mammor och tar mer ansvar för familjen vilket gör att de har svårare att leva upp till den övertidsnorm som finns i revisionsbranschen. Resultatet visar även att starka könsnormer fortfarande råder inom branschen, ett tecken på det är att kvinnliga revisorer bemöts sämre och ifrågasätts mer än manliga revisorer av klienter. / Background The audit industry is a male dominated industry where a vertical gender segregation exists, women are recruited into the audit industry but have difficulties in achieving leadership positions and other senior positions. Balans latest equality survey shows that 78,9 % of all partners in the seven biggest audit firms in Sweden are men. Female success regarding powerful and influential positions in organisations are absolutely necessary to achieve equality and the same possibilities for women as for men. The question being asked is if there are any differences in audit practice performance between women and men and if that can explain the current gender segregation in the audit industry. Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore and compare female respectively male auditors audit practice performance and explore whether their career advancement is mostly affected by their individual audit practice performance or their gender. Method The study is divided into two substudies, a litterature study and an interview study. In the litterature study previous research is collected and processed. In the interview study a qualitative method is used and the data collection is made through interviews. Conclusion The result shows that there are no differences in how female and male auditors perform an audit. Despite this women are disadvantaged in the audit industry and do not reach as high positions as men. The result indicates that this problem mainly exists because of the fact that women become mothers and take more responsibility of the family which makes it harder to live up to the audit industry’s overtime norm. The result also shows that strong gender norms still exist in the industry, a proof of that is that female auditors are still more mistreated and questioned than male auditors by their clients.

Background/problem: Historically, the audit and finance industry have been dominated by men but today the majority of the co-workers are women. Despite this progress, women in both industries are still underrepresented in top positions and are still facing problems in their career advancement. Purpose: The aim of the study is to describe and explain similarities and differences between women’s experienced career opportunities in the audit and finance industry. Method: 12 hypotheses have been derived from previous studies and theories. The hypotheses were tested using telephone surveys with 79 women from the audit industry and 81 women from the finance industry. Conclusion: Women in the accounting profession experience that they have better career opportunities than women in the finance industry. The main factors that influence women in the audit industry are age, family, health, previous working experience and promotion. Where as in the finance industry age, previous working experience and ambition are the primary factors that influence women’s career opportunities. / Bakgrund/problem: Revisions- och finansbranschen har historiskt sett varit mansdominerade branscher men är idag yrken där en övervägande del är kvinnor. Trots utvecklingen är kvinnor inom båda branscherna underrepresenterade på toppositioner och många kvinnor möter hinder för att göra karriär. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att beskriva och förklara likheter och skillnader mellan kvinnors upplevda karriärmöjligheter i revisions- och finansbranschen. Metod: 12 hypoteser har härletts utifrån tidigare studier och forskning. Hypoteserna har testats genom telefonenkäter med hjälp av 79 kvinnor från revisionsbranschen och 81 kvinnor från finansbranschen. Slutsats: Kvinnor i revisionsbranschen upplever att de har något bättre karriärmöjligheter än kvinnor i finansbranschen. De främsta faktorerna som påverkar kvinnors karriärmöjligheter i revisionsbranschen är ålder, familj, hälsa, arbetslivserfarenhet och befordran. I finansbranschen är ålder,arbetslivserfarenhet och ambitionsnivå de primära faktorerna för finanskvinnors karriärmöjligheter.

Persons with disabilities face several barriers in their everyday lives and are often unable to participate fully in society or to reach their full potential. They often have little or no exposure to formal schooling or education, which means that they can only be employed at entry-level positions in organisations. When employed, they are often not nominated to attend any training interventions because of the logistical arrangements that need to be made to accommodate them. The central problem investigated in this research study was whether persons with disabilities were equally exposed to training interventions and opportunities in the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) and the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (CIPRO) as persons without disabilities. In other words, were they equally advanced in terms of skills development as envisaged by the JobAccess Strategy (the Strategic framework on the recruitment, employment and retention of persons with disabilities in the public service) and does this empowerment help redress past discriminatory practices? If not, what can the dti and CIPRO do to change this situation (2008:2) The JobAccess Strategy was approved by the South African Cabinet in November 2008. This strategy wanted to create a public service that can not only accommodate persons with disabilities as employees, but also advance them in terms of skills development. This study therefore aimed to determine whether persons with disabilities were equally exposed to training interventions in the dti and CIPRO as persons without disabilities; and whether persons with disabilities were equally advanced in terms of skills development as envisaged by the JobAccess Strategic Framework. Furthermore, the researcher aimed to determine to what extent the dti and CIPRO develop employed persons with disabilities in order to address their disadvantaged position by virtue of the discrimination they suffered in the past and, finally, the researcher made some recommendations to the management of the dti and CIPRO regarding the empowerment of persons with disabilities through training and development opportunities. In an effort to study this topic and accomplish the aims of the research project, a comprehensive literature review of recent and relevant literature sources available on the researched topic was conducted. The literature review included reference sources and the relevant legislation, as well as relevant information identified by means of electronic search engines. Special attention was given to defining important terms, such as disability, education, training and development, as well as to understanding the concept of disability by looking at different types and causes of disability. The researcher then gathered specific data on the dti and CIPRO from the following source documents: annual reports, work place skills plans, and annual training reports; and from individual interviews with the identified participants. Qualitative data were collected through individual interviews with staff members with disabilities and observations recorded by the researcher during the interviews. This was done in an attempt to gather first-hand data in a confidential, safe environment where interviewees could be honest and at ease. Broadly considered, the findings of the study were that the participants with disabilities employed in the two entities studied, were mainly exposed to repetitive, low-level training that would lead to little or no career advancement. A comparison of the percentage of trained employees with disabilities with their trained colleagues without disabilities also showed an unequal distribution. Based on the research findings, various recommendations were made with a view to improve the training opportunities of employees with disabilities in the dti and CIPRO. These recommendations included changes to the relevant policies and practices to ensure equal employment practices and developmental opportunities for all employees. / MEd (Training and Development), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

Persons with disabilities face several barriers in their everyday lives and are often unable to participate fully in society or to reach their full potential. They often have little or no exposure to formal schooling or education, which means that they can only be employed at entry-level positions in organisations. When employed, they are often not nominated to attend any training interventions because of the logistical arrangements that need to be made to accommodate them. The central problem investigated in this research study was whether persons with disabilities were equally exposed to training interventions and opportunities in the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) and the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (CIPRO) as persons without disabilities. In other words, were they equally advanced in terms of skills development as envisaged by the JobAccess Strategy (the Strategic framework on the recruitment, employment and retention of persons with disabilities in the public service) and does this empowerment help redress past discriminatory practices? If not, what can the dti and CIPRO do to change this situation (2008:2) The JobAccess Strategy was approved by the South African Cabinet in November 2008. This strategy wanted to create a public service that can not only accommodate persons with disabilities as employees, but also advance them in terms of skills development. This study therefore aimed to determine whether persons with disabilities were equally exposed to training interventions in the dti and CIPRO as persons without disabilities; and whether persons with disabilities were equally advanced in terms of skills development as envisaged by the JobAccess Strategic Framework. Furthermore, the researcher aimed to determine to what extent the dti and CIPRO develop employed persons with disabilities in order to address their disadvantaged position by virtue of the discrimination they suffered in the past and, finally, the researcher made some recommendations to the management of the dti and CIPRO regarding the empowerment of persons with disabilities through training and development opportunities. In an effort to study this topic and accomplish the aims of the research project, a comprehensive literature review of recent and relevant literature sources available on the researched topic was conducted. The literature review included reference sources and the relevant legislation, as well as relevant information identified by means of electronic search engines. Special attention was given to defining important terms, such as disability, education, training and development, as well as to understanding the concept of disability by looking at different types and causes of disability. The researcher then gathered specific data on the dti and CIPRO from the following source documents: annual reports, work place skills plans, and annual training reports; and from individual interviews with the identified participants. Qualitative data were collected through individual interviews with staff members with disabilities and observations recorded by the researcher during the interviews. This was done in an attempt to gather first-hand data in a confidential, safe environment where interviewees could be honest and at ease. Broadly considered, the findings of the study were that the participants with disabilities employed in the two entities studied, were mainly exposed to repetitive, low-level training that would lead to little or no career advancement. A comparison of the percentage of trained employees with disabilities with their trained colleagues without disabilities also showed an unequal distribution. Based on the research findings, various recommendations were made with a view to improve the training opportunities of employees with disabilities in the dti and CIPRO. These recommendations included changes to the relevant policies and practices to ensure equal employment practices and developmental opportunities for all employees. / MEd (Training and Development), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

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According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 125,485 Black women earned a bachelor’s degree in 2019 in comparison to 70,909 in 1999. As the number of Black women on college campuses have increased, the number of Black women in senior leadership roles have remained stagnant. It is important for higher education institutions to find ways to increase the number of Black women in senior leadership roles because diverse staff and faculty not only increases students’ success but the institutions’ success. One of the ways in which colleges and universities can support the career advancement of Black women is to support mentorship for Black women. The purpose of this basic qualitative study guided by Black feminist thought was to examine effective methods of mentoring that facilitate the career advancement of Black women who aspire to senior leadership roles in colleges and universities. Through semi-structured interviews, five Black women senior leaders who work in public or private colleges and universities throughout the United States shared their lived experiences with mentorship, effective methods of mentoring, and what resources they felt higher education institutions could provide to help facilitate the career advancement of Black women. The five findings identified in this study were: institutional support, types of mentors, infusion of Black Girl Magic, the mentoring experience and the development of mentoring relationships. These findings provide institutions of higher education with ways to support Black women through mentorship programs designed specifically for Black women and ways to intentionally recruit and hire more Black women. This study will contribute to current scholarship by identifying key mentoring strategies colleges and universities can implement to support aspiring Black women leaders in higher education.

The purpose of this descriptive study was to uncover the reasons why qualified African American administrators in California were not pursuing or ascending to a superintendency. Four questions served as the basis for the research. Using the Superintendent-Level Administrator Review Instrument (SLARI), a three-part questionnaire developed by the researcher, data were gathered from African American superintendent-level administrators in California who held the title of deputy superintendent, associate superintendent, assistant superintendent or executive director. Part I of the questionnaire asked demographic information of each respondent. Part II asked for the respondent's level of interest in the superintendency. Part III asked the respondent to use a Likert scale to indicate how 46 items had impacted his/her decision regarding a superintendency. Qualitative data was also collected by using 17 semistructured interview questions. The SLARI data were analyzed to determine the level of influence of each item. Interview transcripts were analyzed using content analysis and generalized as findings. The findings indicate there are at least 20 variables which have contributed to why more African American superintendent-level administrators are not pursuing or ascending to a superintendency. Some of the variables included lack of mentoring and networking, lack of community support, gender bias towards African American females, racism, lack of bilingual skills, perception of being incompetent, lack of trust, negative media pressure, low salary, headhunters' unfamiliarity with superintendent-level administrators, general lack of experience, negative impact of politics, lack of business skills, poor writing skills, lack of family support, and lack of self-confidence. The findings also indicate that negative actions of boards of education have significantly contributed to the respondents' decision to not pursue a superintendency. Respondents offered several skills, knowledge and strategies they needed to assist them in obtaining a superintendency. The researcher also identified four processes which will help increase the number of African American superintendents including strategic recruitment efforts, ongoing professional development opportunities in school business management and finance, mentoring and networking. Finally, eight recommendations are offered to help increase the number of African American superintendents in California.

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.