The purpose of this study is to fill the gap identified in how women perceive their opportunities to advance in their careers as auditors in San José, Costa Rica. This study also seeks to get answers to what it is like to work as a woman in a male-dominated industry in the chosen country. Design/methodology/approach: This essay has been carried out using an abductive research approach. Three research questions have thereby been answered with the support of 11 semi- structured interviews with women in roles as auditors at various independent audit firms in San José, Costa Rica. 10 of the interviews were held at the respondent’s respective office and one of the interviews were held digitally. Findings: The study has resulted in women working as auditors in San José, Costa Rica, experiencing discrimination in the workplace. Various factors that underlie discrimination have been identified and these factors include culture and how the men see themselves in their professional role. A factor that has also been shown to have a large and almost decisive influence on the degree of discrimination and the opportunities for women to climb in their careers is the size of the audit firm. The bigger the audit firm, the more discrimination the women experience and the worse opportunities to climb in their career. Research implications: The leading implications are that women's opportunities to advance in their careers and be able to feel secure in their work as auditors in San José, Costa Rica, must be given further attention and be investigated further. This is because the situation that exists today is not sustainable and in order to develop the industry and to even out the skewness that exists between the genders in the country, this problem must be taken care of. This study can contribute as a basis for future research in the field to further investigate the factors that are causal factors for the reality for women in the industry that the study identified. Originality/value: This essay studies the topic of women's opportunities in the audit industry in Costa Rica, which has not been previously explored. Through unfiltered collected data from first-hand sources, the results generated are of high value and could be a good basis for future research within the area.

Jämställdhet är ett omdiskuterat och aktuellt ämne som påverkar flera verksamheters utfall. Den svenska revisionsbranschen genomgår en successiv förändring och flera kvinnliga revisorer börjar klättra i organisationshierarkin vilket minskar den manliga dominansen. Idag rekryteras nästintill lika många kvinnliga som manliga revisorer och könsfördelningen bland revisionsassistenter är jämn. Ledningspositionerna i organisationshierarkin är däremot mansdominerade vilket har skapat en vertikal könssegregering i revisionsbranschen. Syftet med studien är att förklara vilka aspekter som påverkar kvinnors och mäns karriärmöjligheter i den svenska revisionsbransch utifrån social role theory. Följande frågeställningar har därmed framställts:  i Vad påverkar könsfördelningen på de högre uppsatta positionerna?  ii Hur upplever kvinnliga och manliga revisorer sina förutsättningar för karriärutveckling?  Den teoretiska referensramen presenterar revisionsbranschens organisationsstruktur och vilka faktorer som påverkar revisorernas karriärmöjligheter. Studien utgår ifrån SRT för att förstå kvinnor och mäns olika könsroller i samhället. Studien undersöktes genom en kvalitativ ansats i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer. 14 respondenter intervjuades, sju kvinnliga och sju manliga revisorer för att erhålla en bredare förståelse utifrån båda könsperspektiven.  Studiens slutsats förklarar att det fortfarande förekommer negativa normer och beteenden i revisionsbranschen dock inte i samma utsträckning som förr. Förutsättningarna för att lyckas karriärmässigt är densamma för revisorerna, oavsett kön. Däremot är män och kvinnors livsprioriteringar olika vilket förklarar den vertikala könssegregeringen i revisionsbranschen. Kvinnor tenderar att prioritera familjeansvaret i större omfattning vilket resulterar i att män kan avancera mer effektivt på arbetsplatsen. / Gender equality is a discussed and topical topic that affects the outcome of several businesses. The Swedish auditing industry is undergoing a gradual change and several female auditors are starting to climb the organizational hierarchy, which reduces male dominance. Today, almost as many female as male auditors are recruited and the gender distribution among audit assistants is even. The management positions in the organizational hierarchy, on the other hand, are male dominated, which has generated a vertical gender segregation in the auditing industry. The purpose of the study is to explain which aspects affect women’s and men’s career opportunities in the Swedish auditing industry based on social role theory. The following research questions has been formulated:  i What affects the gender distribution in the higher positions?  ii How do female and male auditors experience their opportunities for career development?  The theoretical reference framework presents the organizational structure of the auditing industry as well as the factors that influence auditors’ career opportunities. The study is based on social role theory and serves as a foundational explanation for women’s and men’s various gender roles. This was investigated through a qualitative approach in the form of semi-structured interviews. 14 respondents, seven female and seven male auditors have been interviewed to obtain a broader understanding from both gender perspectives.  The study’s conclusion indicates that negative norms and behaviors still exist in the auditing industry, however, the norms have changed and no longer have the same effect on auditors’ career opportunities as before. The conditions for the auditors to develop career-wise are the same regardless of gender. On the other hand, men’s and women’s life priorities are different, which explains the vertical gender segregation in the auditing industry. Women tend to prioritize family responsibilities to a greater extent, which results in men being able to advance more efficiently in the industry.

There is a revolutionary change in the world of work that impacts on the individual, work and society. The future of work suggests flexibility, boundary less communities and change in work, as we know it today. As the world of work changes from a worker intensive industrial society towards an automated information society, the retention of technological advantages e.g., human, intellect and knowledge capital is no longer assured. Employers struggle to retain their valuable high technology employees due to a general shortage of experienced candidates and aggressive recruitment tactics by others in the high technology arena. The purpose of this study is to investigate specific retention factors that induce organisational commitment and can thus increase the retention of high technology employees. High technology industries operate in volatile market and experience accelerating growth and rates of change. High technology employees are educated, have a strong preference for independence and hold a large portion of the organisation's intellectual capital. A core belief in human resources is to retain and develop employees to obtain a competitive advantage. In order to retain these valuable employees it has become necessary for organisations to transform from using an employee controlling to a more employee commitment driven strategy. To gain employees' commitment to the organisation and increase retention, the employer needs to identify which retention factors induce organisational commitment. Compensation, job characteristics, training and development opportunities, supervisor support, career opportunities and work/life policies were identified as the top six retention factors in the content analysis done on high technology literature. Organisational commitment has been defined as a mindset, which ties the individual to the organisation. Different forms and foci of organisational commitment are discussed with the approach developed by Meyer and Allen's three component model (1991). The consequences of organisational commitment benefit the organisation in terms of increased job performance, intention to stay, increase in attendance, loyalty, decrease in turnover, greater creativity, more co-operation (particularly across discipline specialities), more volunteerism and more time devoted to productive work on behalf of the organisation. This study focused on a 100% South African owned telecommunications company based in the Gauteng province. A questionnaire was developed and a population of 94 telecommunications professionals, technicians and associated professionals were selected to investigate the influence of various identified retention factors on organisational commitment. The statistical analysis of the data culminated in a regression analysis that measured the significance and the strength of the relationship between the identified retention factors and organisational commitment. The main conclusions were that compensation, job characteristics, supervisor support and work/life policies were significantly related to organisational commitment. On the other hand, in this study training, development and career opportunities were not related. High technology organisations are not just interested in the retention of employees but also creating a mutually beneficial interdependence with employees. The identified retention factors might serve as a means to demonstrate the organisation's support for, or commitment to, their employees and in turn cultivate a reciprocal attachment by employees. Employees' organisational commitment is related to their belief that the identified retention factors are motivated by the desire to retain good employees and to be fair in the treatment of employees. Future research needs are discussed. / Dissertation (MCom (Human Resources Management))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

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.

Darbo tikslas: įvertinti burnos higienos specialybės studentų požiūrį į karjeros galimybes. Tyrimo metodika: vienmomentinė anketinė apklausa buvo vykdoma Lietuvos sveikatos mokslų universitete, Kauno kolegijoje, Utenos kolegijoje, Šiaulių valstybinėje kolegijoje, Panevėžio kolegijoje 2012 m. vasario – rugsėjo mėn. Buvo apklausti visi paskutinių kursų burnos higienos studijų studentai, studijuojantys Lietuvos sveikatos mokslų universitete, Kauno kolegijoje, Panevėžio kolegijoje, Šiaulių valstybinėje kolegijoje, Utenos kolegijoje. Išdalintos 205 anketos. Statistinėje analizėje buvo naudotos 144 teisingai užpildytos anketos (atsako dažnis 70,2 proc.). Duomenys analizuoti programa SPSS, 20 versija. Rezultatai: Burnos higienos specialybės studentams (70,9 proc.) karjera yra svarbi jų gyvenime. Daugiau nei trečdalis (35,2 proc.) studentų burnos higienisto darbo jau ieškojo ir daugiau nei pusė (59,3 proc.) jo nerado. Nustatyta, jog daugiau nei penktadalis (21,7 proc.) studentų ketina išvykti dirbti burnos higienisto darbą į užsienio šalis ir daugiau nei pusė (53,1 proc.) dar svarsto tokią galimybę. Paaiškėjo, kad daugiau nei ketvirtadalis (26,8 proc.) studentų nesitiki įsidarbinti Lietuvoje pagal įgytą specialybę. Daugiau nei pusė dalyvavusių studentų burnos higienos studijomis yra patenkinti, o daugiau nei trečdalis studentų nepatenkinti. Didžioji dauguma (98,9 proc.) skundėsi praktinių užsiėmimų stoka. Daugiau nei pusė universiteto studentų (66,7 proc.) studijuoja šioje... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Aim of research: to assess the attitude of oral hygiene students toward career opportunities. Research methods: The cross-sectional survey was conducted at Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas University of Applied Sciences, Utena University of Applied Sciences, Šiauliai State College and Panevėžys College from February to September, 2012. All final-year oral hygiene students of the aforementioned institutions were surveyed. 205 questionnaires were distributed. The statistical analysis encompassed 144 properly filled questionnaires (response rate 70.2%). The data was analyzed with SPSS Software, version 20. Results: the majority of oral hygiene students emphasized importance of career in their lives (70.9%). More than one-third of students (35.2%) had already been looking for an oral hygiene specialist job and more than half of respondents (59.3%) had not found it. It was revealed that more than one-fifth of students (21.7%) had been planning to work as oral hygiene specialists abroad and more than half of them (53.1%) had been considering the aforementioned opportunity. It emerged that more than one-fourth of respondents (26.8%) had no employment expectations regarding their acquired profession in Lithuania. More than half of students were satisfied with oral hygiene studies, whereas more than one-third of them felt disatisfied. The vast majority of respondents (98.9%) complained about a lack of practice activities. More than half of students (66.7%) study oral... [to full text]

Career is something that today no only appears when an employee moves from one organization to another but can also appear within an organization. This can allow the employee to develop without changing workplace and the organization can maintain the qualification in the organization and reduce the turnover. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate how employees perceive that the possibility of internal careers influences and motivates them in the election to stay within their current organization. The study is conducted in a public administration, at the municipal level. 20 respondents have participated through qualitative mail interviews. The result of the study showed that all respondents would consider leaving their current employer if they did not get the opportunity to an internal career. It was also found that other factors affected and motivated the employees to stay within the current organization, while the factor salary was what respondents generally thought was least important for the choice to stay or leave their current organization. This demonstrates that it is important for employers in the public sector, to be aware of and ensure what is required to not lose their employees and the qualification they possess. For future research, it would be interesting to study if this is a "small town phenomenon" or if the result would be the same in a larger city. The survey has been conducted in a municipality with a population of approximately 40,000. / Karriär är idag något som inte bara sker genom att en medarbetare går från en organisation till en annan utan kan även ske inom en organisation. Detta kan göra att medarbetaren får möjlighet att utvecklas utan att byta arbetsplats och organisationen kan behålla sin kompetens i företaget och minska personalomsättningen. Därför är avsikten med denna studie att undersöka hur anställda upplever att möjligheten till intern karriär påverkar och motiverar dem i valet att stanna inom sin nuvarande organisation. Studien är genomförd i en offentlig förvaltning, på kommunnivå. 20 respondenter har deltagit genom en kvalitativ mailintervju. Resultatet av studien visade att samtliga respondenter skulle överväga att lämna sin nuvarande arbetsgivare om de inte fick möjligheten till intern karriär. Det visade sig även att andra faktorer påverkade och motiverade de anställda att stanna inom den nuvarande organisationen, medan faktorn lön var det som majoriteten av respondenterna ansåg var minst viktigt för valet att stanna eller lämna sin nuvarande organisation. Studiens resultat visar att det ät viktigt för arbetsgivare inom offentlig förvaltning att vara medvetna om och se till vad som krävs för att inte förlora sina anställda och den kompetens de besitter. För framtida forskning skulle det vara intressant att undersöka om detta är ett “småstadsfenomen” eller om resultatet skulle bli detsamma i en större stad och kommun, då studien är genomförd i en kommun med cirka 40 000 invånare.

Denna studie riktar ljus mot militära kvinnors karriärupplevelser. Således ämnar studien tillatt synliggöra faktorer som möjliggör och hindrar militära kvinnor i karriärutvecklingen inomFörsvarsmakten. Den metodologiska utgångspunkten är en kvalitativ ansats bestående avsamtalsintervjuer, kompletterat med en sekundäranalys. Den teoretiska referensramenutnyttjas som förklaringsverktyg för forskningens olika problemområden. Teorierna är,Yvonne Hirdmans teori om genuskontraktet, Rosabeth Moss Kanters organisationsmodell ochJoan Ackers organisationsteori. Studien mynnar ut i åtta faktorer som önskar att öka förståelseför vad som påverkar militära kvinnors karriärer inom Försvarsmakten. De identifieradekarriärmöjligheterna är således val av utbildning, chans till utveckling och utmaning. De femkarriärhindren är organisationskultur, kontrakt, brist på flexibilitet, chans till utveckling ochutmaning. / This study sheds light on military women's career experiences. The study aims to highlightfactors that enables and creates barriers for military women in the Swedish Armed Forces.The methodological approach is based on a qualitative method with interviews, along with asecondary analysis. The theoretical frame is used to seek an explanation for the research area.The theories are, Yvonne Hirdman’s theory of the gender contract, Rosabeth Moss Kanter’sorganizational model and Joan Acker’s organizational theory. The study formulates eightfactors that affects military women’s careers within the Swedish Armed Forces with the wishto increase an understanding. The identified career opportunities are therefore option ofeducation, chance for development and the last is challenge. Furthermore, five career barrierswas also identified, organizational culture, contract, lack of flexibility, chance fordevelopment and challenge.

Sverige har en historiskt stark tradition av att arbeta för ökad jämställdhet i arbetslivet och landet lyfts ofta fram som ett exempel där jämställdhetsarbetet kommit långt. Arbetskraftsdeltagandet mellan män och kvinnor är jämnt men arbetsmarknaden är fortfarande könssegregerad och det finns en ojämn fördelning mellan könen bland högre positioner där män är i tydlig majoritet. Både könssegregeringen och den ojämna könsfördelningen är tydlig i tillverknings- och utvinningsindustrin. En ojämn kvantitativ könsfördelning kan få en inverkan på värden som kan beskrivas som mer kvalitativa i form av exempelvis begränsade utvecklingsmöjligheter och ett ifrågasättande av den egna kompetensen hos gruppen som befinner sig i minoritet vilket kan bidra till att återskapa och stärka könssegregeringen inom industrin. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur män och kvinnor som arbetar inom den svenska tillverkningsindustrin kan uppleva karriärmöjligheter i mansdominerade tillverkningsorganisationer. Studien har genomförts utifrån en fallstudiemetodik med utgångspunkt från ett tillverkningsföretags producerande enhet där intervjuer med manliga och kvinnliga medarbetare och chefer liksom observationer utgör den empiriska grunden i studien. Studiens resultat visar att kvinnors minoritetsposition liksom organisationskulturen får en begränsande inverkan på kvinnors upplevelse av karriärmöjligheter i tillverkningsorganisationen. Begränsningarna tar sig dels i uttryck i att kvinnor anses ha jämförelsevis sämre utvecklingsmöjligheter överlag men även genom en begräsning i upplevelsen av möjliga karriärvägar. Vidare visar fallföretaget tecken på en manlig könsmärkning av både teknik och ledarskap vilket resulterar i att män i större utsträckning upplever jämförelsevis bättre karriärmöjligheter i de tydliga karriärvägarna specialistkarriären och chefskarriären samtidigt som kvinnor i större utsträckning begränsar sina karriärsambitioner. Studien identifierade även variationer mellan fallföretagets delorganisationer där skillnaderna i upplevelser av karriärmöjligheter mellan män och kvinnor är något mindre bland de anställda i delorganisationen med en jämförelsevis jämnare könsfördelning och lägre teknikgrad vilket ytterligare belyser minoritetspositionens och könsmärkningens inverkan på de upplevda karriärmöjligheterna. / Sweden has a strong tradition of striving towards improving gender equality in the labor market and the country is often highlighted as a good example of progress in the area. The labor force participation is equal between men and women. However, there is still gender segregation in the labor market where an uneven gender distribution is present amongst the leading positions where men are highly overrepresented. The gender segregation and the uneven gender distribution are evident in the manufacturing and extractive industries. An uneven quantitative gender distribution can have a negative impact on more qualitative values for the group inminority in terms of limited development opportunities and perceived competence. Moreover, the negative impact might contribute to recreating and increasing gender segregation within the industry. The purpose of the study is to examine how men and women in the Swedish manufacturing industry perceive their career opportunities in male-dominated organizations. The study has been conducted with a case study methodology at a producing department of a manufacturing company. Interviews with male and female employees and managers as well as observations constitutes the empirical basis of the study. The result implies that the minority position of women as well as the organizational culture have a limiting impact on women’s perceived career opportunities in the manufacturing organization.The limitations are mainly expressed as a general perception of women having inferior development opportunities but also in terms of women having fewer possible career paths. Furthermore, the result indicates that the case company has a gendered view on both technical skills and leadership as masculine. Consequently, men are to a higher extent experiencing superior career opportunities within the most established career paths as specialists and managers while women tend to limit their career ambitions. The study also identified variations within the sub-departments of the organization where differences in perceived career opportunities between men and women tend to vary less in the sub-department with a more equal gender distribution and lower technical degree, further highlighting the impact of the minority position among women as well as the gendered view on technical skills.

<p>Sweden is a country based on democracy and equality. As a result, both men and women areencouraged to aspire equal career opportunities.</p><p>The aim of this study is to explore how social and cultural contexts, as well as gender aspects,affect Swedish Upper Secondary Class pupils when they choose career. The study focuses onstudents who have chosen an ambitious school curriculum.</p><p>As method, the study uses both qualitative interviews with students and a quantitative survey.</p><p>The theoretical framework is based on gender theory and on the social and cultural contexttheory of Bourdieu.</p><p>The result of the study shows that gender and social as well as cultural context affect students’ambitions and career choices.</p>

Sweden is a country based on democracy and equality. As a result, both men and women areencouraged to aspire equal career opportunities. The aim of this study is to explore how social and cultural contexts, as well as gender aspects,affect Swedish Upper Secondary Class pupils when they choose career. The study focuses onstudents who have chosen an ambitious school curriculum. As method, the study uses both qualitative interviews with students and a quantitative survey. The theoretical framework is based on gender theory and on the social and cultural contexttheory of Bourdieu. The result of the study shows that gender and social as well as cultural context affect students’ambitions and career choices.