The aim of this study is to investigate and describe the perceptions women has of being in middle management position in male-dominated industries. Five qualitative semi-structured interviews have been conducted, and the empirical material analyzed from a phenomenographic perspective. The analyzed data resulted in four categories; Job satisfaction is strengthened by the feeling of security, the Organization task-orientation has a negative impact on the leadership, Traditional notions of masculinity and femininity requires adaptation, Good leadership requires some special features. Conclusion show that women in middle management-positions perceived to have strong support in their management role in the male-dominated industries, however, there are indications that these industries also require a certain type of leadership behavior. Women consider themselves even perceive a shift in the focus of what should be prioritized depending on which department they are in. Male-dominated departments often leads to down prioritizing relationship-oriented tasks, as the women think is an essential part of leadership

Uppsatsen handlar om tolv unga högstadietjejers syn på sig själva som varandes tjejer och hur detta påverkar deras skolsituation. De övergripande frågorna har rört sig kring vilka könsmarkörer tjejerna använder för att definiera sig som tjejer men också hur dessa används normativt samt vilken betydelse de får i relation till andra tjejer. Det är tjejernas röst kring frågor om att vara tjej idag som ska få träda fram i denna uppsats. Studien är en kvalitativ studie, baserad på frivilligt medverkande informanter i en förortsskola i Stockholm under läsåret 2007/2008. Intervjuerna genomförda enskilt och i par, de är inspelade på band och efter transkriberade till text för att skydda informanternas anonymitet.  Informanterna talar om en norm som är svårgripbar för dem att beskriva men den unga tjej som bryter mot denna norm ber om kommentarer och betraktas kanske inte som ens som tjej. Normen skapas genom ett samspel mellan tjejerna där alla inblandade vet vad som gäller och vilket pris man betalar om man bryter mot normen. Normen skapas i det homosociala rummet, mellan tjejerna i deras vardag och är ständigt rådande. Studien utgår från intervjuer och den genomgående tanken är att studera det socialt konstruerade könet, hur det ser ut i denna grupp av unga tjejer och hur det sedan påverkar tjejernas beteenden gentemot varandra, den sociala interaktionen. Utifrån intervjuerna har svaren sedan analyserats och jämförts mot nyare forskning och olika genus teorier. Under intervjuerna användes frågor som rörde flera olika områden och arbetet är upplagt på så sätt att varje frågeområde redovisas för sig. Efter varje frågeområde följer en analys av svaren som också anknyter till den forskning som i dagsläget finns inom området. Varje delområde redovisas med en analysdel som kopplas till den forskning jag har funnit på området samt till de aktuella genusteorier som finns. Sist i arbetet ligger en sammanfattande analys av alla de delområden som analyserats under varje avsnitt. / Slapper, geek, bimbo or just a regular girl –identity  construction for young Swedish females. The aim of this dissertation is to study twelve young schoolgirls, to see how they view themselves as girls, and how this affects their situation at school. The main aim is to let the girls themselves voice how they perceive what it is to be a young girl today; what defines a girl, what are the specific gender markers, underlying norm system, and how does this in turn affect behaviour within the group with regards to responsibility, fashion, sub groups and role models. The emphasis of the study is to observe and analyse socially constructed gender norms, do they exist among this group, and if so, how does this affect the girls’ behaviour and social interaction? The study is a qualitative study, based on a selected group of volunteers from a secondary school in a Stockholm suburb during the academic year of 2007-2008. The students were interviewed separately and in groups, and the transcribed interviews have then been compared to other resent studies of similar demographic groups, and viewed and analysed in the light of resent research theories about gender and gender construction. Every cluster of questions regarding each specific research area is dealt with separately, with an analysis of the answers and comparisons to other theories and findings finishing off each section. The main claims from analysing the material, would be that it is important to live up to the socially created and culturally perceived norm, to adhere to the gender markers and not break the invisible mould. All the interviewed girls were very aware of the norm system surrounding them, and they also know that if you break the rules of what is expected of a girl, you can expect negative consequences, and might not even be perceived as a “real” girl. The norms are created and sustained in a social interaction, between the girls but also in interaction with the opposite sex. Some of the rules can appear arbitrary to the detached observer, but for the group of girls the rules are self evident and unquestionable. The norms are mostly created in the homo-social sphere, between the girls in their everyday lives, and can be hard to describe in detail, even for the informants themselves, although they can describe it clear enough when they perceive that the rules brought on by the norm has been broken. The thesis ends with a summary and analysis of all the previous sections, and with suggestions for possible further areas of research.