<p>Despite the fact that women become more and more present in the private sector they still are heavily underrepresented in top positions. The cause has been debated and several explanations have been discussed. Although, many women have succeeded to reach top positions by making some more or less deliberate decisions that might have been decisive for their careers.</p><p>The main purpose of this study is to analyse what women who aim for a successful career should be aware of regarding their choices of education and profession. Moreover, the importance of different circumstances for the development of women’s career opportunities has been inquired into. The study is based on interviews with nine female managing directors.</p><p>The study is based on qualitative data in order to depict the experiences of these successful women. Their depictions have made it possible to apprehend what women who aim at a career should be aware of and bear in mind. The personal interviews have been analysed towards a number of theories.</p><p>The outcome shows that a degree from a School of Economics might give good opportunities in a future career. However, to have specific goals regarding one’s education or one’s career has shown not to be necessary. It is of great importance to choose a good manager who encourages the employees and gives them the opportunity to develop in their profession. The conclusion can be drawn that the informal networks are significant to advance in the professional life. Further, it is essential to find a balance between one’s professional and private life and for those with a family, it is required that the spouse does his part of the household duties. To make a successful career it is favourable to have the following qualities: To be persistent, purposeful and open for changes. According to this study, women have a tendency to demand too much of themselves. On the other hand, the demand from others does not seem to be higher on women than on men. Finally, it is highly important to put trust in oneself and to have the courage to take risks and one of the main conditions to develop and make a career is to get on well at work.</p>

Despite the fact that women become more and more present in the private sector they still are heavily underrepresented in top positions. The cause has been debated and several explanations have been discussed. Although, many women have succeeded to reach top positions by making some more or less deliberate decisions that might have been decisive for their careers. The main purpose of this study is to analyse what women who aim for a successful career should be aware of regarding their choices of education and profession. Moreover, the importance of different circumstances for the development of women’s career opportunities has been inquired into. The study is based on interviews with nine female managing directors. The study is based on qualitative data in order to depict the experiences of these successful women. Their depictions have made it possible to apprehend what women who aim at a career should be aware of and bear in mind. The personal interviews have been analysed towards a number of theories. The outcome shows that a degree from a School of Economics might give good opportunities in a future career. However, to have specific goals regarding one’s education or one’s career has shown not to be necessary. It is of great importance to choose a good manager who encourages the employees and gives them the opportunity to develop in their profession. The conclusion can be drawn that the informal networks are significant to advance in the professional life. Further, it is essential to find a balance between one’s professional and private life and for those with a family, it is required that the spouse does his part of the household duties. To make a successful career it is favourable to have the following qualities: To be persistent, purposeful and open for changes. According to this study, women have a tendency to demand too much of themselves. On the other hand, the demand from others does not seem to be higher on women than on men. Finally, it is highly important to put trust in oneself and to have the courage to take risks and one of the main conditions to develop and make a career is to get on well at work.

Trots att allt fler kvinnor tar plats i näringslivet så domineras såväl näringslivet som de flesta chefspositioner fortfarande av män. Ständigt pågår diskussioner om vad det är som skapar denna sneda fördelning, samt hur kvinnor är i en avvikande position på grund av sin minoritet och huruvida det finns hinder som gör det svårt för kvinnor att nå upp till toppen. Oavsett hur detta stämmer eller ej är det endast individuella upplevelser av kvinnor som lyckats ta sig till toppen som närmast kan förklara hur verkligheten ser ut. Med detta som utgångspunkt ämnar studien undersöka kvinnliga VD:ar inom det svenska näringslivet för att försöka ta reda på, samt redogöra för, hur de upplever att olika möjligheter och eventuella hinder har spelat roll för deras respektive karriärer. Studien är av kvalitativ utformning, där data samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Det sammanställda resultatet kommer därefter att analyseras ställt mot valda teorier och modeller, för att slutligen diskuteras med inslag av egna reflektioner och slutsatser. Studien visar på hur majoriteten av kvinnorna stött på fler möjligheter än hinder i sin karriär, trots att de suttit i avvikande positioner som kvinnor i mansdominerade branscher. Det framgår att utbildning och erfarenhet samt inställning och självförtroende är de kanske mest avgörande faktorerna för en framgångsrik karriär. Men även att hjälp i vardagen och uppmuntrande chefer ger betydelsefulla möjligheter i att avancera. Den synlighet som följer med en avvikande position identifieras ur en positiv aspekt sett till att bli ihågkommen, men även ur en negativ aspekt då synligheten i vissa avseenden kan innebära en ökad stressfaktor. Vilket innebär att en avvikande position kan förklaras både som en möjlighet och som ett eventuellt hinder för kvinnor i karriären. Slutligen framgår att det inte kan identifieras några allmängiltiga hinder, utan att hinder är individuella och varierar från person till person beroende på förhållanden och omständigheter. / Despite the fact that more women are taking place in the business world men are still dominating the highest positions as well as the whole industry. Discussions are constantly ongoing about what it is that creates this skewed distribution, how women are in a deviant position due to the fact of their minority and whether there are obstacles that make it harder for women to reach the top positions. Regardless if it’s true or not, it is individual experiences by women whom have reached high positions within the business world that best can explain what the reality looks like. On this basis, the study will try to examine female CEO:s within the confederation of Swedish enterprise and try to find out, and explain, how they have experienced different opportunities and how possible obstacles have played a role in their careers. The study is based on qualitative data, in terms of semi-structured interviews, which will be analyzed against chosen theories and lastly be discussed with own reflections and conclusions. The study shows how the majority of women have experienced more opportunities than obstacles through their career, despite the fact that they have been in deviant positions in industries dominated by men. It is found that education and experience as well as attitude and confidence might be the most crucial factors for a successful career. But also the help in the everyday life and encouraging managers provide significant opportunities to advance. The visibility that follows with a deviant position is identified as positive when it comes to the fact that one will be more remembered, but also from a negative point of view when the visibility in some respects can imply an increased stress. Hence, to be in a deviant position can be explained both as an opportunity and as a possible obstacle for women in their advancement to reach a top position. Lastly it appears that any universal obstacles for women couldn’t be identified, that obstacles are individual and varies from person to person depending on conditions and circumstances.

Sweden is considered one of the countries that has come the furthest in terms of gender equality. Even so, gender stereotypes persist in the Swedish labor market and work against gender equality. According to previous research, it is among others the media that is considered a cause of perpetuating gender stereotypes. In Sweden, limited research has been conducted to investigate how Swedish newspapers portray male and female CEOs. Based on the theoretical framework of West and Zimmerman’s “Doing Gender”, the role of media in society, and persistent gender stereotypes in the labor market, this study aims to investigate whether there are differences in how Swedish newspapers portray male and female CEOs. To conduct this study 36 interviews with male and female CEOs in the Swedish newspapers DN-Ekonomi, SvD Näringsliv and Dagens Industri were selected and analyzed by means of a qualitative content analysis. The results of the study show a slight increase of interviews with female CEOs in Swedish newspapers in 2020 compared to 2010. Results also show that there is a difference in the way newspapers portray male and female CEOs, where men are portrayed more favorably. Regarding the latter point, there are no indications of changes in the year 2020 compared to 2010.