Grounded theory methods of Strauss and Corbin (1990) and multidimensional scaling techniques (Kruskal & Wish, 1991) were used in this investigation to study the factors that influence a woman's choice to remain in or to leave a male-dominated major (Zuckerman, 1981). Focus group interviews were conducted with 62 sophomore women who had originally chosen male-dominated majors as freshmen to gain insight into the meanings and motivations of the student decisions. The participants responded to a 25-item survey which yielded a-three dimension solution with five clusters in the multidimensional scaling analysis. Five themes emerged from the focus groups as factors influencing a woman's choice to remain in or to leave a male-dominated major: (a) self confidence and refuse to lose attitude; (b) interest in the field; (c) career goals, jobs, and money; (d) ability and experience in the field; and (e) the desire to make a difference. The three dimensions were (a) time of experience, (b) motivation, and (c) career rewards. The five clusters were: (a) pre-college experiences, (b) college experiences, (c) career rewards, (d) self-confidence, and (e) self-fulfillment. The findings are consistent with current literature; however, the use of the multidimensional procedure goes further and helps to explain some of the motivations of the students and challenges some of the beliefs that persons in the practice of student affairs profess about woman and chilly climate. The study extends knowledge about how women deal with their chilly environment. / Ph. D.

The aim of this study was to examine how our way of doing gender affect female managers in the male-dominated IT organizations and how the female managers handle the consequences they entail. The study is based on a qualitative research approach where we gathered empirical data through semi-structured interviews. In this study, six respondents with varying experiences of management role within the IT organizations participated. The results are analyzed with the help of previous research and the theoretical framework which included Pierre Bourdieu's theory masculine domination and the West and Zimmerman's theory doing gender. In our study, we concluded that female managers in the male-dominated IT organizations feel the need to adapt to a greater degree than their male counterparts. As a result of the contradictions that exist in the female gender norms versus the role expectations placed on managers, who have a male character, women need to downplay their femininity, including  by adjusting their language.

Kvinnliga chefer sitter i en minoritetsställning eftersom det fortfarande är mest män som är chefer (Bohlin, 2006). Könsfördelningen i byggbranschen är 4 % för kvinnor och 96 % för män (SCB, 2010). Det finns starka skäl att tro att kvinnor inte har en plats i byggbranschen eftersom kvinnorna är ett andrahandsval. När det är högkonjunktur och brist på arbetskraft rekryteras kvinnor men annars anses byggyrkena för tunga, trots att fysisk styrka inte krävs inom vissa befattningar. Dessutom finns en manlig jargong som hindrar kvinnorna att komma in i branschen (Olofsson, 2000). Gary Yukl (2002) har identifierat och delat upp ledarskap i olika förhållningssätt, ett av dessa är egenskapsperspektivet som säger att en del människor är naturliga ledare och har särskilda egenskaper. Detta med fokus på ledarens personliga egenskaper. Litteraturen diskuterar kvinnliga ledarstilar men det finns inga studier som visar om män och kvinnor använder sina egenskaper på olika sätt trots deras olika socialisering (Isaac, Behar-Horenstein, Koro-Ljungberg, 2009). Eftersom det inte finns några studier om kvinnor och män använder sina egenskaper på olika sätt vill vi utreda vilka dessa är och hur de skiljer sig åt i ledarskapet. Trots alla hinder finns det kvinnor som lyckats och har ledarpositioner inom byggbranschen. Vi vill ta reda på vilka egenskaper dessa kvinnor har som ledare i en väldigt mansdominerad bransch. Vår frågeformulering för uppsatsen är: Vilka egenskaper präglas en kvinnas ledarskap i byggbransch av? Syftet med vår studie är att se hur kvinnliga ledare uppfattar kvinnligt ledarskap och deras egenskaper inom en mansdominerad bransch som byggbranschen. För att uppfylla vårt syfte har vi använt oss av en kvalitativ metod med deduktiv ansats. Fyra olika respondenter i byggbranschen har intervjuats där alla fyra var kvinnor i ledande positioner. Intervjufrågor som vi ställde var formulerade utefter vår teoretiska referensram. Det vi har kommit fram till genom vår studie är att det finns egenskaper som präglar en kvinnas ledarskap inom byggbranschen. Vi har även kommit fram till att det finns en del hinder och därför är det viktigt att vara anpassningsbar. Vårt bidrag med denna studie är att visa vilka egenskaper som kvinnor har, samt att vi vill visa att kvinnor har en plats som ledare i byggbranschen.

The purpose of this study has been to examine how reverse mentorship could be used as a tool to foster diversity within male-dominated organisations. This has been done by analysing male- dominated organisations’ perceptions and attitudes towards implementing reverse mentorship. Additionally, the authors investigated potential challenges and success factors with the reverse mentoring model along with the outcomes that the programme could generate. With the forthcoming generational shift, traditional mentorship has started to lose its relevance which has resulted in an increased demand for alternative mentoring models that could be used to utilise the diversity that the shift could contribute with. A qualitative research approach was applied, where the primary data collection process was initiated with ten semi-structured interviews with the male-dominated organisations: Volvo Cars, Volkswagen Group Sverige, and Spot On. Volkswagen Group Sverige represented the perspective of practical experience from their reverse mentoring programme. Volvo Cars and Spot On, on the other hand, contributed with their theoretical perceptions and understanding of the phenomena since they had not implemented the concept yet. The research recognised six themes where the authors could distinguish significant insights that enabled them to draw conclusions and extend the conceptual framework. In particular, the findings generated new perspectives of the challenges with reverse mentorship and how they could be translated into success factors if utilising them in an efficient manner. Consequently, a reverse mentoring programme could derive positive outcomes for the individual as well as for the organisation as a whole. The findings and analysis further indicated that the concept could be used as a tool to foster diversity, not only within male-dominated organisations but also within other organisations, as diversity is an everlasting topic.

The labour market in Sweden is highly gender segregated. One of the sectors where this is visible is within the forestry sector, whereas of 2020, only 11 percent of the working force were female. Research has shown that in male dominated sectors, male domination is upheld through organizational structures, norms, processes, and relations. In these sectors, women are controlled and subordinated by various means. In the Swedish forestry industry, women established a non-male network after their Me Too hashtag #slutavverkat as a way to keep the focus on the question of gendered structures. This study examines how women experience working in the Swedish forestry sector and how a network for non-males influences this experience. A phenomenological approach inspired the study. The data consists of 10 interviews with women, working or who have recently worked, in the forestry industry and all members of the non-male network. The theoretical framework consists of Acker (2012) and Ahmed (2006), which unfold a deeper sociological understanding of gendered structures and belonging, passing and non-passing in organizational spaces. The results show that women experience belonging due to the shared interest in the forestry sector but need to relate to the male dominance of the sector in different ways. Moreover, women experience problems to pass without being stopped or questioned and need to manage situations individually due to the male dominating processes in the sector. By participating in a non-male network women can negotiate the female body and reframe their experiences, making them feel more accepted in the sector and less alone.

On the Swedish labor market, there is gender segregation within various professions and a dominance of men in leadership positions. Female leadership in male-dominated industries has increased recently, which has brought challenges as these industries and work roles are traditionally associated with male norms. The purpose of this study is to examine how female leaders experience that they behave and how they experience and handle the treatment at four male-dominated industrial companies. Previous research mainly emphasizes the challenges faced by women in male-dominated industries and leadership positions, and reflects few benefits. This qualitative study is based on material collected through semi-structured interviews with six female leaders in male-dominated industries. The results show that how the female leaders experience that they behave and are treated by colleagues and customers at male-dominated industrial companies differs, but that the majority feel that they adapt to the male norm and are treated differently because they are women. The empirical data also shows that the female leaders' use of different strategies in some cases indicates that they challenge the male norm within the industrial company. / På den svenska arbetsmarknaden finns en könssegregering inom olika yrken och en dominans av män inom ledarskapspositioner. Kvinnligt ledarskap på mansdominerade industriföretag har ökat på senare tid vilket har medfört utmaningar då dessa industrier och arbetsroller traditionellt sett förknippas med manliga normer. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur kvinnliga ledare upplever att de beter sig och hur de upplever och hanterar bemötandet på fyra mansdominerade industriföretag. Tidigare forskning betonar främst den problematik som finns i mansdominerade branscher och inom ledarskapspositioner för kvinnor, och skildrar få fördelar. Denna kvalitativa studie baseras på material insamlat via intervjuer med sex kvinnliga ledare på fyra olika mansdominerade industriföretag. Resultatet visar att hur de kvinnliga ledarna upplever att de beter sig och blir bemötta av kollegor och kunder på mansdominerade industriföretag skiljer sig åt, men att majoriteten upplever att de anpassar sig till mansnormen och blir bemötta annorlunda på grund av att de är kvinnor. Empirin visar även att de kvinnliga ledarnas användning av olika strategier i vissa fall indikerar att de utmanar mansnormen inom industriföretaget.

In December 2015, the United States' Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter, issued a directive that each branch of military avail every position to women (Pellerin, 2015). Given this and the dearth of literature on women's leader development in military environments, it was imperative to research if and how these environments shape and influence leadership development among college aged women. Specifically, this study sought to reveal women's view of self as leader in the context of a military training environment at a senior military college. The Leadership Identity Development (LID) model developed by Komives, Owen, Longerbeam, Mainella, and Osteen (2005) served as a framework for this study that utilized constructivist grounded theory methods for data collection and analysis as described by Charmaz (2014). The participants in this study were 21 college students who identified as women participating in a 24-hour military training program between the ages of 19 to 23 and agreed to participate in individual face-to-face interviews. Through interviews and analysis of the data, eight themes emerged from the women's experiences that revealed how they developed as leaders in the environment, and conditions that both promoted and inhibited their leader development. These themes are leadership defined, internal dialogue, strategies for managing influences, practicing leadership, context for learning leadership, external influences, internal influences, and experiences. These findings have implications for future research and practice. / Doctor of Philosophy / It is important to understand how college aged women develop a leadership identity in a military training environment that has historically been male-dominated. This study sought to better understand the experiences of 21 women who learned leadership in a military training environment that was a 24-hour live in experience on a campus of higher education. The women agreed to meet for a face-to-face interview that lasted approximately one hour to share their experiences. Constructivist grounded theory methods for data collection and analysis (Charmaz, 2014) were utilized in this study, and the Leadership Identity Development (LID) model developed by Komives, Owen, Longerbeam, Mainella, and Osteen (2005) served as a framework. I share the findings of this study and implications for future research and practice.

The tenets of representative bureaucracy suggest that the composition of the bureaucracy should mirror the people it serves including women in order to influence the name, scope, and implementation of public policies. Women are still underrepresented in mid-to-upper management in male-dominated occupations. When women are under-represented in mid-to-upper levels of management in government, there are implications regarding representative bureaucracy. This study examined the career progression experiences of women who were successful in reaching mid-to-upper levels of management in male-dominated occupations in state government. Specifically, the study explored how women perceive various occupational factors including their rates of participation, experiences, gender, roles within the bureaucracy, interactions with their coworkers, leaders and organizational policies, personal influence, and decision-making abilities. The findings revealed that women experience various barriers to career progression in male-dominated occupations, but find mechanisms to navigate obstacles imposed by the negative consequences of tokenism. The findings indicate that although women have been successful in reaching mid-to-upper level management in male-dominated occupations, they do so in institutions, regional, district, field or offices with fewer overall employees where they have less opportunity to have influence on overall agency-wide policy decisions. The decision-making power is limited to implementation strategies of agency-wide policies within their smaller domains or geographical area of responsibility.

Syfte och frågeställningar Syftet är att undersöka kvinnliga lärares erfarenheter och upplevelser av att arbeta inom det mansdominerade yrket specialidrottslärare. Studien kommer svara på dessa frågeställningar: <ul type="disc">Varför har dessa lärare valt att arbeta som specialidrottslärare? Hur påverkas lärarna av att det är få kvinnliga kollegor inom ämnet specialidrott? Hur påverkas lärarna av att arbeta i en miljö där det är en överrepresentation av män? Metod Åtta kvinnliga specialidrottslärare handplockades utifrån vissa kriterier. Studien använder en kvalitativ metod och semistrukturerade intervjuer. Historikern Yvonne Hirdmans genussystem och stereotypmodell användes för att analysera empirin. Resultat Resultatet visar att de kvinnliga respondenternas intresse för idrott har gjort att de arbetar som lärare i specialidrott. Kvinnorna påverkas inte av att det är få kvinnor inom ämnet specialidrott. De upplever att de är en minoritet i samband med föreningsidrotten. De tror att tjejer väljer att kliva av tränaryrket på grund av den jargong som finns samt att de endast kan utföra sitt arbete som en hobby. De trivs med sin nuvarande arbetssituation men påverkas av att arbeta i en mansdominerad miljö då de måste hävda sig för att bli accepterade. Om de hade varit män med sin nuvarande kompetens och erfarenhet, hade de på ett eller annat sätt arbetat inom sin idrott. Däremot var de inte lika övertygade om att de skulle arbeta inom skolan med specialidrott utan hade troligen kunnat erhålla en högre position inom föreningsidrotten, t ex förbundskapten eller sportchef.  Slutsats De åtta kvinnorna har valt att arbeta inom specialidrott då de har ett stort intresse för idrott. De påverkas inte av att de är få kvinnor inom yrket utan upplever att det är när de är verksamma inom föreningsidrotten som de det befintliga genussystemet inom idrotten blir märkbart. Rådande normsystem framträder inom både föreningsidrott och tränar- och ledarutbildningar. / Abstract The study aims to clarify female teachers knowledge and experience of working in a male dominated profession as a school sports teacher. The study will answer the following questions. Why have the teachers chosen to work as a school sports teacher? How do the teachers get affected by the fact that there are few female colleagues in the subject of school sports? How do the teachers get affected by working in an environment with an overrepresentation of men? Method Eight female school sports teachers were hand-picked with certain criterias. With a qualitative focus, this study used semi-structured interviews in order to reach a deeper understanding of the knowledge and experience of working in the subject of school sports. Historian Yvonne Hirdmans gender system and stereotypes model was used to investigate what happens when women enter the male dominated profession as school sports teacher. Results The results of the study showed that the teachers work with school sports because of their interest in sports. The women are not affected by the fact that there are fewer female than male teachers in the subject of school sports. They feel like a minority in club sports. The women highlight, the lack of interest in the profession among girls and correlates it to the existing jargon in club sports. The females are satisfied with their current working situation, but they get affected by working in a male dominated environment because they have to assert themselves. Also, some of the women believe that if they would have opposite sex, according to their knowledge and experience, they would work with sports, but they were not convinced that it would be in school sports and few of them believe that they probably would get offered other jobs in club sports, for example national head coach or club director. Conclusion The eight women chose to work in school sports because of their interest in sports. The women are not affected by the fact that there are few female teachers in the subject of school sports, but they feel like a minority during club sports.

<p>This essay is part of a project between Södertörn University College and Stockholm Academic Forum. The focus of the project is gender equality in small- and medium sized companies. I have worked with a construction company called Activa . The majority of the employees at the company were male and I was interested in the consequences of gender construction in such an environment. I think that the basic condition for equality work is an understanding of gender and the male norm. The purpose was to investigate how these things worked out in the Activa organisation. I wanted to investigate the consequences of gender and illustrate how discrimination can work. The conclusions are supposed to be a base for the company’s future equality opportunities.</p><p>The methodology for this investigation were interviews. I have interviewed six persons, whom all worked at the company-office. The interviews were informal conversations based on a semi-structured methodology. The information I got was interpret by the hermeneutic tradition and analysed by gender theories.</p><p>The conclusions of this study are that gender indeed affected the organisation structure. The male and female employees experienced different working conditions. The male norm were in fact setting the agenda in the organisation. The male employees had better possibilities to affect the working conditions compared to the women. Both men and women maintained this structure. They were all acting in order of their expectations. The consequence of these structures, and the behaviour of both men and women at the company, creates an conception of the male norm as natural.</p>