Career choice in education and the acquired/achieved level of education are factors that influence social status of men and women. Despite the fact that women, on average, currently achieve a higher level of education than men, women's marketplace status and their height of salary often do not correspond to it. One of the reasons is a low proportion of women in mathematics-related subjects. The aim of this research was to investigate the role of gender stereotypes and identification with mathematics in career choice. In the theoretical part of this thesis, I introduce the basic terms related to gender and gender stereotypes, the role gender plays in institutions and the potential causes of gender differences in the performance in mathematics. In the empirical part, I analyse data from a questionnaire study investigating career choice, level of identification with mathematics, attitudes to courses in the curriculum and the level of gender stereotypes in Czech adolescents. The results suggest few differences between girls and boys in these areas. However, the level of identification with mathematics and the level of gender stereotypes in the career area are related to the educational career choice.

This literary study examines the formulation of masculinity in Syrian novels authored by women. The thesis covers the period between 1959 and 2000, corresponding to both the development of the female-authored novel in Syria and the creation of the modern Syrian state. This research engages with studies of masculinity in general and literary masculinity studies in particular. Drawing on the seminal work of Raewyn Connell as well as engaging with studies on masculinity and feminine narratology in Swedish, English and Arabic, the thesis analyses the formulation of literary masculinity through the fictional societies’ ideal masculinity on the one hand, and the female characters’ views and reactions to masculinity on the other. From a general survey of the field, 34 novels undertaking the formulation of gendered relations were identified and chosen for this study. From this selection, five themes emerged, forming the foundation of this thesis’ main chapters. The five themes explore, in turn, how stereotypes are utilised to critique gender roles, ways in which male and female characters collaborate to formulate gender norms, how female characters capitalise on patriarchy in order to enhance their lives, male characters as symbols for social and political change and finally, the difficulties included in the performance of masculinity. Each theme is exemplified through one novel, which is analysed in detail. Throughout the five chapters, the main novel chosen for analysis is put into conversation with other novels with similar themes but from different decades. This allows for an examination of changing ideals of masculinity in addition to the theme itself. The first theme, how stereotypes are utilised to critique gender roles, is studied through a close reading of al-Ẓahr al-‘ārī (The Naked back) by Hanrīyit ‘Abbūdī. The analysis illustrates how the expected normative behaviour of men and women is utilised in order to comment on the formulation of gender roles. The chapter further demonstrates ways in which what is seen as gender specific behaviour can be appropriated by the opposite gender. This is further developed through the examination of female writers taking over the male voice through a first person male narrator. The second theme, ways in which male and female characters collaborate to formulate gender norms, is discussed through a close reading of the novel Khaṭawāt fī al-ḍabāb (Steps in the fog) by Malāḥa al-Khānī. This chapter illustrates the similar expectations that both male and female characters have on their sons and fellow male characters. This includes taking on the role of provider and protector, even in the cases where the female characters are able to look after themselves. The third theme, how female characters capitalise on patriarchy in order to enhance their lives, is elaborated through a close reading of Ayyām ma‘ahu (Days with him) by Kūlīt Khūrī. This theme demonstrates how the female character constructs herself and her world around the idea of a perfect male, whom she thinks will save her. The analysis examines what is seen as ideal traits in a man. It further discusses the change of the female character and how her initial utilisation of patriarchal structure transforms into a critique of the same structure. The fourth theme, male characters as symbols for social and political change, is seen through a close reading of Dimashq yā basmat al-ḥuzn (Damascus, o smile of sadness) by Ulfat al-Idlibī. The chapter connects between changing social ideals and ideal masculinity. Through Bayrūt 75 (Beirut 75) by Ghāda al-Sammān, the fifth theme, the difficulties included in the performance of masculinity, is studied. The problematic masculinity presented is then put in contrast with what appears to be a suggestion that a performance of femininity could be an alternative to unsuccessful masculinity. Whereas the novels differ in their presentation of masculinity and the utilisation of ideal masculinity, they agree on a set of core traits summarised in a hegemonic ideal of masculinity as an ability to provide and protect. The ways in which this should be performed is however closely connected to the female characters’ ideas of emancipation and women’s rights. The female writers’ formulation of masculinity can hence be said to mirror the development of the female characters and their awareness of women’s rights. The thesis hopes that its original contribution to knowledge is the identification and examination of constructed masculinities in Syrian female-authored fiction. Moreover, this thesis studies a body of Syrian fiction previously largely unstudied in Western academia, and in a framework of Swedish, English and Arabic secondary sources.

Masters thesis "Analysis of perception of gender roles" describes opinions of current society on status of men and women. The objective of the diploma thesis is to gain information about how people perceive gender roles and gender stereotypes. It is very important to discover whether today society still follow gender stereotypes. The theoretical part focuses on description of gender history from period of industry revolution to the present. Furthermore, it defines and deeply describes gender roles and stereotypes and indicates results of several researches that focused on gender issue. The empirical part analyses results of questionnaire survey which was discovering perception of gender roles on a conscious level of human. Second part of the empirical analysis, unstructured interviews and projective techniques, such as test of unfinished sentences and implicit association test, which examined perspectives on this issue in relation to subconsciousness. The conclusion evaluates and compares results of each method used in this paper and deduces verdicts specifically attitudes of current society.

This thesis deals with the issue of gender stereotypes in the context of parental upbringing. This paper is based on qualitative research and analysis of eleven semi- structured interviews with parents who bring up at least two children of different sex. I focus on the relation between identified gender stereotypes in upbringing and parenting style. I also focus on gender stereotyped attitudes of fathers and mothers within individual families. On the basis of the interviews analysis I conclude that gender stereotypes in upbringing and overall optics of gender stereotypes are present in all families, regardless of parenting style. I am finding that differences among families with diverse parenting styles are primarily in the degree of awareness of gender stereotyped attitudes and the degree of active transmission of these attitudes to their children.

Hlavním cílém této diplomové práce bylo analyzovat současnou situaci žen ve vyšším managementu ve vybraných společnostech s hlavním zaměřením na Českou republiku. Dále prozkoumat baríery, kterým ženy čelí pří jejich cestě na manažerské pozice a poskytnout doporučení budoucím manažerkám. Tato práce se skládá ze dvou částí a to části teoretické a praktické. V první části jsou analyzovány teoretické pojmy spojené s termínem gender, současná situace žen v managementu a ženský styl vedení. Praktická část diplomové práce je rozdělěna na dvě další části. V první části jsou provedeny rozhovory s ženami z vyššího managementu, které pocházejí z různých společností. V druhé části je tato problematika analyzována z pohledu odborníku ze společnosti Hays Česká republika.