Idag uppmärksammas kvinnors underrepresentation på högre chefspositioner i såväl media som undersökningar och rapporter. I dessa åskådliggörs det att det idag inte finns en logisk förklaring till varför kvinnor är underrepresenterade, vilket bland annat argumenteras utifrån att kvinnor i genomsnitt har en högre utbildningsnivå än män. Forskning förklarar att en bidragande faktor till att kvinnor fortfarande är underrepresenterade grundas i att chefskap enligt traditionen följer en maskulin norm. För att bidra med kunskap kring kvinnors underrepresentation i relation till chefskapet, har vi valt att fokusera på de kvinnor som lyckats nå ett högre chefskap. Syftet med uppsatsen är således att bidra med djupare förståelse för hur kvinnliga högre chefer upplever att de har formats på deras väg till chefskapet. Utifrån syftet har följande frågeställningar preciserats: “Hur upplever kvinnliga högre chefer den utveckling de gjort i karriären?” samt “Vilka faktorer tillskriver kvinnorna som betydande för deras utveckling i karriären?” Studien är en fallstudie med kvalitativ ansats i form av sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med kvinnliga högre chefer. Det empiriska materialet har analyserats med hjälp av Lave och Wengers teori om situerat lärande samt utifrån ett könsperspektiv som huvudsakligen grundas på West och Zimmermans teori att göra kön. De teoretiska perspektiven har valts med utgångspunkt i forskaren Salminen-Karlssons argumentation om att det saknas forskning där dessa teoretiska utgångspunkter kombineras. Vårt resultat visar bland annat att de kvinnliga högre cheferna påverkats i sin karriärutveckling av att arbetsplatsen har förväntat sig att de ska uppträda på könsspecifika sätt. Således har de kvinnliga högre cheferna anammat olika könsspecifika attribut, såväl “kvinnliga” som “manliga” för att passa in. Vidare visar resultaten att de kvinnliga högre cheferna tillskriver stödet från sin familj som väsentligt, även om de upplevt stödet på olika sätt. Även behovet av en förebild i form av en kvinnlig chef betonas som viktigt under karriärutvecklingen. / Today, media as well as research are paying attention to the underrepresentation of women on top management positions. For example, articles and reports highlight that there are no logical explanations to why women are underrepresented. In contrast, science show that women, in average, have a higher education than men and that a contributive reason to why women still are underrepresented is based on the fact that managers, according to tradition, are associated with masculinity. To contribute with knowledge regarding women’s underrepresentation related to the top management positions, we have decided to focus on women who have reached a top management position. The aim with this study is therefore to contribute with deeper understanding of how women in top management positions experience how they have been “shaped” on their way to the management position. From the selected purpose, two questions were derived: “How do the female top managers experience the development they have had throughout their career?” and “What factors do the women identify as meaningful for their career development?” This study is a case study based on a qualitative method using six semistructured interviews with female top managers. The empirical data has been analysed through Lave and Wenger’s theory about situated learning and from a gender perspective, that is based on West and Zimmerman’s theory about doing gender. The theoretical perspective have been chosen with support from the researcher Salminen-Karlsson’s argumentation, in which the researcher states that there is a lack of research combining these two theoretical perspectives. Our result shows, among other things, that the female top managers during their career have been affected by the workplace’s expectations saying that they should act according to gender standards. Because of the expectations, the female top managers have adopted these gender specific attributes, by acting like a “female” or a “man”, to fit in. Furthermore, the result shows that the female top managers claim that the support from their families is important, even if they have experienced the support in different ways. Also, the result shows that the need of a role model in terms of a female manager has been important during the career.

Underrepresentationen av kvinnligt ledarskap inom idrott har under de senaste åren blivit mycket uppmärksammat av både forskare och institutioner. Forskningen redogör för att kvinnliga huvudtränare stöter på hinder både på samhälls-, organisations- och individnivå. Problemen relateras framför allt till rekrytering och könsstereotyper, det finns uppfattningar om hur en kvinnlig ledare ska vara och det finns uppfattningar om hur en tränare ska vara - dessa två stämmer inte alltid överens med varandra. Kvinnliga ledare hämmas av de könsstereotyper som råder i samhället samtidigt som forskning visar att kvinnliga huvudtränare hämmas vid en rekrytering. Kvinnliga huvudtränare är underrepresenterade generellt i idrottsvärlden.Syftet med arbetet är att undersöka om samma problematik som forskningen redogör för även förekommer i Sverige. Syftet med studien är därför att bidra med ökad förståelse om varför kvinnliga huvudtränare är underrepresenterade i SHE, svenska högstaligan för damer i handboll. För att kunna uppfylla studiens syfte och svara på problemformuleringen utgår rapporten från semistrukturerade intervjuer som genomförts med sju olika föreningar som deltar i SHE säsongen 2020/2021. Den teoretiska referensramen är utformad utifrån tidigare forskning, statistik över hur många män och kvinnor som har genomfört en tränarutbildning, könsstereotyper som tycks hämma kvinnor samt information om hur en rekryteringsprocess går till. Studiens empiri som grundar sig i föreningarnas svar ställs i relation till den teoretiska referensramen i studiens analys. I studiens analys kan författarna konstatera att det finns faktorer som hämmar men också faktorer som borde gynna kvinnor. Kvinnliga huvudtränare anses till viss del hämmas av de könsstereotyper som råder i dagens samhälle och det finns även en del av rekryteringsprocessen där kvinnliga ledare skulle kunna hämmas. Den slutgiltiga slutsatsen som presenteras är tudelad men tyder trots allt på att kvinnliga huvudtränare i den svenska högstaligan skulle kunna hämmas av både rekryteringsprocessen och könsstereotyper. / The underrepresentation of female leadership in sports has recently been noticed by both researchers and institutions. Female head coaches face obstacles on social, organizational, and individual levels. The problems are mainly related to recruitment and gender stereotypes, there are perceptions of how a female leader should be and how a head coach should be. These two do not match each other. Female leaders are affected negatively by the society’s gender stereotypes and research shows that female head coaches are examined more closely. Female head coaches are underrepresented generally in the world and statistics show that it’s the same in Sweden. The purpose of the work is thus to examine the Swedish Handball Elite (SHE) and investigate if the same problem exists in Sweden too. The purpose of the study is to contribute with a better understanding of why female head coaches are underrepresented in the SHE.To be able to fulfill the purpose of the study and respond to the problem formulation semi-structured interviews have been made with different teams in the SHE. The theoretical frame of reference is designed based on previous research, statistics of how many women and men that have completed a coaching education, gender stereotypes that affect women negatively and information about how a recruitment process works. The study’s empirical data that is based on the team’s answers and is set in relation to the theoretical frame of reference in the analysis of the study. In the analysis of the study the authors can state that there are factors that both positive and negative affect women. Female head coaches are considered to be negatively affected by the gender stereotypes that prevail in the society and there are also parts of the recruitment process where women could be negatively affected. The conclusion that is presented is somewhat divided but indicates that female head coaches in the SHE partly could be affected negatively by both the recruitment process and gender stereotypes.

Stereotype threat is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when individuals become aware that their behavior could potentially confirm a negative stereotype. Though stereotype threat is a widely studied phenomenon in social psychology, there has been relatively little scholarship on it in philosophy, despite its relevance to issues such as implicit cognition, epistemic injustice, and diversity in philosophy. However, most psychological research on stereotype threat discusses the phenomenon by using an overly narrow picture of it, which focuses on one of its effects: the ability to hinder performance. As a result, almost all philosophical work on stereotype threat is solely focused on issues of performance too. Social psychologists know that stereotype threat has additional effects, such as negatively impacting individuals’ motivation, interests, long-term health, and even their sense of self, but these other effects are often downplayed, or even forgotten about. Therefore, the “standard picture” of stereotype threat needs to be expanded, in order to better understand the theoretical aspects of the phenomenon, and to develop broader, more effective interventions. This dissertation develops such an “expanded picture” of stereotype threat, which emphasizes how the phenomenon can negatively impact both self-identity and epistemic agency. In doing so, I explore the nature of stereotypes more generally and argue that they undermine groups’ moral status and contribute to what is called “ontic injustice.” I also show how stereotype threat harms members of socially subordinated groups by way of coercing their self-identity and undermining their epistemic agency, which I argue is a form of epistemic injustice. Lastly, I analyze the expanded picture’s implications for addressing the low proportion of women in professional philosophy. I critically engage recent arguments that these low numbers simply reflect different interests women have, which if innate or benign, would require no intervention. My expanded picture shows the mistakes in this sort of reasoning, which is also present in discussions on the underrepresentation of women in science. The expanded picture of stereotype threat that this dissertation develops is not only practically important, but also advances key philosophical debates in social epistemology, applied ethics, and social metaphysics.

African American women's (AAW) presence has increased in the corporate workforce, but this increase has not transferred to a comparable rise in leadership positions. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences AAW faced relating to race and gender differences that influenced their leadership development and limitations on advancement in Fortune 500 corporations. The research problem addressed in this study was the underrepresentation of AAW in senior leadership positions within Fortune 500 corporations and what can increase their representation and retention in senior level positions. The 10 participants included African American women holding senior level positions in corporate America. The concepts of race, gender, and stereotyping derived from intersectionality theory, critical race theory, black feminist theory, and racial microaggression were the foundation for the conceptual framework. The data collected through semistructured interviews were analyzed using the modified van Kaam method. Four themes emerged including race, gender, stereotyping in the workplace, and the lack of AAW led mentorship programs. The findings of this study may contribute to social change by assisting organizational leaders in policy changes to support the concerns of AAW in leadership roles around the lack of diversity and mentoring programs to increase retention and new recruitment.

A gradual but significant change in America's demographic composition has occurred during the last few years. Millions of Hispanic students, many of them immigrants, have been absorbed in the nation's schools, turning public institutions into multiracial, multicultural, and to some degree, multilingual sites (Tallerico, 2001; Ferrandino, 2001). In light of the demographic changes and the important role of school leaders, how is the Hispanic principal in the K-12 public schools reflecting the growth of the Hispanic school population? This research studies perceptions the Hispanic female principal attached to their role and role expectations as a principal. This qualitative case study interviewed eight female Hispanic principals in Central Florida three times. Seven major themes of perceptions and meanings principals attached to their experiences evolved: strong family support, no pre-conceived self-imposed obstacles, high sense of self-efficacy, token Hispanic, being placed in a high Hispanic population school, no consensus regarding principal roles, had Latina mentors, and utilized parts of Latina culture in their professional practice. Implications included both strong family support for the Latinas entering a professional field and that the principals did not experience self-imposed obstacles. Both need further research, as does the strong sense that these Latina principals perceived they had entered the American mainstream. The strong sense of efficacy needs further research for its causes. Lack of consensus on principal roles has considerable implication for graduate leadership education, needing further research. Of considerable interest is researching what parts of the Latina culture were utilized in their professional practice, and what implication does this have for professional leadership education generally. Further recommendations for research include a need to evaluate which district policies are effective in recruiting and retaining of Latina administrators. This research may lead to implementing best practices in districts' hiring practices and retention programs that lead to leadership that is more diverse while addressing the underrepresentation of Latinas in counties and institutions selected.

Forty-seven gifted and non-gifted African American and Caucasian students in grades third through fifth were rated by their teachers on the Universal Academic, Cognitive, Creativity, and Emotion Screening Scale (UACCESS) (McCallum & Bracken, in press). Internal consistency was high with Chronbach’s alphas ranging from .97 to .99 and correlation coefficients for the six scales ranged from .42 to .92. Factorial MANOVA’s for each composite scale showed no significant score differences between African American and Caucasian students. There was a significant difference in scores based on placement, with higher scores in favor of gifted students on both the General Aptitude Composite (Wilk’s Lambda=. 70, F(3,41) = 5.87, p <. 01 and the Specific Academic Aptitude Composite (Wilk’s Lambda=. 73, F(3,41) = 5.03, p <. 01. There were no interaction effects for placement x race. A discriminant analysis using the six UACCESS scales resulted in 76.6% of participants being correctly classified as gifted or non-gifted. There were no score differences across gender. Based on the results of this study, the UACCESS shows some promise as an effective gifted screening instrument to supplement the referral/nomination process.

Sverige anses vara ett av de mest jämställda länderna i världen. Trots detta är den svenska arbetsmarknaden mycket könsuppdelad och inom den mansdominerade räddningstjänsten är endast 2,4 % av alla heltidsarbetande brandmän kvinnor. Syftet med vår uppsats är att undersöka kvinnors underrepresentation i räddningstjänsten ur ett genusperspektiv. Vi har valt att rikta in oss på rekryteringsprocessen på grund av att få kvinnor som har gått den eftergymnasiala brandmannautbildningen ”Skydd mot olyckor”(SMO) får en anställning som brandman. Vi vill undersöka orsaken till detta och vi undrar om det är i rekryteringsprocessen som kvinnliga brandmän stöter på problem och därför inte får en anställning. Vi finner det även intressant att undersöka om normer och värderingar gällande kvinnliga brandmän påverkar rekryteringen av kvinnor. Vi har i vår studie valt att använda oss av en kvalitativ metod i form av intervjuer, där våra respondenter består av fem brandmän som arbetar på en brandstation någonstans i Sverige. Vårt insamlade intervjumaterial har vi analyserat, för att sedan, i vårt resultat, koppla till vår teoretiska referensram, som består av genus- och rekryteringsteorier. Resultatet visar att våra respondenter är mycket positiva till kvinnlig rekrytering inom räddningstjänsten och vi kan på så sätt inte se att svårigheterna att rekrytera kvinnor har något samband med stationens uppfattning om kvinnliga brandmän. Rekryteringssvårigheterna kan istället härledas till rekryteringsprocessen handplockning, där rekryteraren handplockar brandmän från manskodade yrken. Då det endast är manliga yrken som anses vara meriterade, så utesluts kvinnor. Vi kan på så sätt inte heller se att en examen från SMO - utbildningen skulle gynna kvinnors chanser till att få en anställning som brandman, då brandmännen fortfarande meriterar den tidigare praktiska yrkeserfarenheten framför en SMO – examen. Vi drar slutsatsen att det både är rekryteringsprocessen, där handplockning från de mansdominerade yrkena sker, samt samhällets normer och värderingar om kvinno- och mansyrken som sätter stopp för kvinnligt deltagande inom vår undersökta station.

This project explores the career paths to date of seven graduates of the University of Waterloo’s Mechanical Engineering program, and examines the influences that led them to choose their university program. I particularly considered the participants’ status as members of underrepresented or overrepresented groups, using the contexts of the history of the profession of Mechanical Engineering and prior research on underrepresentation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields. I used semi-structured interviews and an intersectionality framework to investigate aspects of identity, interests, and career influences. I found three key themes among the participants: human influences, including information sources, role models, and mentors; influences of educational and outreach activities; and personal interests and aptitudes. I use the uncovered themes to recommend a combination of future studies and outreach programs.

This project explores the career paths to date of seven graduates of the University of Waterloo’s Mechanical Engineering program, and examines the influences that led them to choose their university program. I particularly considered the participants’ status as members of underrepresented or overrepresented groups, using the contexts of the history of the profession of Mechanical Engineering and prior research on underrepresentation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields. I used semi-structured interviews and an intersectionality framework to investigate aspects of identity, interests, and career influences. I found three key themes among the participants: human influences, including information sources, role models, and mentors; influences of educational and outreach activities; and personal interests and aptitudes. I use the uncovered themes to recommend a combination of future studies and outreach programs.

Räddningstjänsten har under lång tid kännetecknats av en homogen organisation med en utpräglad manlig jargong. 1997 påbörjade räddningstjänsten sitt jämställdhetsarbete på uppdrag från regeringen. Arbetet med jämställdhet har kantats av motstånd och fördomar från både allmänheten och inom räddningstjänst. Genom tidigare forskning och kvalitativa intervjuer med kvinnor som examinerats från brandmansutbildningen, Skydd mot olyckor(SMO), ger uppsatsen en inblick i hur jämställdhetsarbetet inom räddningstjänsten har utvecklats fram till i dag. Resultatet visar att kvinnorna i studien upplever en attitydförändring mot kvinnliga brandmän både bland allmänheten och på brandstationerna. De flesta informanterna i studien upplever att SMO utbildningen och brandmannarollen ger motsvarande utvecklingsmöjligheter oavsett kön. De kvinnor som arbetar som heltidsbrandmän har ökat från att det helt saknades kvinnor som arbetade som heltidsbrandmän 1997 till att år 2013 innefattas av 170 stycken. En grund till ökningen anses vara SMO utbildningen, som startade hösten 2003. SMO utbildningen öppnar dörrarna församtliga personer som vill utbilda sig till brandman. Andra betydande faktorer har bland annat innefattats av utveckling av de fysiska rekryteringstesterna och stöd från chef och arbetskollegor. Varje kommun har mandat att själva bestämma sitt antagningsförfarande.Detta kan vara en bidragande orsak till att jämställdhetsarbetets skiljer sig åt i landat.