The existence of informal male networks, sometimes referred to as "old boys' networks", tends to exclude women from top jobs. More and more women have come to realize that they need professional contacts for a successful career and that they also needed each other’s support. Therfore many women are joining women-only networks or trying to create there own informal networks. The purpose is to establish useful contacts, learn new things, and be able to share their concerns with other women in the same situation. For some it gives an opportunity to find a mentor who can guide them. The aim of this bachelor thesis is to study if women’s lacking access to male networks is an obstacle for career advancement and to give an insight into women-only networks and their effectiveness to support women leaders and managers and increase women's representation in senior positions. The empirical findigs were conducted in Växjö, Sweden; in the networks “Fröken” and “Rotary”, and one women-only network in Linz, Austria; the BPW, “Business & Professional Women”.

<p>The existence of informal male networks, sometimes referred to as "old boys' networks", tends to exclude women from top jobs. More and more women have come to realize that they need professional contacts for a successful career and that they also needed each other’s support. Therfore many women are joining women-only networks or trying to create there own informal networks. The purpose is to establish useful contacts, learn new things, and be able to share their concerns with other women in the same situation. For some it gives an opportunity to find a mentor who can guide them.</p><p>The aim of this bachelor thesis is to study if women’s lacking access to male networks is an obstacle for career advancement and to give an insight into women-only networks and their effectiveness to support women leaders and managers and increase women's representation in senior positions. The empirical findigs were conducted in Växjö, Sweden; in the networks “Fröken” and “Rotary”, and one women-only network in Linz, Austria; the BPW, “Business & Professional Women”.</p>

The underrepresentation of female executives is a well studied phenomenon, despite this awareness, the Swedish labor market continues to be characterized by segregation on its hierarchical positions, where females who aspire for executive roles, do not reach the same career advancement as males. When trying to find answers to female underrepresentation in executive roles, evidence points to a shortage of networks that are deemed appropriate for such career advancement. Using qualitative research, this study explores the perceived value of formal networks among female leaders in the tech industry and their influence on the career advancement of women, considering the challenges posed by male-dominated cultures and gender biases. The conclusion of this study acknowledges that the underrepresentation of women in executive positions may be attributed to a scarcity of informal networks, where homosocial behavior restricts female participation within such networks. The findings demonstrate that due to exclusion from the informal sphere, women actively engage in formal networks. Womens formal networks offer various psychosocial and instrumental advantages, and these benefits are interconnected and mutually reinforcing, ultimately promoting women's professional growth. The findings underscore the significance of comprehending the interplay between organizational culture, gender, and network dynamics to cultivate diverse and inclusive networks that enhance female representation and facilitate knowledge sharing.

Engagement in networking is described as a facilitator for an individual's career progression. Research has shown how men tend to benefit from informal networking, and difficulties appearing for women to penetrate these male informal networks. Formal networks have thereby arisen as a countermeasure, and more precisely, women-only-networks, which have been argued to serve as a means for women in their career. However, there is limited knowledge of the experienced role women-only-networks provide for female career progression. Through qualitative research with an inductive approach, top-position women in the financial industry were interviewed. The study’s results show how women-only-networks work as a facilitator for women's career progression, both through soft values such as providing women with a community of relatedness, as well as career enhancing resources such as recruitment possibilities. Further, the results display how women-only-networks serve a collective purpose for women as they facilitate change of existing gender structures in the industry. The overall conclusion is hence that women-only-networks have an equal worth in themselves for female career progression as mens’ informal networks have for male career progression.