Breaking through the Ceiling : Studying the Impact of Mentorships on Female Career Development

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how mentorships can impact women’s career development. Previous research shows that there is an inequality gap between men and women on management positions and the aim for this research paper is to see if mentorships could help close this gap and make the top-level management more gender equal.   The Swedish banking industry is interesting to research due to its overall equality in the organisation, but extreme inequality in the top of the hierarchy. Sweden is one of the most equal countries in the EU but are still struggling to eliminate structural discrimination from their organisations. Mentorships has through previous studies shown to be a helpful tool for women to progress in their careers and increase gender balance in workplaces.   To be able to answer the research questions and fulfil the purpose of this research a qualitative research approach was applied. Five semi-structured interviews was held in order to gather empirical data. The participants were women in managerial positions within one of Sweden’s largest banks. Because of a confidentiality agreement, the name of the bank will not be revealed but rather be referred to as The Bank.   The findings of this research show that both formal and informal mentorships can be used as a tool for women to progress in their career. Mentorships give women the support they need to believe in their own worth, they also get access to new parts of organisations that before has been unattainable for them and get an insight in the political games within an organisation.