En helt ny värld? - Erfarenheter och konsekvenser av genusmedvetenhet bland män som genomgått ett genusfokuserat ledarskapsprogram

Sammanfattning: The aim of this study has been to shed light on the empirical gap regarding how men express the experience and impact of diversity training. The research question was stated as follows: What change and what views on gender and leadership are expressed by male leaders that have participated in a gender focused leadership program? The empirical findings in this study is supported by a theoretical framework in two parts. The first part maps earlier research on how diversity training facilitate a change of the gendered structures in organizations. The second part more broadly examines how gender is expressed in organizations, how male hegemony permeates organizations and how masculinities are mobilized between male workers. The inductive and interpretive phenomenographical method applied in this study is suitable for exploring what is learned and how it is learned. The approach is also suitable for isolating the insight of gender, here seen as tacit knowledge. The empirical study consisted of in-depth semi-structured interviews with seven previous participants of "To Lead as Man". The results consistently show how the men through lectures, reflective exercises and discussions became gender aware by understanding how they, along with the other men had been imprinted into gender roles. The respondents' statements expressed that the insight lead them to a better understanding of co-workers, an increased self-confidence, an ability to identify gender and a new approach to leadership. Some respondents expressed more concretely how their leadership had changed, such as better elevating women and delegating more clearly. Despite a rigorous commitment to isolate seperate percetions, a surprising coherence of experiences was interpreted in the empirics. The key contribution provided regards how diversity trained male leaders' percieve gender as an influence on organizations and their own leadership. The exploration of how gender awareness is attained and perceived is another valuable contribution. We argue for further research on more specified aspects of intersectional awareness, to better asses the validity and potency of phenomengraphy as method for organizational research.