Jämställdhetens illusion - En flerfallsstudie av hur könskultur ter sig i strukturellt jämställda svenska bolag

Sammanfattning: Sweden is at the global forefront regarding gender equality and statistics show that structurally gender equal Swedish companies' shares grow at a double rate compared to the Stockholm Stock Exchange (OMXSPI). Yet many Swedish companies fail to follow in the footsteps of these leading firms and remain unequal. Previous research attributes such a failure to the recognition of cultural aspects of gender equality, as opposed to the structural aspects. Also, it shows that structurally gender unequal companies tend to also be culturally gender unequal. Therefore, this thesis aims to examine the cultural gender equality in structurally gender equal companies in a qualitative multi-case study of three Swedish listed companies in the pursuit of finding out whether structural gender equality entails cultural gender equality. The results support that cultural gender equality is not necessarily entirely brought by structural gender equality, at least not according to previous theory. What the result of the study boils down to is presenting the complexity of the concept of gender equality as non-absolute quantifiable and the need for it to be constantly revised and challenged.