Möten, beteenden och strategier : En kvalitativ studie om kvinnligt ledarskap på mansdominerade industriföretag

Sammanfattning: On the Swedish labor market, there is gender segregation within various professions and a dominance of men in leadership positions. Female leadership in male-dominated industries has increased recently, which has brought challenges as these industries and work roles are traditionally associated with male norms. The purpose of this study is to examine how female leaders experience that they behave and how they experience and handle the treatment at four male-dominated industrial companies. Previous research mainly emphasizes the challenges faced by women in male-dominated industries and leadership positions, and reflects few benefits. This qualitative study is based on material collected through semi-structured interviews with six female leaders in male-dominated industries. The results show that how the female leaders experience that they behave and are treated by colleagues and customers at male-dominated industrial companies differs, but that the majority feel that they adapt to the male norm and are treated differently because they are women. The empirical data also shows that the female leaders' use of different strategies in some cases indicates that they challenge the male norm within the industrial company.