Nätverkets betydelse : En intervjustudie om kvinnors och mäns upplevelse av rekryteringsprocessen till sin post som verkställande direktör

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and compare how women and men in a CEO position have experienced the recruitment process for the function as CEO. The study aims to identify similarities and differences between women and men's experience of contributing factors to the fact that they were recruited to the position of CEO. The study also intends to create an understanding of what opportunities and obstacles women and men have experienced that have affected their path to the CEO position. The study is comparative and the empirical material consists of ten semi- structured interviews with five women and five men who have been recruited to the position of CEO. The study shows that the most central factors in being recruited to the CEO position is to be a part of a network, have access to social capital and have "good success stories". This is described by both our female and male respondents. However, no typical process can be identified. The recruitment process is perceived as “solid” and “waterproof” by the majority of respondents. The study shows that four out of five women have been recruited internally, thus, they have been included in networks internally. Among our male respondents, four out of five have been recruited externally, indicating that they have been included in networks outside the organization. We found that women have experienced that they have been given opportunities internally, which has contributed to them advancing to the CEO position. In contrast to women, men describe that opportunities create the individual, they are not given. The results of our study show that being part of significant networks provides opportunities. The respondents experience age as an obstacle, that they have been young in senior positions is perceived to be problematic. No respondent experiences any obstacles during the recruitment process.