Mansklubben inom företagsekonomisk utbildning - En fallstudie om varför så få kvinnor fördjupar sig inom finans

Sammanfattning: Gender balance within the business administration field at university level is an area that has gained increased attention in the last decade. As gender balance contributes positively to the scientific and educational achievements within all disciplines, many studies have tried to understand the decision-making processes of students when selecting a business specialisation. However, little attention has been devoted to the finance discipline although there is a remaining gender imbalance within the field at higher-level economic studies. This thesis was performed as a qualitative case study and is based on interviews with second-year bachelor students facing their choice of specialisation at the Stockholm School of Economics. Through an application of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), this study aims to examine factors that influence female business students' intentions to choose a specialisation. Furthermore, the study examines whether an understanding of female students' decision-making processes helps explain why so few women choose to specialise in the finance discipline. The empirical findings reveal genuine interest to be the most significant factor that affects female students when choosing a specialisation. Moreover, the study shows that contextual factors, gender norms and the social image of the finance profession have an impact on female students' intention to choose the finance specialisation. Following the empirical results, the study suggests an expansion of the theoretical framework in order to incorporate all factors that are found to influence business students' decision-making processes when choosing a specialisation.