Gender Parity in Diversity Management: a Qualitative Study into the Career Advancement Challenges amongst Finnish women
Valkonen, Kaisa (2023)
Valkonen, Kaisa
2023
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023051510739
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023051510739
Tiivistelmä
Today, organizations aim to ensure that they are considered inclusive and people with different backgrounds (eg. ethnicity, age, gender) are represented equally amongst their employees. Inclusivity amongst employees offers potential for benefits such as for example decrease in employee turnover, cost savings and a more diverse skillset. Despite this, the goal of inclusivity is difficult to meet. This study focuses on the shortcomings of gender equality in top- management positions within Finnish organizations. Different relevant theories are briefly discussed in relation to gender equality in diversity management.
Though the topic of women not being chosen for top management positions has been previously studied, the paradox amongst Finland ranking high in global gender parity reports in comparison to the low number of women in leadership positions justified additional research. This study focuses on finding the key challenges that women face in advancing in their career as well as when combining work and family life. To unveil these issues, women in top positions were interviewed regarding their personal experiences surrounding this topic. The study was therefore conducted as qualitative research in the form of semi-structured interviews, for which six women were chosen. The study took place in the academic year 2022-2023.
The study was conducted in order to answer the following two research questions: What career advancement related challenges do female leaders experience at work? and What challenges do female leaders experience when combining work and family life? The collected interview data was analyzed through thematic analysis, largely following the logic of the Gioia Method, by using codes and categories and presenting the key findings as first and second order codes and aggregate dimensions.
The findings suggest that most, if not all, of the main challenges that women face in advancing in their careers and combining their careers with their family life, can be associated with stereotypical, biased expectations and behavior by both men and women themselves. According to the collected data, the main challenges women face relating to career advancement are biased expectations and behavior, unequal parental leave system and other absences, the wage gap favoring men and higher education requirements. When it comes to combining work and family life, the main challenges were found to be absences relating to childcare, division of responsibilities at home according to stereotypical gender roles (favoring men), women supporting and prioritizing their spouses’ career over their own, time constraints and pressure to meet all expectations and lacking support from the employer.
Though the topic of women not being chosen for top management positions has been previously studied, the paradox amongst Finland ranking high in global gender parity reports in comparison to the low number of women in leadership positions justified additional research. This study focuses on finding the key challenges that women face in advancing in their career as well as when combining work and family life. To unveil these issues, women in top positions were interviewed regarding their personal experiences surrounding this topic. The study was therefore conducted as qualitative research in the form of semi-structured interviews, for which six women were chosen. The study took place in the academic year 2022-2023.
The study was conducted in order to answer the following two research questions: What career advancement related challenges do female leaders experience at work? and What challenges do female leaders experience when combining work and family life? The collected interview data was analyzed through thematic analysis, largely following the logic of the Gioia Method, by using codes and categories and presenting the key findings as first and second order codes and aggregate dimensions.
The findings suggest that most, if not all, of the main challenges that women face in advancing in their careers and combining their careers with their family life, can be associated with stereotypical, biased expectations and behavior by both men and women themselves. According to the collected data, the main challenges women face relating to career advancement are biased expectations and behavior, unequal parental leave system and other absences, the wage gap favoring men and higher education requirements. When it comes to combining work and family life, the main challenges were found to be absences relating to childcare, division of responsibilities at home according to stereotypical gender roles (favoring men), women supporting and prioritizing their spouses’ career over their own, time constraints and pressure to meet all expectations and lacking support from the employer.