Moving up the ladder: a mixed-method case study of barriers to gender diversity in leadership pipelines
(2023) MGTN59 20231Department of Business Administration
- Abstract
- The underrepresentation of women in management has been extensively studied over the years. Although research proves the many benefits of gender-diverse teams, and many initiatives have been introduced to promote them, this still remains an issue today. This paper was conducted as a case study, allowing the authors to explore an unique setting within an multinational organization, exploring and identifying the issues prevalent today. Thus, this case study aims to investigate how gender biases affect gender diversity in the leadership pipeline in a specific organization. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, it combines secondary data, a survey, and semi-structured interviews to explore and identify potential barriers that women have in... (More)
- The underrepresentation of women in management has been extensively studied over the years. Although research proves the many benefits of gender-diverse teams, and many initiatives have been introduced to promote them, this still remains an issue today. This paper was conducted as a case study, allowing the authors to explore an unique setting within an multinational organization, exploring and identifying the issues prevalent today. Thus, this case study aims to investigate how gender biases affect gender diversity in the leadership pipeline in a specific organization. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, it combines secondary data, a survey, and semi-structured interviews to explore and identify potential barriers that women have in attaining senior management positions.
The research findings highlight numerous gender biases that negatively impact gender diversity in the leadership pipeline. These biases include but are not limited to lack of mentorship, stereotypes about women's leadership capabilities and unconscious biases during performance evaluations and promotion processes. The study also identifies several differences in the career profiles amongst the employees, providing an advantage to the male managers in an traditional hierarchical setting. The study highlights the need for organizational support and awareness regarding biases, so that the career development within the organization can foster a strong and more diverse leadership pipeline.
This case study approach offers a glimpse into the complexities regarding the potential barriers women have when attaining senior management positions. The findings contribute to the existing literature on gender diversity in senior management positions, offering valuable insights for organizations seeking to address the gender imbalance and foster more diverse and inclusive workplaces. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9128686
- author
- Åkerström, Isabelle LU and Svanberg, Fabian LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- MGTN59 20231
- year
- 2023
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Gender diversity, leadership pipeline, talent management, self-career management, gender biases, career development, career concept model, diversity management
- language
- English
- id
- 9128686
- date added to LUP
- 2023-06-26 14:25:32
- date last changed
- 2023-07-04 16:13:49
@misc{9128686,
abstract = {{The underrepresentation of women in management has been extensively studied over the years. Although research proves the many benefits of gender-diverse teams, and many initiatives have been introduced to promote them, this still remains an issue today. This paper was conducted as a case study, allowing the authors to explore an unique setting within an multinational organization, exploring and identifying the issues prevalent today. Thus, this case study aims to investigate how gender biases affect gender diversity in the leadership pipeline in a specific organization. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, it combines secondary data, a survey, and semi-structured interviews to explore and identify potential barriers that women have in attaining senior management positions.
The research findings highlight numerous gender biases that negatively impact gender diversity in the leadership pipeline. These biases include but are not limited to lack of mentorship, stereotypes about women's leadership capabilities and unconscious biases during performance evaluations and promotion processes. The study also identifies several differences in the career profiles amongst the employees, providing an advantage to the male managers in an traditional hierarchical setting. The study highlights the need for organizational support and awareness regarding biases, so that the career development within the organization can foster a strong and more diverse leadership pipeline.
This case study approach offers a glimpse into the complexities regarding the potential barriers women have when attaining senior management positions. The findings contribute to the existing literature on gender diversity in senior management positions, offering valuable insights for organizations seeking to address the gender imbalance and foster more diverse and inclusive workplaces.}},
author = {{Åkerström, Isabelle and Svanberg, Fabian}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Moving up the ladder: a mixed-method case study of barriers to gender diversity in leadership pipelines}},
year = {{2023}},
}