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Turning points among female managers in Icelandic Technology: A narrative study

Bjornsdottir, Helga Thordis LU and Guðmundsdóttir, Karen Embla LU (2026) MGTN59 20261
Department of Business Administration
Abstract
This study explores how female managers in Icelandic technology companies describe their
career journeys and the turning points that shaped their progression into senior management.
Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using the Gioia methodology.
The findings show that none of these women planned their way into leadership. Instead their
careers were shaped by unexpected opportunities, invitations from others and circumstances that
forced a move they would not have made on their own. The analysis identifies five distinct
turning point types, institutional recognition, prospective, unchosen, internal and retroactive,
that extend existing frameworks in the career literature.
The study also finds that gender... (More)
This study explores how female managers in Icelandic technology companies describe their
career journeys and the turning points that shaped their progression into senior management.
Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using the Gioia methodology.
The findings show that none of these women planned their way into leadership. Instead their
careers were shaped by unexpected opportunities, invitations from others and circumstances that
forced a move they would not have made on their own. The analysis identifies five distinct
turning point types, institutional recognition, prospective, unchosen, internal and retroactive,
that extend existing frameworks in the career literature.
The study also finds that gender did not operate primarily through overt discrimination but
through subtler dynamics, including conformity from within, the unequal distribution of visibility
and opportunity and gender becoming visible when participants crossed outside Iceland into
international environments.
The findings contribute to the turning points literature and to understanding of how gender
operates in contexts that are formally committed to equality but where subtler dynamics persist (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Bjornsdottir, Helga Thordis LU and Guðmundsdóttir, Karen Embla LU
supervisor
organization
course
MGTN59 20261
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
turning points, career development, female managers, gender dynamics, Iceland, technology sector
language
English
id
9230793
date added to LUP
2026-07-27 10:42:00
date last changed
2026-07-27 10:42:00
@misc{9230793,
  abstract     = {{This study explores how female managers in Icelandic technology companies describe their
career journeys and the turning points that shaped their progression into senior management.
Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using the Gioia methodology.
The findings show that none of these women planned their way into leadership. Instead their
careers were shaped by unexpected opportunities, invitations from others and circumstances that
forced a move they would not have made on their own. The analysis identifies five distinct
turning point types, institutional recognition, prospective, unchosen, internal and retroactive,
that extend existing frameworks in the career literature.
The study also finds that gender did not operate primarily through overt discrimination but
through subtler dynamics, including conformity from within, the unequal distribution of visibility
and opportunity and gender becoming visible when participants crossed outside Iceland into
international environments.
The findings contribute to the turning points literature and to understanding of how gender
operates in contexts that are formally committed to equality but where subtler dynamics persist}},
  author       = {{Bjornsdottir, Helga Thordis and Guðmundsdóttir, Karen Embla}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Turning points among female managers in Icelandic Technology: A narrative study}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}