CHANGING THE GAME: CAREER NAVIGATION OF WOMEN IN THE GAMING INDUSTRY IN SWEDEN

Abstract

Abstract Essay/Thesis: 30 hp Program and/or course: Master thesis in Strategic HRM and Labour Relations Level: First Cycle/Second Cycle Semester/year: Spring 2017 Supervisor: Helen Peterson Examiner: Report No: Keyword: Career navigation; career management; tokenism; gender; gaming industry Purpose: The purpose of the study is to identify and analyze how women navigate their career in the gaming industry and how gender influences the career navigation. Theory: The theoretical framework is composed by career navigation as a central concept; the career management model based on the work of Greenhaus et al. and tokenism based on the work of Kanter-Moss. Method: The method that was used is a qualitative research build on 10 semi-structured interviews. The data collected was coded and was analyzed in accordance to the theoretical framework. Result: The findings demonstrated that women navigate their careers by utilizing specific strategies and in accordance to their external environment. The contextualization of career navigation led to the discovery of negotiation; navigating out and The Gamer as additional navigation strategies. Finally, gender has been identified to influence the navigation process through the three perceptual tendencies of tokenism. The data outlined that women actively and consciously work to trade-off and channel the perceptual tendencies into assets.