| dc.description.abstract | In Sweden, women and men work almost to an equal extent, however, working life is both
horizontally and vertically gender-segregated (Peterson, 2017; Göransson, 2003; Muhonen, 2010).
Both the construction and IT industries are highly gender-based and the high positions are mainly
dominates by men.
It is interesting to study the working conditions for women in management positions in a male
dominated industry. They belong to what can be called a double minority. Possible challenges and
problems are investigated, as well as the opportunities and benefits that female managers in mendominated
industries experience. A researcher who has studied women's minority position in
organizations is Rosabeth Moss Kanter (1977). Her study is the main theory that this study uses when
analyzing collected empirical studies. Strategies women use to address any challenges and problems
that arise are also analyzed, among other things.
The method used is qualitative semi-structured interviews, to best capture female managers’ subjective
experiences. Five interviews were conducted with female managers, three of whom were from the
construction industry and two were from the IT industry. The industries were chosen because they are
highly male dominant.
The results of the study show that the interviewed female managers enjoy working in a male
dominated industry. Some challenges could be experienced, although much has improved in recent
years. The women could also experience certain opportunities and benefits of being women and
managers in the industry, such as being extraordinary as a woman and manager as a minority, and
perhaps having an advantage in recruiting. The female managers claimed that they did not use any
specific strategies to deal with any challenges, however, several strategies emerged in their respective
industries. The women also mentioned recommendations for how the proportion of women in the
industry can be increased. | sv |
