Jämställdhet, vad spelar det för roll? En kvalitativ studie för att undersöka hur numerär jämställdhet i styrelser påverkar organisationen och arbetet i styrelserummet

Abstract

Gender equality has been in the spotlight in social discussions focusing on justice. From a management perspective, gender equality is about taking advantage of all human resources, not only men. Politicians and media express the demand for women in Swedish boards, due to the majority of Swedish company boards are dominated by men. The purpose of the thesis is to create an increased understanding of whether and how gender equality affects boards in small and medium-sized companies and if they have noticed any positive effects, if women noticed restraints to become a part of the board and how gender equality affects the organization by having female role models. The study presents theories about social constructions such as gender, quantitative and qualitative gender equality, definitions of glass ceilings and homosociality. Furthermore, the method for the study has been based on a qualitative approach where the material has mainly been selected through semi-structured interviews, but also from the organization’s websites. We have collected the organizations through the West Sweden Chamber of Commerce's network as we are writing our thesis in collaboration with their project Styrelselistan. Moreover, the empirical material has been analyzed through a thematization of differences and similarities noted in the material and based on what is presented in previous research and the theoretical framework. The conclusion it that decision-makers at small and medium-sized companies have potential to develop the organizations to prevent women from being hindered by the glass ceiling. The most prominent obstacles identified are homosociality and difficulties in combining a career with family. All respondents saw clear advantages of working in a heterogeneous board, not least for the organization but also from a stakeholder perspective. Also, the study shows that women in high-ranking positions facilitate for other women to have a career as a board member.