How can women reach higher-level positions: Implications for policy makers : A study of Swedish municipalities

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A STUDY OF SWEDISH MUNICIPALITIES

BACHELOR THESISIN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

AUTHOR: SARA TROEDSSON

EMMA HJALMARSSON

LINA BENNSÄTER

SUPERVISOR: Dr. TATIANA ANISIMOVA

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our appreciation and Gratitude to everyone that devoted time and feedback to make this thesis possible!

We would like to say especially thanks to:

Åsa Thörne Adrianzon

Jämställdhets-‐ och mångfaldsstateg Jönköping kommun

Liselott Nilsson HR-‐Direktör Malmö kommun

Linda Gustafsson

Jämställdhetsstrateg Umeå Kommun

Nicklas Halleröd

HR-‐Specialist Göteborg kommun

Ylva Millback

Personalchef Jönköping kommun

Anonym kommun och anställd

We would also like to thank our supervisor Dr. Tatiana Anisimova for the support and valuable feedback she provided in order to improve and finalise our study.

Last but not least we would like to thank our opponents, friends and family for valuable help and feedback in this process.

Sara Troedsson, Emma Hjalmarsson and Lina Bennsäter Jönköping International Business School

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Bachelor’s Thesis in Business Administration

Title: How can women reach higher-level positions: Implications for policy makers – A study of Swedish municipalities

Authors: Sara Troedsson, Emma Hjalmarsson and Lina Bennsäter Supervisor: Dr. Tatiana Anisimova

Date: 2014-05-12

Subject terms: Policies, Gender Equality, Leadership, Female Leadership, glass ceiling, Sweden, Municipalities

Abstract

Background Sweden possess the forth place as the most gender equal country in the world (World Economic Forum, 2013). But when it comes to women in higher-level positions, Sweden ends up below the European mean (European Commission, Justice, 2011). How can this be? And more importantly, how can Sweden work to attain gender equality in higher-level positions in the future? Why this gap exists in Sweden and how to reduce it is in need of further investigation and research.

Purpose The thesis aims to investigate why men keep dominating higher-level positions within organisations in Sweden. A focus has been put on municipalities and their extensive work for gender equality. The thesis will address the extensive work Swedish municipalities have done within gender equality and why they are relatively equal when it comes to gender equality in higher-level positions. Further on it will provide a general understanding of their successful work and how it can be useful in other organisations. Additionally, it will be investigated how this extensive gender equality work, with a primary focus on gender equality policies and plans, and other regulations can help women reach and keep the higher-level positions in an organisation.

Method A qualitative research approach has been used for this research. The primary data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with five Swedish municipalities. The data was later analysed through qualitative data analysis.

Conclusion In conclusion, the most successful factors to include when working towards a gender equal workplace and encouraging more females to aim for higher-level positions are extensive work with gender equality policies and plans, including changes in the recruitment process together with providing options of how to allocate your working hours. This to open up for equal opportunities, excluding gender based prejudices, for those individuals who have the right competence and are interested in possessing a higher-level position in an organisation.

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1 Introduction

This chapter introduces the reader to the topic of the thesis. Starting with the background to establish a foundation to the problem and then follow with an explanation of the relevance of the study. This chapter contains the purpose, research questions, and contributions, followed by delimitations.

1.1 Background

Gender equality and gender differences are reoccurring topics, no matter where in the world you are. Discussions about unequal conditions for men and women in different countries, where women in almost all categories are undervalued, are more common than ever. The work against gender differences has come far in some countries while in others women are still facing unequal behaviour. Sweden is one of the countries where the gap between men and women has decreased. In 2013 Sweden was the fourth most gender equal country in the world, meaning that Swedish women encounter much less, to almost none, unequal treatment compared to the women in those countries where the development has come nowhere (World Economic Forum, 2013).

Sweden is still not perfect. When talking about gender equality and gender gaps, two recurrent factors are work and wages. In the higher-level positions of almost all organisations we find CEOs, managers and leaders of different kind. Despite the gender equal society of Sweden, these higher-level positions are still dominated by men. Research has shown different types of prejudices and stereotypes that might be a reason to why fewer women still has not climbed up as high as the men in the carrier ladder (Ryan and Haslam, 2005). Municipalities in Sweden are organisations in the country that have come far in terms of working towards gender equality, combined with the fact that all information is public due to the principle of publicity, these arguments created the basis for the decisionto investigate how some of these municipalities work (Department of Justice, 2013). Considering different laws and policies regulating the municipalities and their gender equality work, much emphasis will be put on what these different laws and policies actually do in terms of encouraging more females to take on higher-level positions.

1.2 Problem

According to the World Economic Forum (2013) Sweden possess the forth place as the most gender equal country in the world. But when it comes to women in leadership and decision-making positions Sweden ends up below the European mean (European Commission, Justice, 2011). Investigated in this thesis is the reason behind this gap. Why do men still dominate the higher-level positions in Sweden?

There are several predictions regarding why Sweden still face a gender gap in higher-level positions in organisations. According to Still (1994), women face multiple forces preventing them from reaching the top and take on the role as a leader. One reason for this matter is declared by the famous ‘glass ceiling’. Burke and Vinnicombe (2005) explain the ‘glass ceiling’ as the invisible barriers limiting women in their career. Is this barrier something

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women build on their own or does the organisations do it for them? If so, does gender equality policies and plans work in order to prevent and remove the ‘glass ceiling’ and thereby help women in their climb to the top?

The municipalities in Sweden are working hard to act as a role model for other organisations in Sweden. Many Swedish municipalities have come far, introducing new and developing existing laws and policies regarding gender equality. One important example is the CEMR declaration, a policy encouraging active work for a gender equal workplace for all European municipalities and regions, introduced in 2006. However, as of today, 12 years later, only 108 out of 290 municipalities in Sweden have signed the agreement (Local & Regional Europe, 2014). Investigated in this thesis are five municipalities of which four have signed the CEMR declaration (Local & Regional Europe, 2014). Judged by the interviews it will be possible to see if any major differences and similarities between the municipalities exist, enabling an evaluation of the importance of gender equality policies, plans, the main laws, and other work. Ultimately a possible solution, alternatively help, will be provided from this research, which not only can help other organisations to improve their gender equality work but also possibly provide a guideline on how to help women reach the top positions.

1.3 Purpose

This thesis aims to investigate why Sweden, being a gender equal country, still is experiencing gender gaps in higher-level positions (World Economic Forum, 2013; European Commission, Justice, 2011). Additionally, the aim is to find possible guidelines for other organisations to adapt in their strive to achieve gender equality in these higher-level, man dominated, positions. The research question the thesis is based upon and intends to answer is: Can gender equality policies and plans help women reach higher-level positions in organisations?

1.3.1 Contributions

When studying and researching an area that have more to give and which can be further investigated the opportunity to contribute to academia arises (Bloom, 2009). This thesis aims to fill the gap of why women in Sweden still are underrepresented in higher-level positions in Swedish organisations even though Sweden is one of the most gender equal countries in the world (UNDP, 2011). The thesis strives towards finding a solution to this underrepresentation of higher-level positioned women through examining organisations whose gender equality work has come far. These organisations are the Swedish municipalities, of which five different sized and located have been interviewed. The main focus has been towards how the municipalities work with gender equality policies and plans, and how these have contributed to the high-level of gender equality in the organisation. The contribution from the study is illustrated in a model (Chart. 3) based on three main factors for how to open up for equal opportunities based on the research of the municipalities investigated. These three factors are; intensify work within gender equality, change the recruitment process and to provide solution-based options for all employees. The goal of the study is to help organisations

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outside of municipalities to implement a working strategy towards gender equalisation and in the long run a more gender equal Sweden, also in organisations’ higher-level positions.

1.4 Delimitation

This thesis aims to investigate success factors in the gender equality work of Swedish municipalities. Due to their extensive work, great achievements in promoting gender equality have been obtained (Gupta, Smith & Verner, 2008). By choosing to investigate not only Sweden but also municipalities, some limitations in the research is evident. The amount of municipalities could also be viewed as a limitation.

1.5 Definitions

Gender Equality in Swedish Municipalities

The definition of gender equality within a municipality in Sweden is stated as follows: Women and men have the same rights, obligations and opportunities. With gender equality in the workplace referred to women and men’s equal rights in terms of work, employment and other working conditions, and professional development (Appendix II).

Agentic leadership

A leader in control of subordinates is usually referred to as an agentic leader. This person demonstrates competitiveness, assertiveness, courageousness, independence, and is great in achieving task at their hand (Carli & Eagly, 1999).

Androgyny

“Androgyny is the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics. Sexual ambiguity may be found in fashion, gender identity, sexual identity, or sexual lifestyle. It can also refer to biological intersex physicality, especially with regard to plant and human sexuality.” (Oxford English Dictionary, 2005).

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1.6 Thesis Disposition

Chapter 1.

Introduction This chapter introduces the reader to the topic of the thesis. Starting with the background to establish a foundation to the problem and then follow with an explanation of the relevance of the study. This chapter contains the purpose, research questions, and contributions, followed by delimitations.

Chapter 2. Frame of Reference

This chapter provides the reader with an illustration of the major theoretical areas considered important for the data analysis as well as offers previous research in the area

Chapter 3. Methodology and Method

This chapter consists mainly of two parts, methodology and method. The methodology part gives a background and suggestions to the chosen method applied to the study, through evaluating the research philosophy and approach. This is later on followed by our chosen method, its implications, and an evaluation based on analysis and trustworthiness.

Chapter 4. Empirical Findings

This chapter was outlined to present the conducted interviews and give the reader an understanding of what the empirical ]indings brought to the table. The ]indings have been structured in an order of size of the municipality, largest to smallest.

Chapter 5.

Analysis This chapter presents an analysis of the ]indings, secondary and primary. It further aims to answer the research question.

Chapter 6.

Discussion This chapter presents a model compiled by the ]indings in the analysis; a discussion of the ]indings will later be presented, followed by a discussion of limitations and contributions will be covered.

Chapter 7.

Conclusion In this chapter the purpose and problem of the thesis will be answered with regards to previously stated ]indings, analysis, and discussion, and ultimately the main content of this thesis is concluded.

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2 Frame of reference

This chapter provides the reader with an illustration of the major theoretical areas considered important for the data analysis as well as offers previous research in the area.

”It is already well established that women face greater challenges than men in their attempts to climb to the top of the corporate ladder.”

(Ryan and Haslam, 2005 p.88)

2.1 The Gender Gaps

“Women and men have to have the same opportunities, rights and obligations in all the most important walks of life”

(Pincus, 2002 p.16) In the study of gender equality, the roles of women and men can be traced back to the philosopher Aristotle (Lupinacci, 1998). Aristotle’s view lacked a proportional view of men and women in leadership positions, this early view of human nature shaped a gap between the genders, men were portrayed as being rational whereas women were perceived as emotional. Hayward (2005) takes this even further by expressing the two ways a woman can reach a top position in; either flirt her way up or adopt a male behaviour.

Today gender stereotypes and gender gaps primarily come in terms of wage differences, undervaluation and overwork, and gender prejudices (Chichilnisky, 2008). These are all terms many of us encounter on a daily basis, no matter what context we are in. These terms have for a long time been combated, however parts of them still exist as underlying guidelines of our society. Gender gaps within management positions are not an exception. A research made by Duehr and Bono (2006) showed that today compared to 30 years ago, when gender stereotypes first got attention, the gender stereotypes in management positions have improved, meaning that the gap between the genders has decreased. They state that: “Male managers, in particular, seem to be characterizing women as less passive and submissive and more confident, ambitious, analytical and assertive.” (Duehr & Bono, 2006, p. 837). And even though it is still far from equal one can see how the numbers in many countries are changing. In the U.S. for example, the number of female managers grew with more than 34 per cent from 1990 to 2003 (Kurtulus & Tomaskovic-Devey, 2011).

Continuing with stereotypes of women, Oakley (2000) suggests that the lack of female managers depends on the stereotypes about how women lead. Some of the most common stereotypes Oakley (2000) believes are behaviour like diffident, non-aggressive, emotional and not dominant. Likewise Eagly and Karau (2002) mention two main types of historical prejudice towards female leaders. The first one is based upon the fact that women’s potential of becoming a successful leader is simply undervalued. An example here can be drawn to the

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research done by Bryans and Mavin (2003), where a group of strong women in different organisations shared their stories on how to become a manager. The answer was that “For these women it is not a smooth developmental story but a series of fits and starts, at one point they seem sure they know what they are doing but the next moment they are questioning their abilities again” (Bryans & Mavin, 2003, p. 129). The second prejudice stated by Eagly and Karau (2002) was that the females already possessing an agentic leadership role, where the prejudice is based on the fact that even though these female leaders have an equivalent behaviour to men in this position, many of these women still face unequal evaluations of their work, since they deviate from the traditional female norm.

Similar to Eagly and Karau’s prejudices, Chichilnisky (2008) believes there are two main institutions that are the fundamental reason to why we still see gender gaps in today’s society. These institutions are the family and the market, firm. It is stated that family’s values and firm’s values are as far apart any institutional values can be. The values of families are all about sharing and using common property resources. Meanwhile the values of firms are to maximize profit and produce private goods through the use of private property. It clearly shows how the genders allocate their time differently between home and work, “inequity at work leads to inequity at home” (Chichilnisky, 2008, p. 228). The uneven distribution of time spent at home and at work among men and women might be one important factor here, however since the gender gaps actually has proven to decrease, it is vital to bring to the table other alternatives to the tables to why there still appear to be a higher barrier for women to take on higher managerial positions.

A research made by Kurtulus and Tomaskovic-Devey (2011) regarding female managers in U.S. companies showed that top female managers have a significantly positive influence on other lower-level female managers. Factors such as having a role model or mentor seemed to be of great importance as well as it actually was proven that higher female managers simplified the process of getting promoted and recruited to higher positions. Another factor regarding recruitment is found in Kulik and Olekaln’s (2012) studies, which suggests that when it comes to negotiation within the employment context women have found to be disadvantaged and with poor negotiation skills the future as a successful party in the organisation might fade away. According to them “Women question whether they have the necessary skills to succeed” (Kulik & Olekalns, 2012 p.1388). Oakley (2000) draws parallels to the childhood of boys and girls. In these young years boys enhance their accomplishments while girls do the opposite, not wanting to look arrogant and superior. This is also a matter of girls not believing in themselves or not wanting to be perceived as someone who is enhancing herself.

Another possible reason to why we still encounter these gender gaps in management position is found when looking back at Duehr and Bono’s (2006) research. Their results showed that men in higher-level positions view of female managers had changed, however, male students had not come as far, and still viewed female and male managers from quite a stereotypical perspective. Duehr and Bono (2006) believe this is a result of changing roles in society or

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within different ages is discussed to depend on the level of experience with females on a social level as well as female managers the participants in the survey had encountered in their lives.

Looking back at Chichilnisky (2008) and her research about family and the market, there might be some valuable links to be drawn between her findings and Duehr and Bono’s findings. They believe that younger men are exposed to females in higher-level positions too little since they simply do not work, and a little too much to the females in the family if it happens to be their mother who stays home the most. Chichilnisky’s (2008) research further proved that women in general allocate more time at home, where the 24/7 availability necessary in higher-level positions is called to be risky, and therefore a larger gap in participation, followed by wage gaps was found. It is however proven in her research that equality at home improves welfare, as well as inequity at work generating inequity at home. When men earn more money, it is natural to let them work more, resulting in the women working more at home, since there is an unwritten rule that the genders still should work the same amount of hours, these hours are just allocated in different places. It all ends up in a vicious circle, where the institutions, family and organisations, need to change (Chichilnisky, 2008).

Virick and Greer (2012) stretch an increasing demand of talented leaders within companies. They highlight the fact that larger leading companies in today’s society strive more and more towards establishing a more diverse workforce. Diversity management, including cultural- and gender diversity, has proven to improve many larger organisations’ work. In their research, Eagly and Karau (2002) showed that most men prefer male managers and on the contrary most women support female managers. However, it was also proven that these prejudices definitely have decreased over time. Thus, there is a clear change and a new openness to female managers also among the men. Still though there is a generalization saying that most women often engage in communal, supportive behaviour, while men possess a more agentic leadership behaviour, meaning that they often work more independently and might have an assertive and competitive way of working. Hence, women still face some sort of natural barrier in terms of expected behaviour, which follows up by expected lack of skills, and could be a reason why it ultimately leads to unequal wages and chances of promotions. The factors, especially wages, have shown significant improvement over the years. So once again, it all moves forward, just in a very slow pace.

When studying the subject of women in management positions and gender gaps it is vital to not rely on too old research. Looking at even newer research within the topic of agentic and communal leadership, interesting findings have been made. Rosette and Tost (2010) show that women who possess a top manager position are viewed as more agentic, communal, and effective leaders than men in top management positions. Also there was a significantly less agentic view on the female middle managers compared to these female top managers. What Rosette and Tost (2010) found, might have been a new unique gender stereotype, which implies that women who has managed to climb the ladder and now possess a higher managerial position within an organisation, actually are viewed as more agentic, communal,

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and efficient than both men in the same positions and men and women in middle management positions. Furthermore the most important findings in Rosette and Tost’s (2010) research shows that there is no proof showing that neither women nor men are better as managers. Erasing these prejudices and stereotypes even further, Andersen and Hansson (2011) state that there are three different motivational factors in the way a leader work, including leadership style and decision-making style. Their research shows that there are no noticeable differences in leadership styles or in the decision-making styles. Instead it might be that those who choose a managerial position share some personal behaviour with one another. Neither in task oriented or people oriented behaviour. Rather it is discussed if the type of organisation the managers work within matters, if it is private or public. The conclusion of their research was that it might be the type of organisation, instead of gender, that forms a manager (Andersen & Hansson, 2011).

Like mentioned earlier, tables are turning, slowly but in the right direction. Chichilnisky (2008) believes a good start would be, in addition to equal pay check from the firms, in terms of a prenuptial legal agreement stating the equality of the time spent between the genders at home, which hopefully leads to more trust in available women. Over all there would be a win-win solution if a better cooperative outcome between the family and the market would be found (Chichilnisky, 2008). Eagly and Karau (2002) believes to make a change possible it all comes down to changing gender roles, leader roles, or both. It has been proven over and over again that neither men nor women possess any more beneficial leadership skills than the other. Rather it is discussed that gender norms, stereotypes, different expectations and evaluations might be what actually cause women to doubt their leadership abilities, while research by Kurtulus and Tomaskovic-Devey (2011) has proven that females are in need of more role models. To solve this problem, women first have to climb to higher-level positions, in order to do that they have to overcome the stereotype prejudices. The list is long, but in the end it all comes down to stopping the vicious circle. Erasing gender gaps in organisations is a continuous process that has taken and will continue to take a long time. The question is where organisations start? Can policies and plans help? Once again, Sweden is a country that has come far in gender equality, however in the higher-level positions within the country’s organisations, the majority are still men. The following section will provide an insight in Sweden’s gender equality and also for the first time give an insight in how some of the country’s largest organisations’, the municipalities, work with gender equality in higher-level positions.

2.2 The Role of Genders and Management in Sweden Today

When looking at the situation of gender equality in Sweden one can see similar results to what previous research has shown. Krafft (2007) has dug deeper into how both female and male academics’ views on career and organisations’ values are. The name of her article ‘More alike than different’ summarises the findings made in her study where she examined whether there is a difference between how females and males view their career and the values of the organisation they work for. The results were, like stated, more alike than different in almost

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all aspects. Krafft (2007) explains the results to show that men and women do not seem to have any differences at all when it comes to how they value organisations, their will to lead, or their view of career and a meaningful private life. The only tendencies to difference she found in the focus of the organisation’s values, where females focused from the organisation’s perspective while most men from a more individual perspective. Also females seemed to value the community in the organisation more than men do, something also proven before by Eagly and Karau (2002) in their research about agentic and communal leadership.

Reasons to why these gender gaps in wages still exist and why higher-level positions are still dominated by men are hard to define. In an investigation (Statistiska centralbyrån [SCB], 2013) it is proven that women possess more part time positions in their work than men, women are also in general more exposed to more insecure employments (SCB, 2013). In Sweden 76 per cent of all women and 81 per cent of all men are employed today, which might be seen as a result of doubt in women’s availability (Arbetsmiljö verket, 2014). However, like mentioned earlier, the high value of personal life between the sexes was in Krafft’s (2007) research totally equal. Regarding the choice between family and the market Chichilnisky’s (2008) research showed that females in general would be more keen on staying home than the men, when allocating their time between home and work. In Sweden Krafft’s (2007) study showed that this was not the case. Just like in all other similarities mentioned in her study, the importance of allocating enough time with the family seem to be just as important to men as it is to women. Females should therefore not be considered riskier than men when it comes to recruitment (Krafft, 2007). If this is true, the argument that women can be seen as riskier to hire because they do not have the constant availability that men do, mentioned in Chichilnisky’s (2008) research, would not actually be true in Sweden.

In UNDP’s Human Development Index for 2011, Sweden ended up in the top ten best countries, when many other large countries, like USA, dropped several places due to inequalities within the countries. The most highlighted and reoccurring factor of these inequalities is unequal wages between the genders. Even though a country scores high in this Human Development Index, it does not mean the wages in this country is equal. These gender gaps in wages still exist everywhere, just in various degrees (UNDP, 2011). Sweden has like mentioned before come far, however according to the official wage statistics regarding wage differences between the genders from 2012 there is a wage difference between men and women of 13,9 per cent. Even when considering profession, sector, educational level, working hours and gender there is still a wage gap of 6,1 per cent (Medlingsinstitutet, 2012). The municipalities in Sweden are considered to be organisations that have come far in their gender equality work. Much of this has to do with the fact that the work being done within the municipalities has such an enormous influence on the citizens. Since the majority of everything that goes on within the municipalities is originally regulated by politicians, which mainly serves to benefit the very many people (SKL, 2014). A combination of these factors makes the decisions and work made in the municipalities serve as a ‘role model’ in society, including providing good examples for how an organisation successfully can be run. Jutterdal (2008) describes the term gender equality to simply be the fact that no one should be

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discriminated because of his or her gender. Therefore working towards a gender equal workplace can be seen as vital within the municipalities, in order to prove things like men and women have the same abilities and should have the same possibilities to possess a higher-level position in an organisation.

2.3 The ‘Glass Ceiling’

The gender differences in higher education in Sweden are slowly disappearing, and this positive trend has been evident for the last decades (Davidson & Burke, 2000). However, like mentioned earlier this gender equality is unfortunately not reflected in the higher-level positions in Sweden, where the numbers are below European mean (European Commission, Justice, 2011). According to Adler and Izraeli (1993) this situation is improving, but it seems as if the counterforce is too strong, holding the improvements back.

The ‘glass ceiling’ is an inevitable concept to include in a research when talking about women as an equal part of the labour force. In 1984, Gay Bryant was the first to introduce the ‘glass ceiling’ theory (Bryant, 1984). Bryant explained the concept as follows “Women have reached a certain point—I call it the ‘glass ceiling’. They're in the top of middle management and they're stopping and getting stuck” (Bryant, 1984, cited in Bollinger & O'Neill, 2008, p.9). Later other authors has redefined and developed the theory. Nowadays, the definition most authors agree upon is that the ‘glass ceiling’ is the transparent barrier preventing women and minorities from reaching top positions (Albrecht, Björklund & Vroman, 2003; Ryan & Haslam, 2005; Baxter & Wright, 2000; Cotter, Hermsen, Ovadia & Anneman, 2001; Wright, Baxter, & Birkelund, 1995; Wirth, 2001).

While women struggles with the ‘glass ceiling’ during their career, preventing them from reaching top positions, men instead find help in the so called ‘glass escalator’, meaning that they are more likely to be conveyed into management positions (Williams, 1992). Ryan and Haslam (2005) take it even further, they mean that not only do women encounter the ‘glass ceiling’; they are also more likely to find themselves on a ‘glass cliff’. The ‘glass cliff’ means that if a woman is to find herself in a high position, it seems as if the position is often less promising than those of their male counterparts (Ryan & Haslam, 2005). The ‘glass cliff’ also states that women are more likely to receive criticism and greater scrutiny than men, and are less likely to get positive evaluations (Ryan & Haslam, 2005). To dig deeper into the matter Wirth (2001) states that women too often encounters prejudices and extended barriers when reaching for top positions. These prejudices can often be rooted in our history and how people see men holding the position as a top executive instead of women (Molin, 2000; Wahl, Holgersson and Höök, 1998).

The ‘glass ceiling’ is not only claiming the existence of discrimination within the hierarchy, it further claims that this gender-based discrimination intensifies as you move up to the higher levels of the hierarchy (Wright, Baxter & Birkelund, 1995; Baxter & Wright, 2000). Albrecht, Björklund and Vroman (2003) reinforces this statement by arguing that the gender log wage gap increases throughout the wage distribution with a sudden pickup in the upper tail. With

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exists. What the ‘glass ceiling’ tends to explain is why the women represent such a small per centage in the top of the hierarchy. But according to Still (1994) it omits an explanation of why the ‘glass ceiling’ exists.

Wellington and Spence (2001) are uncertain about the existence of the ‘glass ceiling’; if there is one they argue that there is no need for feeling enclosed. All a woman needs to do in order to break through the barriers is to be determined, persistent, and disciplined and then find their own winning strategy. They simply mean that it is up to the woman herself to build her career. After all it is only she whom can shape, imagine, and take her career further (Wellington and Spence, 2011). With this hesitant view of the ‘glass ceiling’ one starts to doubt, does it really exist?

Research claims that young people’s behaviour and values are becoming more and more androgynous (Winn, 2004; Marongiu, Ivarsson & Ekehammar, 2000). A more androgynous view of skills appropriate for a manager, where male and female characteristics are equally valued, and not directly tied to a specific sex, is starting to evolve. This would mean that the ‘glass ceiling’ is intact, operating only as a disadvantage towards older women. Winn (2004) says that the way the ‘glass ceiling’ is described today needs to be reviewed. He means that the reason behind the invisible barrier is due to women’s lack of confidence and he further claims that the lack of confidence is the main reason behind the so called ‘glass ceiling’. He goes further by saying that therefore the ‘glass ceiling’ is something that belongs to the past. Driscoll and Goldberg (1993) agrees to some extend, they believe we are making the women powerless by focusing on the ‘glass ceiling’, by focussing in this non-proven barrier women get a reason not to work harder.

It has long been argued that it is the woman herself who puts a stop to her career, and thereby only reaches the lower levels of leadership (Wirth, 2001). Wahl (1992) disagree with the old myth, he means that the ‘glass ceiling’ is not an individual barrier, but a categorical barrier, with its only root in gender, and the old tradition and stereotypes departing women from top levels. In Sweden the ‘glass ceiling’ exists, but the focus is surrounding the middle management rather than the top (Baxter & Wright, 2000). And in the case of Sweden these enhanced obstacles seems to be especially strong. Albrecht et al. (2003) agree, the existence of a Swedish ‘glass ceiling’ is apparent, and they further argue that the gap between men and women in the top of the wage distribution is extremely large. Rothstein (2012) confirms the existence of this gap by saying there is “still gender-based wage discrimination and the labour market is still very much structured along gendered dimensions with many more women than men doing part-time work and working in low-paid public sector jobs” (Rothstein, 2012, p. 325).

2.4 Other Barriers Associated with Gender

Some research shows that women in Sweden still take more responsibility for children than men do. For example, according to Göransson (2006) this fact stays true even for women who reach top positions in both the public and the private sector. This phenomenon is explained by Ahrne and Roman (1997) they state that social norms and values like this seem unable to

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handle change. They argue further that it might be the women who themselves have the wrong type of norms, and if this is true, the traditional values of motherhood makes women subordinate men, then why do women continue acting in the same way? According to Ahrne and Roman (1997) we need to focus more on this problem, and view it from a different view than what has been done earlier, we need to look further than viewing this as a matter of ‘internalized norms and wishes among women’. This is due to Sweden being a country where gender equality has been prioritized for the past 40 years and still this matter has not been changed too much. However, Rothstein (2012) view it in a different way, he claims that one explanation to this difference between men and women could be that women simply are the ones who wants to stay at home. Even if the trend goes toward the ‘right’ direction, a lack of a generation effect is evident. Meaning that the difference between younger and older couples is minimal. Believing in the idea that a gender equal Sweden will evolve only by time passing by is bizarre (Rothstein, 2012).

2.5 Policies

“In many respects Sweden may be a country where public policies to increase the equality between men and women have been most prolonged and advanced.”

(Rothstein, 2012, p. 324) The forerunners when it comes to gender equality and family-friendly policies are the Nordic countries. Their lead in this field started as early as a century ago when the first maternal leave was introduced in Sweden. The lead later continued on by the state intervening in the relieving of the conflicts regarding motherhood and work life (Gupta, Smith & Verner, 2008). A law where men and women are to be equal in the working life was introduced in 1980 (The Swedish Code of Statutes, 1991). The law stated that all sex discrimination in the labour market was to be banned. Furthermore all employers with more than 10 employees were required to construct an equal opportunities plan, with equal pay as one of the main points (Sörlin, Ohman, Blomstedt, Stenlund & Lindholm, 2011). Since 2009, it is decided that employers with more than 25 employees need to construct an action plan for gender equality, and renew it every three years.

Another major policy affecting the Swedish gender equality is the parental leave act, first introduced in 1974. The parental leave act allows either parent to stay home with their infant for as long as 480 days, while receiving grants (Sörlin et al., 2011). Sörlin et al. (2011) believes that even though Sweden has all these legislation, social support to reduce the gender gaps in the labour market, it is the internal work of organisations who are the key players in interpreting and acting upon the support existing in Sweden. For example, a gender-aware human resource management is crucial in order to achieving the goals. However, in essence, regardless of management and other internal factors, all organisations have the responsibility to reduce gender inequalities in Sweden.

According to Rothstein “Sweden may be a country where public policies to increase the equality between men and women have been most prolonged and advanced” (Rothstein, 2012,

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p. 324). Seeing this from Oakley’s (2000) point of view, the use of policies form the ground of what we call the ‘glass ceiling’ that prevents women from making it to the top. With this perspective, this research will tend to focus on if this is true. Are policies enhancing the ‘glass ceiling’ or preventing it?

Gupta et al. (2008) agree with Oakley’s pessimistic view of how policies have contributed towards the ‘glass ceiling’. They claim ”the combination of generous family-friendly schemes mainly in the public sector and high public sector employment in all Nordic countries may have led to a societal system in which mothers, women, select into relatively low paying jobs in the public sector where it is easy to combine a career with family responsibilities while men tend to locate in the private sector, have a low rate of take-up of family-friendly schemes, earn the larger part of household income and support the family” (Gupta et. al, 2008, p. 78). The family friendly policies has enabled a growing public sector, which nowadays has led to that more than half of the female workforce are employed in the public sector, while this is only true for 20-25 per cent of the male counterpart (Gupta et. al, 2008). Since the public sector consists mostly of mothers, Gupta et al (2008) would like to see an increased attraction of more non-mothers, meaning that both men and women should intend to pursue a career within the public sector. But Gupta et al (2008) also believe this attraction is hard, since the public sector is the only potential employer for a vast fraction of the labour force in the Nordic countries, which thereby enables the public sector to have monopolistic power when setting the wages.

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3 Methodology and Method

This chapter consists mainly of two parts, methodology and method. The methodology part gives a background and suggestions to the chosen method applied to the study, through evaluating the research philosophy and approach. This is later on followed by our chosen method, its implications, and an evaluation based on analysis and trustworthiness.

“Qualitative leadership studies […] have several distinct advantages over quantitative approaches by offering more opportunities to explore leadership phenomena in significant depth…”

(Klenke, 2008, p.5)

3.1 Methodology

Methodology is related to the process where the choice if particular methods and the design of the research, and the vindication of their relation to the research area, are made evident (King & Horrocks, 2010).

3.1.1 Research Philosophy

Interpretivism is the philosophy this thesis is rooted in, which is also the philosophy associated with qualitative research (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005). Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2012, p.137) explain interpretivism as “the difference between conducting research among people rather than about objects”. Interpretivists view of the world differs from positivists by arguing that the social world are far too complex to be able to fit into definite theories and laws. The emphasis of the interpretivism lies on the understanding that humans interpret the world differently. The philosophy behind interpretivism is that “knowledge is constructed by human beings as they make sense of their environment” (Anderson, 2004, p.42). The researchers must engage in a compassionate standpoint in relation to the research when exercising an interpretivist perspective (Saunders et. al, 2009). Due to the purpose of this thesis, the perspective of interpretivism was chosen to understand and interpret how policies can affect women and their ability to grow within a company. Saunders et al. (2012) find the interpretivist perspective to be highly suitable when the research regards business and management. This is due to the complexity of businesses and the many underlying reasons to why they behave in the way they do.

3.1.2 Research Approach

The interpretivist theoretical perspective is associated with qualitative research method (Belk, 2007). The research method used in this thesis was qualitative research. In comparison with quantitative research where the world is described in terms of variables, qualitative research are based on people, situations and events, and how these influence each other (Maxwell, 2013). A qualitative research method explains patterns, behaviours, functions, emotions, and how businesses uses polices to become gender equal. According to Strauss and Corbin (1998) a qualitative research is preferred when a research aims to explain and understand the

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meaning of nature or a phenomenon.

For the research an abductive approach was chosen, where “inductive inferences are developed and deductive ones are tested iteratively throughout the research” (Saunders et. al, 2012, p. 163). When working with the thesis the topic, research questions, and purpose were established before continuing with the identification of adequate theories. With an abductive approach the researchers are able to start out with specific theories and then alter them along the way (Saunders et. al, 2012).

For the researcher it is an advantage to be making adjustments and enabling flexibility during the process since it is beneficial for the end result (Eisenhardt, 1989). Gender equality and policy making are two broad research areas, and while address the research in the right direction flexibility was essential for reaching the conclusion. As proposed by Easterby-Smith, Thorpe and Lowe (1991), different views of the facts emerged when gathering the data. Hence, the adequacy of the abductive approach was obvious.

An abductive approach is a mixture of an inductive and a deductive approach (Saunders et. al, 2012). A solely inductive approach was unsuitable for this research since the elemental idea here is to enter the research with a blank mind and then create potential theories (Eisenhardt, 1989). The reason for not choosing an inductive approach is that without predetermined theories it is truly hard and difficult to attain a research (Eisenhardt, 1989). Within the subject of this thesis, gender equality in Sweden, there is much research and the foundation was already recognized. Thereby basing the research on a deductive approach was inappropriate since its purpose is to test hypothesis and theories (Saunders et. al, 2012).

3.2 Method

Method is defined as “the techniques and procedures used to obtain and analyse research data, including for example questionnaires, observation, interviews, and statistical and non-statistical techniques.” (Saunders et al. 2012, p. 674).

3.2.1 Qualitative Method

When choosing what type of method to use when doing a research, two common options to choose between are qualitative method and quantitative method. According to Joseph A. Maxwell (2012), when choosing what type of method to use it is of high importance to evaluate the context the research is within, also the issues of the study, and maybe the most important, the outcome of the research based on both all options of methods. “What would be an excellent decision in one study could be a serious mistake in another” (Maxwell, 2012, p. 87). In this case, it is chosen to base the research upon a qualitative method, which is defined as a “data collection technique or data analysis procedure that generates or uses non-numerical data” (Saunders et al., 2012, p.161). These non-non-numerical data often refers to factors like words, images, and video clips, and this method implies that the researcher make sense of e.g. what has been said in an interview or conversation regarding the research subject. Often this includes that in order for the researcher to get an in-depth overview of the subject, he or she has to create a relationship based on trust and respect with the counterpart in

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their conversations (Saunders et al., 2012). In this research the main focus has been in collecting in-depth data from interviews, which is why qualitative method is the right method for this research. It is believed that using a qualitative method will help in understanding the subject on a deeper level and also provide a broader view of its context, which would not have been provided if a quantitative method based on numerical data had been used.

3.2.2 Selection of the Respondents

“In qualitative studies, the researcher is the instrument of the research, and the research relationships are the means by which the research gets done” (Maxwell, 2012, p. 91). When collecting data it is normal to talk about sampling, however many sampling strategies, like probability sampling, ignores the facts that qualitative research is based upon settings and individuals which implies that random samples cannot represent all participants in the same way as in a sample from a quantitative research. Instead for a qualitative research we use the term purposeful selection or purposive sampling. This strategy samples the most important parts of the settings, individuals, and activities that regard the purpose and goals of the research question. Maxwell (2012) also highlight the importance of capturing the views of all participants within this sampling method, in contradiction to almost all quantitative sample methods which usually only gives an average view of the situation. However, maybe the most important help this sampling method brings to the research when considering the respondents, is the fact that it considers one to chose the participants with whom you can build and establish the most effective and productive relationship (Maxwell, 2012). Swedish municipalities stand under the principle of publicity, ‘Offentlighetsprincipen’, meaning that the amount of information available for the research is large (Department of Justice, 2013). Hence, it was a contributing factor to why Swedish municipalities were chosen to investigate. “Using a theoretical sampling strategy, the interviewer seeks out respondents who seem likely to epitomize the analytic criteria in which he or she is interested” (Gubrium & Holstein, 2002, p. 87). To get as broad and varied view as possible of the research, and to be able to, through analysing, come up with an adequate result and conclusion, it was needed to look into these previously stated recommendations and adapt to the purposive sampling method. Since all the municipalities in Sweden are regulated by similar gender equality policies and plans, the chosen municipalities was elected due to their differences in size and location in the country. It was chosen to base the targeted interviews on the following criteria:

• It had to be at least five different municipalities, preferably in different sizes, not all located to closely.

• If one municipality could offer more than one interview but with people within different positions, it would be to prefer.

Before deciding which municipalities to focus on, some research had to be done to make sure the municipalities met the requirements. Ultimately, a decision to contact Malmoe, Jönköping, Gothenburg, Umeå and a smaller municipality, who will remain anonymous, was made. Malmoe and Gothenburg are two of largest cities in Sweden, Jönköping and Umeå are

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placed as number nine and twelve (SCB, 2013). The last municipality chosen was a rather small but highly industrial municipality, in the southern Sweden, which will remain anonymous in throughout the thesis.

3.2.3 Data Collection

To be able to make a research properly the most important thing is to collect different types of data, in order to base the statement and result on something, to make it trustworthy. Depending on what type of research that is conducted, a certain type of collected data is needed. When collecting data there are two alternative sources one has to consider, primary or secondary sources. “Primary data refer to information obtained first-hand by the researcher on the variables of interest for the specific purpose of the study. Secondary data refers to information gathered from sources already existing” (Sekaran, 2003, p.219). In the case of this research, both primary and secondary data were needed in order to bring as valuable and trustworthy background to the results as possible. Examples of primary data are individuals and focus groups and some examples of secondary data are company records or archives, government publications, and industry analyses, all these data creates a great variety of opportunities in finding the information needed, however more important is how to actually collect these data (Sekaran, 2003).

Secondary data has been collected continuously throughout the research process. Adding information collected from academic journals from the Internet as well as different books that cover different areas of the research that needed to be backed up with other, already existing, researches. The most crucial data collected for this research though was the primary data, since this process requires more time, resources, and a general understanding of different conceptions of the world (King & Horrocks, 2010). Primary data can be collected via different types of interviews, motivational techniques, questionnaires, and observations. Because of its adaptability and flexibility the method chosen in this research to collect primary data are through interviews. By using interviews it enables the researcher to create this relationship based on trust and respect mentioned earlier, at the same time it opens up for possibilities to collect more valuable and in-depth information since questions can be changed and adapted as the interview is in progress (Sakaran, 2003).

3.2.3.1 Interviews

Interviews are one of the major approaches when collecting data in a qualitative research, and it comes along with many advantages (Kvale, 2008). This research attempts to understand why the gender equality is still not fully achieved, but also how this issue has changed in the municipalities after the introduction of gender equality policies and plans. “A qualitative research interview attempts to understand the world from the subjects' point of view to unfold the meaning of peoples' experiences, to uncover their lived world prior to scientific explanations” (Kvale, 2008, p. xvii). Hence, collecting data through interviews was the most appropriate tool for this research.

When designing a qualitative interview study there is no specific guidelines for how it is ought to be done in detail. On the other hand, there are some guidelines of how to structure

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the interview process. King and Horrocks (2010) divide the interview process into four different stages:

• Framing your research question • Choosing the type of interview to use

• Defining your sample and recruiting participants • Developing an interview guide

The first task is basically the reason to why the decision to do an interview is made in the first place, to get answers regarding the research question. It is based upon this question the whole interview is built, with relating questions based on the main research question, in order to get as much in-depth information as possible in the topic. When deciding upon which type of interview to conduct one can choose to do either face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, computer-assisted interviews, or interviews through the electronic media, and also choose whether the interview should be an individual or group interview (Sekaran, 2003). The interviews in this research were both individual face-to-face interviews and telephone interviews in Swedish, and they were also all recorded in order for the researchers to go analyse the interviews retrospectively, in combination with some note-taking that was collected throughout the interviews (King & Horrocks, 2010).

Like mentioned earlier, Saunders et al. (2012) emphasize respect and trust based relationship between the two parties in an interview, and therefore individual, in-depth interviews with all participants was the chosen structure in this research. To conduct an in-depth interview it means to seek that intimacy that is required for the self-disclosure required in some interviews. In-depth interviews themselves almost always require the interview to be a face-to-face interview since the whole interview is based upon a high personal commitment from both parties (Gubrium & Holstein, 2002). However due to restrictions in time and distance it was chosen to make three out of the six interviews on telephone. A main reason to the choice of interview is backed up in Gubrium and Holstein’s (2002) statement, “The interviewer seeks to achieve the same deep level of knowledge and understanding as the members or participants. If the interviewer is not current or former member or participant in what is being investigated, he or she might use in-depth interviewing as a way to learn the meanings of participants’ actions.” (Gubrium & Holstein, 2002, p.103).

An interview can be unstructured, structured, or semi-structured. The interviews conducted in this research are semi-structured interviews, which imply a set number of questions, but instead of having an interview dictated by these questions, the questions work more as guidance throughout the interview (Smith, Harré & Langenhove, 1995). When using unstructured interviews there are no direct set of questions, the questions are instead shaped individually to every interview based on e.g. what position the person possesses (Sekaran, 2003). Even though the interviews conducted in this research include interviews with people with different genders and different positions, it has been crucial to stick to the same base of questions with every interviewed person to be able to compare different views that might arise

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in some questions. Just like unstructured interviews were too unstructured, structured interviews were too structured. The interview structure needed had to keep the interview to the research topic but still make room for unexpected but still valuable information within the subject, so that as a result, the interviewer could build upon what had been said as well. Therefore semi-structured interviews were conducted (Smith et al. 1995).

Name of

Interviewee Municipality Position

Date of Interview

Length of

Interview Location of Interview

Nicklas Halleröd

Gothenburg

Municipality HR Specialist 2014-03-20 1h 4 min

Telephone interview conducted by the interviewer located in Borås Linda Gustafsson Umeå Municipality Gender Equality Strategist 2014-03-21 43 min Telephone interview conducted by the interviewer located in Jönköping Åsa Thörne Adrianzon Jönköping Municipality Gender Equality Strategist 2014-03-13 1h 10 min Face-to-face interview in Jönköping City hall Liselott

Nilsson

Malmoe

Municipality HR Director 2014-03-18 1h Face-to-face interview in Malmoe City hall Ylva

Millback

Jönköping

Municipality HR Director 2014-03-25 51 min Face-to-face interview in Jönköping City hall Anonymous _MunicipalitySmall XX 2014-03-25 35 min Telephone interview conducted by the interviewer

located in Jönköping

Chart 1: Interview Schedule, compiled by the Authors

3.2.3.2 Conducting the Interviews

In total, six in-depth interviews were conducted in this research, and the chosen municipalities for these interviews were Jönköping, Malmoe, Umeå, Gothenburg, and a smaller anonymous municipality (Chart. 1). Three interviews were face-to-face interviews, one in Malmoe and two in Jönköping’s municipality hall, and the rest of the three interviews, with the small municipality, Gothenburg, and Umeå, were telephone interviews. Generally semi-structured interviews can last for quite a long time, therefore it was important for the interviewers to make sure the interviewees were prepared for what was coming. All interviews, both face-to-face, were scheduled for one hour. Sufficiently long time before the interviews, e-mails were sent out to all interviewed, describing the interviewers, who they were and what their purpose of the interview was. Also a description of the topic was presented so that the interviewed could be somewhat prepared before the interview, the question schedule was sent out in before hand to those interviewed on telephone, however no questions were revealed before the face-to-face interviews (Smith et al. 1995).

All questions asked during the interviews are provided and translated in Appendix I, and like mentioned before the interviews were recorded and some of the interviewers also took notes during the questioning to be able to review the interview afterwards (King & Horrocks, 2010). The interview start is of great importance in creating the aimed relationship, in order for this to happen King and Horrocks (2010) suggest to start the interview with the simple and least threatening questions. Then, as the conversation evolves the interviewers can ask the deeper and more complex questions, and to properly close the interview the interviewers should kindly ask the interviewee if he or she has anything else to ad to the conversation that still has not been covered. Like mentioned earlier the interviews were conducted in Swedish, the reason for this is simply because it is the native language for all participants, including the

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interviewers. Also the gender equality policy is originally in Swedish, and it generally minimizes the language to become a barrier when the researchers collect in-depth information. However important quotes along with information was later on translated into English by the interviewers. So was important and valuable documents the researchers were able to take part of from each of the interviewed municipalities.

3.3 Qualitative Data Analysis

For this thesis a qualitative data analysis is chosen. According to Smith et al. (1995, p. 20) “There is no one correct way to do qualitative analysis”. Rather it is vital to find the qualitative data analysis that suits your work best. This should be done through planning the collected data so that the research question is answered correctly, and preferably the data analysis should also be able to contribute to the validity of the conclusion that one ultimately will make (Maxwell, 2012). To clarify, what should be provided in the section of data analysis is basically a sense making of the data collected, a process that among many other steps include taking apart data and then putting the different layers back in different segments so that a comparisons among the different sources can be done (Cresswell, 2014). The figure below shows the method chosen for the qualitative data analysis used in this research. The figure consists of six main steps, which all are, one by one, carefully applied when examining and structuring the collected data.

How can women reach higher-level positions: Implications for policy makers : A study of Swedish municipalities

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Acknowledgements

Bachelor’s Thesis in Business Administration

Abstract

Table of Contents

1

Introduction

1.1 Background

1.2 Problem

1.3

Purpose

1.4

Delimitation

1.5

Definitions

1.6

Thesis Disposition

2

Frame of reference

2.1

The Gender Gaps

2.2

The Role of Genders and Management in Sweden Today

2.3

The ‘Glass Ceiling’

2.4

Other Barriers Associated with Gender

2.5

Policies

3

Methodology and Method

3.1

Methodology

3.2

Method

3.3

Qualitative Data Analysis