| dc.description.abstract | In Norway, 84.5% of Managing Director positions are held by men, while women hold only 14.5% (CORE, 2022). Gender stereotypes contribute to the hiring bias favoring male applicants for leadership roles (Brescoll, 2016; Fischbach et al., 2015; Heilman, 2001). With this backdrop in mind, this thesis aims to address the research question “How do gender stereotypes affect females´ opportunities to attain leadership roles?”; and to shed light on the imbalance in gender representation in Norwegian leadership roles. The research emphasizes the benefits of a gender-diverse leadership team in terms of innovation and financial performance.
The literature findings confirmed the consequences women experience for either confirming or disconfirming gender stereotypes. The study follows an interpretivism research paradigm and employs a correlational research design with mixed-methods. Through theory triangulation and thematic analysis, the research examines four main themes related to gender stereotypes: personality traits/backlash effects, “lack of fit”, “glass ceiling”, and emotionality. An online survey, employing a 7-point Likert scale, gathered data, and a frequency analysis was conducted to measure the occurrence of each item.
The quantitative findings revealed that gender stereotypes indeed act as barriers for women in attaining leadership roles. Women are perceived to lack the personality traits associated with successful leaders, experience a “lack of fit”, face family responsibilities as barriers, and are considered more emotional in decision-making, which hinders their advancement to higher leadership positions. Thus, the recommendations suggested for business practitioners to consider are implementation of management training to strengthen knowledge and commitment to gender-diversity; recruitment transparency measures; training programs promoting equal opportunities for women; educational measures to better understand the benefits of emotionality in decision-making. | |
