Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Male-dominated organization'

Sweden has one of the most sexually segregated labor markets in the world, which creates unbalanced working groups. In this paper we have analyzed women and men's experiences of a male dominated workplace in electricity industry. The purpose of the study was to analyze men and women's experiences of the male dominance in a workplace where women are in minority. The study also aimed to investigate the perceived organizational culture and whether the interviewees perceived that the workplace was equal. Previous research shows that male dominated workplaces create problematic working conditions for women in particular. Our study was based on semistructured interviews. Six people have been interviewed, of which as many women as men. The result of the study showed that the differences between men and women's experiences are relatively small. Both men and women was satisfied with their work situation, however it appears that women felt a greater need to prove themselves unlike men. Women and men agreed that the culture was perceived as hard and humorous, it differed depending on whether you worked in the office or out in the production.

Detta är studie över Försvarsmaktens arbete med mångfald och jämställdhet. Syftet är att ta reda på varför kvinnor påbörjar deras antagningsprocess, men sedan väljer att inte fullfölja den. Detta är en problematik som Försvarsmakten har och de arbetar med att försöka få in fler kvinnor i organisationen. Deras mål är att kunna ta bättre beslut ur ett mångfaldigt perspektiv och därmed nå hög effekt.   Data samlades in med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer, både personliga och via telefon. Först utfördes en personlig intervju med vår kontaktperson på Försvarsmakten, därefter en telefonintervju med en person som arbetar med ett projekt för att få kontakt med kvinnor som påbörjat deras antagningsprocess. Efter det utfördes 14 telefonintervjuer med kvinnor som hade påbörjat ansökningsprocessen, men som valde att inte fullfölja den.   Resultatet visade att Försvarsmaktens arbete för mångfald och jämställdhet går att koppla till tidigare forskning och teorier om ämnena. Det framkom även att de kvinnor som vi intervjuat, valde att inte fullfölja antagningsprocessen på grund av att andra intressen tog över eller för att det blev fel i det första steget i antagningsprocessen.
This is a study of how the Swedish Armed Forces work with diversity and gender equality. The aim is to find out why women begin their admission process, but then chose not to pursue it. This is a problem that the Swedish Armed Forces have and they are trying to attract more women into the organization. Their goal is to be able to make better decisions from a diverse perspective and thereby achieve high effect.   The data was collected by using semi-structured interviews, both personal and by telephone. First performed was a personal interview with our contact at the Swedish Armed Forces, then a telephone interview with a person who is working on a project to make contact with women who have started their admission process. 14 telephone interviews were performed with women who had begun the application process, but then chose not to pursue it.   The results showed that the Swedish Armed Forces' efforts to promote diversity and gender equality can be linked to previous research and theories on the substances. It also showed that the women who we interviewed, chose not to complete the admission process due to other interests took over, or that something turned out wrong in the first step of the admission process.

Vår uppsats undersöker hur tio kvinnor upplever att studera och arbeta på en mansdominerad arbetsplats, Försvarsmakten, ur ett genusperspektiv. Studien besvarar följande frågeställningar: Hur beskriver och upplever kvinnliga kadetter normer och värderingar inom organisationskulturen, ur ett genusperspektiv? Hur bidrar organisationskulturen till kvinnornas identitetsskapande i relation till de genusdiskurser som förs fram i Försvarsmakten? Hur formulerar de kvinnliga kadetterna sin yrkesidentitet ur ett genusperspektiv? Syftet med studien är att synliggöra genusdiskurserna inom militära arbeten då de ofta saknas. Vi undersöker frågeställningarna med en kvalitativ metod med tio semistrukturerade intervjuer med kvinnor som studerar eller ska studera till officer i Försvarsmakten. Det empiriska materialet har tolkats genom tidigare forskning och teori inom genus, organisationskultur och identitet. I studien framkommer att kvinnorna vill vara del av något större, de vill uppmärksammas för sina prestationer och inte för sitt kön, vilket inte alltid stämmer överens med det externa och interna kulturella perspektivet. De känner en stor tillhörighet till Försvarsmakten och upplever att de rådande normerna kring genus och könsroller i organisationen kommer att förändras trots upplevelser som talar emot. Identitetsskapandet påverkas av sociala sammanhang i organisationen och det finns avgörande faktorer och sammanhang som påverkar deras upplevelser av sin yrkesidentiteten.
This study examines how ten women experience studying and working in a male-dominated organization, the Swedish Armed forces, from a gender perspective. This study answers the following questions: How do female cadets describe and experience norms and values in the organizational culture, from a gender perspective? How does the organizational culture contribute to women´s making of identity in relation to the gender discourse that are presented in the Swedish Armed Forces? How do the female cadets formulate their professional identity from a gender perspective? The purpose of the study is to make the gender discourses in military work visible. We answer the questions with a qualitative method with ten semi-structured interviews with women who are or will study to become an officer in the Armed Forces. The empirical material has been interpreted through earlier research and theory about gender, organizational culture and identity. The study shows that women want to be part of something bigger and want to be noticed for their achievements and not for their gender which not always agrees with the external and internal cultural perspective. They feel a great sense of belonging and feel that the existing norms regarding gender and gender roles in the organization will change despite experiences that speak against it. The making of identity is influenced by social context in the organization and there are cultural factors and context that affect their experiences of their professional identity.

”Snutfitta”, ”du är ändå inte stark”, ”lilla gumman” är bara några av de förekommande meningar som kvinnliga poliser möts av när de arbetar ute i samhället och möter allmänheten. Att vara kvinna i ett traditionellt sätt mansdominerat yrke kan vara svårt både när det gäller hur de blir behandlade och bemötta samt möjligheten att klättra inom organisationen. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att ta reda på hur kvinnliga poliser upplever att de blir bemötta av samhällets medborgare, men även på arbetsplatsen. Finns det en större press på kvinnor i ett mansdominerat yrke att prestera hårdare för att bevisa att de räcker till? I studien har Erving Goffmans teori om intrycksstyrning, Axel Honneths teori om de tre dimensionerna, Jean Lipman Blumens teori om homosocialitet och heterosocialitet samt Morrisons teori om glastaket tillämpats. Dessa teorier har tillämpats i syfte till att besvara studiens frågeställningar. Resultatet av denna studie presenteras av semistrukturerade intervjuer i en kvalitativ design, där tio kvinnliga poliser deltagit i intervjun och delat med sig av sina upplevelser. Analysen av resultatet visade med hjälp av teorier och vetenskapliga artiklar att det är ett hårdare klimat för kvinnor i ett mansdominerat yrke, dels vad gäller utvecklingsmöjligheter, dels hur kvinnor inom yrket bemöts av samhället. Slutsatsen av resultat och analys visade att även om jämställdheten inom polisyrket ökar, finns det fortfarande skillnader mellan könen vilket grundar sig långt bak i historien och är svårt att komma ifrån
"You are not strong enough" and "honey" are just some of the prevailing sentences that female police officers meet when they work in the community and meet the public. Being a woman in a male-dominated profession can be difficult when it comes to how they are treated and the opportunity to climb within the organization. The purpose of the present study was to find out how female police officers perceive that they are being treated by society's citizens, but also in the workplace. In the study, Erving Goffman's theory of impression management, Axel Honneth's theory of the three dimensions, Jean Lipman Blumen's theory of homosociality and heterosociality, and Morrison's theory of glass ceiling have been applied. These theories have been applied in order to answer the study's questions. The result of this study is presented by semi-structured interviews in a qualitative design, where ten female police officers participated in the interview and shared their experiences. The analysis of the results showed, with the aid of theories and scientific articles, that it is a harder climate for women in a male-dominated profession, both in terms of development opportunities and partly how women within the profession are treated by the society. The conclusion of the result and analysis showed that even though gender equality in the police profession is increasing, there are still differences between the sexes, which is based far behind in history and is difficult to get away from.

In an effort to make documented and fair decisions on work‐related opportunities and career progressions, job performance has emerged as a pivotal Human Resource tool due to its link to quasi‐every career‐related decision in the organization. Indeed, differences in performance evaluations can influence a number of career advancement variables. Performance measurement differences can impart both pay and promotions (Roth, Purvis & Bobko, 2012), lead to lower levels of job satisfaction (Colquitt, Conlon, Wesson, Porter & Ng, 2001; King et al. 2010) and lower levels of perceived organizational justice (Colquitt et al. 2001; Motowidlo, 2003), which in turn break efforts to create a fair and balanced workplace. If within an organization allocation of bonuses, wages, responsibilities and promotions are partially or entirely determined by job performance evaluations, then job performance is likely to mediate the relationship between gender and career advancement, particularly for women in male dominated organizations.The centrality of job performance calls for scrutiny; as job performance has a potential to constitute a powerful mechanism in terms of its potential to marginalize and/or exclude women. Despite legislative and organizational efforts to alleviate gender inequality and shatter the glass ceiling, women are still disadvantaged in the labor market.In fact, women who have managed to enter male‐dominated organizations and occupations are still under‐represented and face numerous hurdles. Empirical evidence is plentiful on gender discrimination even when women are successful at their job (e.g. Parks‐Stamm et al. 2008, Heilman & Okimoto, 2007) and have secured positions in upper management (Heilman et al. 2004). However, little evidence is available on women’s experience of discrimination within the performance appraisal context and how existing job performance prototypes are affecting the perception of their work, including bias by other women.This dissertation is interested in filling that research gap and contributing to the body of knowledge on women’s experience in male‐dominated organizations. The potential of job performance having a marginalizing effect on women, in the sense of limiting women’s career opportunities, is examined with regard to women’s work experience and how women themselves can perpetuate their marginal position in the workplace. The intent is to reveal the mechanisms upholding and reinforcing the glass ceiling and gender inequity in the workplace.Based on the literature review and identified knowledge gaps two lines of enquiry have emerged and will be investigated in this dissertation:-  How job performance functions as a mean of (re)producing gender inequality in male dominated organizations and occupations by its gendered character-  How women in male‐dominated organizations can be participants in maintaining inequality by relying on gender stereotype expectations to evaluate their job performance and that of other female colleagues.In order to grasp and address the complexity of the potentially gendered character of job performance the dissertation takes on a multidisciplinary approach.The dissertation is divided into two main parts. The first part comprising chapters 1 to 3 reviews the current literature on women’s experience in male‐dominated organizations. These chapters provide the theoretical framework for the research contributions, presented as essays in part two of the dissertation. Chapter 1 presents a literature review depicting the situation of women in the European labor market and the persistent horizontal and vertical segregation. The specificities of token women (less than 15% representation; Kanter, 1977a) in male dominated organizations and the impact of tokenism on women’s job performance are discussed.Chapter 2 details gender stereotypes and explicates their direct impact on the assessment of women’s work and job performance. This chapter argues the case for genders stereotypes as the leading social psychological mechanisms impeding the perception of women’s work as being equivalent to that of men. Perceived incongruity between gender stereotype attributes gives rise to expectations on women’s performance, generally, that they will perform poorly in male‐typed occupations (Heilman, 1983, 1995, 2001). This can therefore penalize women in their career paths and become significant barriers to their social and economic opportunities. In fact, stereotype beliefs about attitudes, characteristics and roles of women and men influence the evaluation process and constitute the backbone of the analysis of this dissertation.Chapter 3 explores the existing literature on women’s participation in biased evaluation of themselves and other women. Women’s roles as evaluators as well as their self‐ perception as performers is outlined in relation to the way they can maintain and reinforce gendered performance norms. Building on system justification theory, this chapter highlights the complexity of gender inequality in organizations and seeks to acknowledge internalized and often unconscious gender biases at work.Subsequent to the literature review of part one, part two (chapters 4 to 8) presents the research contributions of the dissertation, namely the mechanisms, which maintain and reinforce gender inequality in male dominated organizations. Chapters 4 to 5 outline the investigations into the research enquiries posited. Each chapter of part two constitutes an independent essay highlighting through various analytical lenses the complexity of marginalization through job performance. In line with a multidisciplinary approach, the essays presented in chapters 4 and 5 are of a theoretical nature whereas chapters 6, 7 and 8 comprise empirical studies.Chapter 4 sets out to investigate the potential gendered character of job performance and the legitimating effects of meritocracy as the ideological framework, which informs each stage of job performance; from setting the criteria to using performance evaluation information to distribute organizational goods. The major contribution of this chapter is to bring forth the way in which performance and merit intertwine to perpetuate mechanisms of inequality and invalidate contestation at each stage of job performance. Gender‐blind and merit‐based HR (Human Resources) processes such as performance are rarely put to question and revealed as inherently biased themselves. The findings call for a critique of meritocracy on a systemic level as well as the implementation of an outcome‐oriented approach to job performance evaluations and reward allocation.Chapter 5 applies and extends social identity theory to explain the underrepresentation and marginalized position of women in European academia. The chapter illustrates the extent to which the Leading Academic Performer (LAP) is based on male characteristics and therefore contributes to the marginalization of female academics. This chapter endeavors to further the theoretical underpinnings by proposing an applicable taxonomy of social identity theory performance (Klein, Spears & Reicher, 2007). The chapter illustrates how social identities can be strategically performed to enhance the perception of female academics as leading academic performers.Chapter 6 and chapter 7 are contributions based on an empirical study using a social psychological experiment methodology, involving 163 Master students (Business major) from a Belgian university. The objective of the study was two fold. Chapter 6 investigated the standards and criteria used to evaluate male versus female job performance. Chapter 7 looked at how female and male evaluators differed in their evaluations and how they perceived the value of their evaluative work when evaluating a woman versus a man.More specifically, in chapter 6 participants were asked to evaluate the job performance of a randomly assigned female or male IT manager and to decide on whether they should retain their position. Major findings of this study show that not only did evaluators (regardless of their gender) automatically assign female IT managers higher interpersonal skills, thereupon confirming the use of stereotype beliefs, but they also used double standards to decide the retention of the female employee. When it came to female employees, their retention decision was directly linked to their performance evaluation. This was not the case for male employees. Other standards outside of job performance were used to retain the male employee. In addition, results reveal that female evaluators systematically gave lower ratings than their male counterparts. The results in this study show that both men and women evaluators not only use similar norms to evaluate but are also harsher when evaluating female performance.Chapter 7 explores the evaluators’ perceived entitlement in regards to the task of evaluating the job performance of a man versus that of a woman. Contrary to previous research on the depressed entitlement effect (i.e. phenomenon where by women underpay themselves relative to men but are just as satisfied with their employment situation as men) in this study, all evaluators, men and women expressed an elevated sense of entitlement when appraising the performance of a female worker. Evaluators assessing a woman’s job performance felt that they deserved 19,64% more (monetary reward) compared to those evaluating a man’s job performance. Interestingly, evaluators who gave high interpersonal skill ratings exhibited a depressed entitlement effect. It would seem that focusing on female associated skills gives evaluators the perception that this work is less worthy. Both chapters 6 and 7 highlight the gendered character of evaluating performance and point to the difficulty evaluators might have in evaluating female job performance. Equally, the findings support the claim that women themselves participate in system‐maintaining mechanisms that stress communality injunctions on female workers.Chapter 8 presents a study, using qualitative methodology, conducted in a Belgian subsidiary of a multinational IT corporation. The study is based on semi‐structured interviews with 32 managers and employees across organizational departments. The aim is to highlight job performance expectations and to render visible criteria thought to be best predictive of good employee performance. To bring forth existing yet hidden gendered elements in the discourse on job performance, gender subtext was chosen as the analytical tool. Gender subtext analysis allows for an understanding of how seemingly gender‐blind language is in fact embedded with gendered meanings. Results of this fieldwork support the analysis in previous chapters: Job performance expectations perpetuates a prototype of the exemplary performer as masculine, thereby forcing the few token women to position themselves in masculine terms or risk increased marginalization from deviating the dominant management style. Finally, a section of the chapter is dedicated to analyze how women do work in their predominately male dominated organization and how this could lead to perpetuating masculine norms of performance.A general discussion concludes the dissertation and analyses the findings (i.e. the four mechanisms that have been identified, which reinforce the glass ceiling and maintain gender inequality through job performance). Overall, the investigations into the research enquiries have revealed the gendered and thus biased character of job performance. If within an organization, androcentric job performance criteria and evaluations are partially or entirely used to determine the allocation of bonuses, wages, responsibilities and promotions, then job performance constitutes a powerful gendered mechanism legitimating and maintaining gender inequalities. Each essay in part two has examined and brought to light the (re)production of gender inequality in male dominated organizations and occupations through job performance. By using a multidisciplinary approach, the theoretical analyses presented, is consolidated the laboratory experiments and fieldwork. Equally, the role of women in maintaining gendered performance norms by relying on gender stereotypes, albeit unconsciously, is uncovered. The participation of women themselves in maintaining and reproducing the status quo limits the possibilities for contestation and hinders attempts at transformation towards more gender equity. To conclude, the chapter proposes practical recommendations alleviate contributing mechanisms behind the glass ceiling.
Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine, understand, and describe the challenges women face to advance to middle management (lieutenant and captain) in the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The study focused on the individual lived experiences of female California Highway Patrol captains and lieutenants as they rose through the ranks of the CHP.

Methodology: The phenomenological qualitative methodology was utilized to understand the lived experiences of 7 female lieutenants and 5 female captains. In-depth personal, semistructured interviews were conducted to answer the research questions and subquestions. The researcher analyzed data collected and utilized NVivo to reveal patterns and themes.

Findings: The findings were identified through 28 themes and 681 frequencies among the 6 elements of the lived experiences of female lieutenants and captains on their path to leadership. Eight key findings and one unexpected finding were identified based on the frequency of references by study participants.

Conclusions: The 8 key findings were summarized into conclusions that included having advanced degrees prior to pursuing a career, having field experience prior to advancement to leadership, taking family considerations into account before joining the CHP, having mentors throughout their career, being physically and mentally prepared when entering the academy, making a difference, and building relationships throughout their career. Additional conclusions included the politics of the promotion should apply to women and men equally, and sexual harassment should not occur nor be tolerated.

Recommendations: Future research should include examining the promotional process for both men and women in the CHP, replicating this study using another large law enforcement agency, studying recruitment of women in the CHP, exploring the experiences of women during the academy and their experiences during the break-in period, and researching the experiences of women concerning sexual harassment within the CHP.

The aim of this study was to examine how our way of doing gender affect female managers in the male-dominated IT organizations and how the female managers handle the consequences they entail. The study is based on a qualitative research approach where we gathered empirical data through semi-structured interviews. In this study, six respondents with varying experiences of management role within the IT organizations participated. The results are analyzed with the help of previous research and the theoretical framework which included Pierre Bourdieu's theory masculine domination and the West and Zimmerman's theory doing gender. In our study, we concluded that female managers in the male-dominated IT organizations feel the need to adapt to a greater degree than their male counterparts. As a result of the contradictions that exist in the female gender norms versus the role expectations placed on managers, who have a male character, women need to downplay their femininity, including  by adjusting their language.

Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka hur kvinnliga chefer inom en mansdominerad bransch upplever sin ledarskapsroll. Genom en kvalitativ studie genomfördes sex intervjuer med kvinnor i en ledarskapsroll inom mansdominerade branscher. Dataanalysen genomfördes utifrån en induktiv tematisk analys och utifrån det transkriberade materialet framkom fyra huvudteman; ledarskapsrollen, hinder som kvinna och chef, branschkultur och stereotypa attityder. Resultatet visade att flertalet kvinnor upplevde att deras ledarskap är av mjuk karaktär vilket de menade var en väsentlig skillnad i jämförelse med deras manliga kollegors ledarskapsstil i samma position. Utifrån respondenternas upplevelser framkom även att kvinnorna upplevde hinder och utmaningar som inte män i samma position står inför i en mansdominerad bransch. Dessa hinder var bland annat en tuff jargong och kultur samt låga förväntningar och höga prestationskrav som grundar sig i stereotypa föreställningar.
The aim of the present study was to examine how female managers perceive their role as a leader in a male-dominated industry. To investigate this, a qualitative method was applied, using semistructured interviews with sex female leaders within a male-dominated branch. The data collection was analysed using inductive thematic analysis where four themes was identified: the leadership role, obstacles for female managers, branch culture and gender stereotyped attitudes. The result revealed that most of the women experienced that their leadership style was characterized by a soft nature, which they believed was a significant difference compared to their male colleagues’ leadership style in the same position. Based on the respondents experiences it was found that women experienced obstacles that not men in the same position face in a male-dominated industry. These obstacles were a tough jargon and culture as well as low expectations and high-performance requirements based on stereotypical conceptions.

The purpose of this study was to identify what business executives do to counteract unwanted cultures within male dominated trades. This study will investigate two questions that are based on how business management experience the culture within an organization and what they do to actively prevent unwanted norms, attitudes and values in a work place. Nine semistructured interviews were conducted utilizing a qualitative method. All interviewees were in a position of power within male dominated trades. Collected data was analysed with an inductive thematic analysis which resulted in four main themes. The first main theme was trade culture, within which jargon and generational shift are discussed. The second main theme was the challenges and advantages of leadership. This theme discusses company leaders' ability to correct behaviors and be a good role model. It is also about diversity and employer - employee relations. The third main theme was safety culture, which concerns the idea of clarifying and reinforcing certain behaviors and expectations. The fourth and last main theme was the work of change. This theme enlightens the support that leaders may offer, as well as the values that permeate a workplace.

Denna uppsats har som syfte att undersöka om det går att förändra en organisationskultur genom värdegrundsarbete, samt om det är en metod som kan användas för att utmana den mansdominerade kulturen inom räddningstjänsten. För att uppfylla detta syfte har vi utgått från frågeställningarna Hur tolkar brandmännen värdegrunden på Räddningstjänsten Karlstadsregionen? samt Kan värdegrundsarbete vara ett sätt att utmana den mansdominerade kulturen inom Räddningstjänsten?. Den tidigare forskning som gjorts kring värdegrunder är inriktad mot skolverksamhet i första hand vilket gör det intressant att undersöka möjligheten att använda detta som en metod även inom andra verksamheter. Uppsatsen inleds med en teoretisk bakgrund kring organisationskultur, värdegrund samt mansdominerad kultur. Studien är av kvalitativ karaktär och innebär att vi har utfört åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer med brandmän på Räddningstjänsten Karlstadsregionen. Att valet föll på denna organisation beror på att de nyligen har tagit fram en värdegrund som styrdokument och har sedan 2012 arbetat med att implementera den i organisationen. Med hjälp av vår teoretiska referensram har vi analyserat resultatet som framkommit av intervjuerna. Resultatet av vår studie visar att det finns en tvetydighet i tolkningen av värdegrunden som delvis kan bero på att ledningen brustit i sitt arbete att förmedla värdegrunden på ett framgångsrikt sätt, samt delvis för att det finns en ovilja bland brandmännen att ta den till sig. Vår undersökning har visat att värderingarna i organisationen behöver synliggöras för att värdegrundsarbete ska kunna användas som en del i arbetet för att förändra en organisationskultur. Inom en mansdominerad kultur som räddningstjänsten är det även viktigt att synliggöra och problematisera den jargong som finns för att kunna nå en förändring.

Ändamålet med den här studien har varit att undersöka kvinnors karriärmöjligheter och upplevelser av att arbeta på Polismyndigheten som är en mansdominerad organisation. I presentationen av studien har vi valt att redogöra empiri utifrån respondenternas egna perspektiv och sedan kopplat ihop framställningarna med teorier om organisations- och könsstrukturer som kan förklara Polismyndighetens hierarkier och arbetsfördelningar. Uppsatsen är gjord utifrån en kvalitativ ansats och det insamlade materialet är framställt utifrån intervjuer som vi har gjort med sex stycken kvinnor som arbetar på olika platser inom Polismyndigheten. Resultatet indikerar att kvinnornas upplevelser inom Polisen liknar varandra även då de befinner sig på olika avdelningar och hierarkiska nivåer. Kvinnornas upplevelser påvisar att det finns hinder och svårigheter för dem i organisationen. De är underrepresenterade och utgör inte är den ideala polisen som baseras på manlighet. De ska kunna verka och accepteras i organisationen på ett liknande sätt som sina manliga kollegor. Kvinnorna tar ofta ett större ansvar för familj som därmed påverkar deras karriärer och yrkesstatus. Resultatet i studien har kunnat styrka vår egen förförståelse och påvisat att manlighet är normen inom myndigheten.
The purpose of this study has been to investigate women's career opportunities and experiences of working at the police authority, which is a male-dominated organization. In the presentation of the study, we have chosen to describe empirical data from the respondents own perspective and then link the representations with theories of organizational and gender structures that can explain the police authorities' hierarchies and division of labor. The essay is based on a qualitative approach and the collected material is presented on the basis of interviews that we have done with six women who work in different places within the police authority. The result indicates that women's experiences within the Police are similar to each other even when they are at different departments and hierarchical levels. The women's experiences show that there are obstacles and difficulties for them in the organization. They are underrepresented and do not constitute the ideal police based on masculinity. They should be able to work and be accepted in the organization in a similar way to their male colleagues. The women often take a greater responsibility for the family, which thus affects their careers and professional status. The result of the study has been able to strengthen our own understanding and demonstrated that masculinity is the norm within the authority.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--State University of New York at Buffalo, 2007.
Title from PDF title page (viewed on Nov. 16, 2007) Available through UMI ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Thesis adviser: Farrell, Michael P. Includes bibliographical references.

In today’s fast moving business environment outstanding leaders are needed. However, women have a significant under-representation in executive positions in many European countries. The aim of this dissertation is to identify the challenges that female leaders have to address in a male-dominated environment and the strategies they can perform to overcome them. For this purpose, the literature dedicated to female leadership was analyzed and a qualitative research was conducted, which comprised of ten interviews with female executives. The findings show that female leaders follow different strategies that play at individual, group and network level in order to overcome emerging challenges when ascending in their business environment. As a result, these strategies enable women in leadership positions to act as institutional change agents. This research might be of relevance for women which are currently addressing challenges and also for young females who aim to achieve an executive position. Consequently, this master thesis contributes to the academic literature by offering strategic responses to emerging challenges while simultaneously providing a new perspective on women in leadership positions.
O atual ambiente empresarial encontra-se em rápida evolução e, como tal, são necessários líderes extraordinários. Contudo, em diversos países Europeus, as mulheres estão sub-representadas em posições executivas. O objetivo desta dissertação passa por identificar as estratégias que as líderes femininas têm de adotar para ultrapassar os desafios que lhes são lançados num ambiente dominado por homens. Para tal, foi analisada literatura sobre liderança feminina e foi realizada uma análise qualitativa, onde dez mulheres executivas foram entrevistadas. Os resultados indicam que as líderes femininas seguem diferentes estratégias a nível individual, de grupo e de network para superar os desafios emergentes quando ascendem de posição no ambiente empresarial. Como tal, estas estratégias possibilitam que mulheres em posições de liderança atuem como agentes de mudança institucional. Este estudo pode ser relevante para mulheres que se encontrem perante estes desafios e, também, para mulheres jovens que ambicionam alcançar uma posição executiva. Consequentemente, esta tese de mestrado contribui para a literatura académica, uma vez que revela soluções estratégias para desafios emergentes, ao mesmo tempo que proporciona uma nova perspetiva sobre mulheres em posições de liderança.

Text in English
Abstracts in English, isiXhosa and Afrikaaans
This study’s primary objective was to create a framework for developing authenticity, by exploring women’s experiences of authenticity and how these relate to their wellbeing in a male-dominated work environment. Twelve purposively chosen women participated in the study, comprising six police officers and six traffic officers from the Western Cape province in South Africa. Data were gathered through narrative interviews by using open-ended questions, and analysed by applying thematic analysis. The research findings revealed that challenges or stressors in their law enforcement environment serve as potential agents for moving the self away from best-self in the authenticity dynamic, resulting in the need for coping and therefore for developing authenticity. The framework for developing authenticity was constructed as an ongoing and unfolding process comprising the following: experiencing challenges or stressors; turning within; recognising possible ways of being; managing perceptions, thoughts, emotions and behaviour; making conscious choices and taking responsible actions; as well as evaluating responses and consequences against best-self standards. During this process various best-self characteristics and associated skills are developed and employed, but also serve as best-self standards against which to evaluate growth and transformation. Secondary objectives aimed to advance the concept of authenticity in the study of well-being as a discipline of psychology. It also aimed to make a methodological contribution by applying hermeneutic phenomenological and transpersonal approaches in a novel way.
Eyona njongo yesisifundo ibikukuphuhlisa umgaqo nkqubo wokwenene, oqwalasela izinto abantu basetyhini abadlule kuzo kwaye nokuba zingqamane njani nentlalontle yabo kwindawo zokusebenza eziphethwe ngamadoda. Ishumi elinesibini labasetyhini elikhethwe ngenjongo, liye lathatha inxaxheba kwesi sifundo, eliquka amapolisa amathandathu kunye namagos’ezendlel'amathandathu, avela kwiphondo Lentshona Koloni eMzantsi Afrika. Kusetyenziswe udliwano ndlebe apho abantu bebe balisa amabali abo, bebuzwa imibuzo efuna impendulo ezingqalileyo ukuqokelela ezinkcukacha kwaye zahlalutywa ngokusebenzisa uhlalutyo oluthile. Uphando lufumanise ukuba imiceli mingeni okanye uxinizelelo lwengqondo kwiimeko zokugunyaziswa komthetho zisebenza njenge arhente zokubasusa ekubeni babalasele kwinguqu yokwenene, nto leyo ebangela kubekho imfuneko yokuba banyamezele kwaye kubekho uhlumo lokwenene. Umgaqo nkqubo wophuhliso lokwenene wakhiwe njenge nkqubo eqhubekayo equka ezizinto zilandelayo: ukudibana nemiceli mingeni okanye uxinezelelo nezinokwenzeka ngayo izinto; ukulawula iingcamango, iingcinga, imvakalelo kunye nendlela yokuziphatha, ukuthatha izigqibo ezi zizo kunye nokuthatha uxanduva lwezenzo zakho; kwaye uphonononge indlela abaphendula ngayo kwakunyegokwase ngqondweni; ukonganyelwa ngaphakathi; ukubona indlela ezinokwenzeka ngayo izinto; ukulawula iingcamango, iingcinga, imvakalelo kunye nendlela yokuziphatha, ukuthatha izigqibo ezi zizo kunye nokuthatha uxanduva lwezenzo zakho; kwaye uphonononge indlela abaphendula ngayo kwakunye neziphumo ezinxamnye nomgangatho wokuba ubalasele. Ngexesha lalenkqubo iimpawu zakho ezihamba phambili nezohlukeneyo, kunye nezakhono ezinxulumene nazo ziyaphuhliswa kwaye uqashwe, kodwa zikwa ncedisa njenge milinganiselo yokuvavanya ukukhula kunye notshintsho. Iinjongo zesibini zijolise ekuqhubekekiseni lemfundiso yokwenene kwisifundo sentlalo-ntle njenge ngqeqesho yasengqondweni. Kwakhona, kwenzelwe ukwenza igalelo leendlela zokwenza izinto ngokusebenzisa iindlela zophando ngokusebenza kwengqondo yomntu (hermeneutic), kunye nophando lwamava kunye neenkolelo zomntu, ngeedlela ezintsha.
Die primêre doel van hierdie studie was om 'n raamwerk vir die ontwikkeling van egtheid te skep, deur vroue se ervarings van egtheid te ondersoek en hoe dit verband hou met hul welstand in 'n manlik-gedomineerde werksomgewing. Twaalf doelgerig gekose vrouens het deelgeneem aan die studie, wie bestaan het uit ses polisiebeamptes en ses verkeersbeamptes uit die Wes-Kaapse provinsie in Suid- Afrika. Data was versamel deur middel van narratiewe onderhoude deur oop vrae te gebruik, en ontleed deur tematiese analise toe te pas. Die navorsingsbevindings het aan die lig gebring dat uitdagings of stressors in hul wetstoepassingsomgewing as potensiële agente dien om die self weg te beweeg van die beste-self in die egtheid dinamika, wat die behoefte aan coping tot gevolg het en dus vir die ontwikkeling van egtheid. Die raamwerk vir die ontwikkeling van egtheid is saamgestel as 'n deurlopende en ontvouende proses wat die volgende insluit: ervaring van uitdagings of stressors; keer na binne; erkenning van moontlike maniere om te wees; hantering van persepsies, gedagtes, emosies en gedrag; maak bewustelike keuses en neem verantwoordelike aksies; sowel as die evaluering van reaksies en gevolge teen die beste-self standaarde. Gedurende hierdie proses word verskeie beste-self eienskappe en verwante vaardighede ontwikkel en aangewend, maar dien ook as die beste-self standaarde om groei en transformasie te evalueer. Sekondêre doelwitte het ten doel om die konsep van egtheid in die studie van welstand as dissipline van sielkunde te bevorder. Dit is ook daarop gemik om 'n metodologiese bydrae te lewer deur hermeneutiese fenomenologiese en transpersoonlike benaderings op 'n nuwe manier toe te pas.
Psychology
Ph. D. (Psychology)