Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Male dominated work places'

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.

Problem: Many women experience problems when trying to enter the construction industry and perceive several barriers in professional practice. As a result, day by day women are losing their interest in building their career within this male-dominated industry and diverting towards other professions. The fact that women are showing less interest to work within construction industry and leaving the industry has been found as a major problem. Since in this male dominated industry around ninety percent labour are men and expecting a large numbers of retirement in the future, therefore today’s construction industry has a strong demand for labour. The construction industry’s representatives want to increase the number of women in this trade, but because of the previous reputation and discriminatory work environment it’s become difficult to attract more women. Therefore, to enhance the participation of women in construction trades, it is necessary to understand women’s perceptions about the nature of work and level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the job. It is also important to know what kind of changes in the work environment can motivate women not to leave this industry? How to eliminate the barriers in professional practice?                      Purpose: This thesis explores the current position of women in construction industry, and seeks to identify the reasons of women’s disinterest about the industry, job satisfaction and the barriers (professional and social) that compel women to think to change career and leave the construction industry.   Method: This study has been performed through a qualitative interview study based on themes, on the subject of women in male-dominated industry. The research data is collected by conducting semi-structured interviews with professionals from Sweden, the USA, Canada, Latvia, Greece, The Netherlands and Bangladesh. The participants were active within the construction industry, and had the designation of project manager, construction engineer or structural engineer. To analysis the data in this research the Thematic Analysis approach has been adopted.   Findings: The interviewed women stated that the unpleasant work environment, gender discriminatory behaviours from the male colleagues, less career development opportunities, unfair promotion system and unequal salary compel them to rethink about their career choice and leave the construction industry. The results of this study showed that the barriers women face in professional practice also depends on the geographical position and societal culture.

It is recognised that gender equality and diversity are essential for building successful organisations. To tackle the global challenges characterised by economies today, one must ensure equal opportunities for all, both men and women. Organisations have acknowledged the benefits of a more gender equal workforce and are starting to take action. But what are the results of such actions? We have found that a lot of research is focused on the sources of gender inequality in organisations but little on the efficacy of different actions to counter those inequalities. The purpose of this thesis is to examine how active gender equality work can impact an organisation. A case study of an organisation in the IT consultancy industry in Sweden is carried out where active gender equality work has been initiated through the internal project “the Gender Equality Project”. Empirical data gathered from interviews with employees from all levels of the organisation has been the main source of data collection and has worked as a base for the analysis and discussion. The research question that have guided our work is: How can active gender equality work impact the structure and culture within an organisation in a male-dominated industry? This thesis is based on a subjective approach, assuming that reality can be seen as a social construction and that humans create their own reality. This implies that the social world is viewed as a process which is created and recreated everyday through the usage of language, routines and actions. Further, this thesis argues that organisations should be seen as gendered and that assumptions about gender underlie the construction of organisations, resulting in a marginalisation of women which contributes to the maintenance of gender segregation in organisations. The findings show that active work with gender equality has resulted in structural and cultural impacts in several areas, such as more gender aware recruitment processes and external communication strategies as well as a culture which encourages employees to call out biases and defend gender equality initiatives. The findings also reveal an organisational structure which partly counteract the effects of gender equality work and a deficient communication of the purpose of the project which, currently, prevents it from becoming institutionalised. Much emphasis is put on the many middle managers in the organisation to bring the project forward and continue working with it, without clear expectations and guidance from the top management which has resulted in a halt and an inaction from the middle managers.
Jämställdhet och mångfald anses som essentiellt för att bygga framgångsrika organisationer. För att kunna tackla de globala utmaningarna som världen står inför, måste lika möjligheter för både kvinnor och män kunna säkerställas. Fler och fler organisationer bekräftar fördelarna med en mer jämställd arbetskraft och börjar arbeta mot förändring. Men vad är resultatet av sådant arbete? Vi har funnit att tidigare forskning tenderar att fokusera på orsakerna till ojämställdhet i organisationer, istället för den verkan olika initiativ och arbete för att främja jämställdhet har. Uppsatsens syfte är att utvärdera hur aktivt jämställdhetsarbete kan påverka en organisation. En fallstudie har genomförts på en svensk organisation verksam inom IT-konsultbranschen, där aktivt jämställdhetsarbete har initierats genom ett internt projekt kallat “Jämställdhetsprojektet”. Den främsta källan till empirisk data härrör från intervjuer med anställda på alla nivåer i organisationen och denna data har lagt grunden för analys och diskussion. Den forskningsfråga som guidat oss i vårt arbete är följande: Hur kan aktivt jämställdhetsarbete påverka strukturen och kulturen i en organisation i en mansdominerad bransch? Uppsatsen tar en subjektiv ansats, och utgår från att verkligheten ses som en social konstruktion och att människor skapar sin egen verklighet. Detta medför att den sociala världen ses som en process som skapas och återskapas varje dag genom språkbruk, rutiner och handlingar. Vidare argumenteras det för att organisationer ska ses som könade och att antaganden om kön ligger till grund för konstruktionen av organisationer. Detta medför en marginalisering av kvinnor vilket bidrar till ett upprätthållande av könssegregeringen i organisationer. Resultaten visar att aktivt jämställdhetsarbete resulterar i strukturella och kulturella effekter. Effekterna kan ses genom en mer genusmedveten rekryteringsprocess och strategier för extern kommunikation men även en kultur där anställda uppmuntras till att uppmärksamma och motarbeta fördomar och försvara initiativ för jämställdhet. Resultaten belyser även en organisationsstruktur som till viss del motverkar effekterna av aktivt jämställdhetsarbete och en bristande kommunikation av projektets syfte, vilket i dagsläget hindrar en institutionalisering. Stor vikt läggs på organisationens mellanchefer att driva projektet framåt och fortsätta dess arbete. Det saknas dock klara förväntningar och vägledning från koncernledningen, vilket har resulterat i en stagnering och passivitet från organisationens mellanchefer.

Women have fought for their rights to equal opportunity employment for more than a millennium. Even now, in the 21st century the fight continues. Women at Work explores the experiences of three women who work in male-dominated blue-collar jobs and discuses their struggles and successes within their employment. Their career choices have required each to address their individual views on feminism and femininity, as well as views on education and family.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka upplevelsen av och arbetet med jämställdhet på ett mansdominerat företag, hur kvinnor i produktionen upplever jämställdhet och hur företaget arbetar med jämställdheten. För att kunna förverkliga syftet har vi gjort en undersökning på ett svenskt industriföretag med verksamhet i ett flertal länder. Inför vår studie har vi besökt en av deras arbetsplatser som kan ses som en klassiskt mansdominerad arbetsplats då de endast har 9,9 % anställda kvinnor. För att analysera studien har vi valt att utgå ifrån ett socialkonstruktivistiskt perspektiv och har därefter valt passande teorier om bland annat skapande av kön och könsmärkning av organisationer. Studien är av kvalitativ karaktär då det empiriska materialet samlades in genom elva intervjutillfällen med tio olika informanter. Sju av dem är kvinnor som arbetar inom produktionen och tre av dem representerar företagets jämställdhetsarbete. I resultatet beskriver vi hur företaget arbetar med jämställdhetsfrågor och hur kvinnorna upplever jämställdheten på arbetsplatsen. Vi kom fram till att kvinnorna tyckte om sin arbetsplats, men att de såg vissa förbättringsområden inom jämställdheten på arbetsplatsen. Därtill hade de flesta en önskan av ett mer transparent jämställdhetsarbete som omfattar alla i organisationen.
The purpose of the study is to investigate the experience of and the work with gender equality in a male dominated company, how women in production experience gender equality and how the company work with gender equality. In order to achieve the purpose of this study, we have conducted a survey in a Swedish industrial company with operations in several countries. We visited one of their workplaces which can be seen as a classic male dominated workplace since they only have 9.9% employed women. For the analysis of the study we have chosen to proceed from a social constructivist perspective and we have subsequently chosen suitable theories about, among other things, the creation of gender and gender labelling of organizations. The study is of a qualitative nature as the empirical material was collected through eleven interviews with ten different informants. Seven of them are women who work in production and three of them represent the company's gender equality work. In the result, we describe how the company work with gender issues and how women experience gender equality in the workplace. We found that the women liked their workplace, but they saw some areas of improvement in the field of gender equality at the workplace. In addition, most had a desire for a more transparent gender equality work that includes everyone in the organization.

Research shows that although the representation of women in the workforce has increased over the past couple of decades, there are many industries that still remain male dominated. In addition, it is generally known that such male-dominated industries have minimal female representation at their managerial levels. One such male-dominated industry in South Africa is the air traffic control (ATC) industry. Women represent about 30 percent of the industry, which suggest their status in the industry is still quite low. The purpose of this study was to examine male and female air traffic controllers’ perceptions of factors that facilitate and constrain women’s career advancement, and to determine whether there were any significant differences in their opinions. The study also identified what male and female air traffic controllers (ATCOs) think the industry can do to help prepare women for leadership positions in the industry, and how to eliminate barriers that may exist to women’s career advancement. Data for this study were collected through an online questionnaire adapted from Zhong’s (2006) study on a convenience sample (N = 147) of male and female ATCOs in South Africa. The data analysis was executed by using factor analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Content analysis was used to analyse the two open-ended questions. The findings from the ANOVA suggest that there were four significant gender differences in perceptions of the Personal effort/External support, Attitude/Internal character, Equity, and Family issues. There also were significant differences in opinion on External support/Personal effort, Attitude/Internal character, Equity and Family issues, depending on the number of children the respondents had, and significant differences of marital status on the External support/Personal effort and Family issues. Finally, significant differences were found in the years’ experience variable for Attitude/Internal character. In response to the open-ended questions, most of the respondents suggested that the ATC industry should offer training programmes to improve awareness of possible barriers within the industry, as well as to offer advice on how to overcome them and improve their leadership skills. This could be done by creating programmes on the knowledge and skills needed to advance one’s career or by providing mentors or role models. Future research could compare the perceptions of employees from different race groups and their perceptions of women’s career advancement in male-dominated industries. It is also recommended that researchers conduct in-depth qualitative interviews together with the current questionnaire to evaluate perceptions of the career advancement of women more critically.
Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2012.
Human Resource Management
unrestricted

Trots att mycket skett inom jämställdhetsarbete på dagens arbetsplatser finns ännu problematik kring hur det är att vara anställd på en arbetsplats som har en majoritet av det ena eller andra könet. Studiens syfte var att utforska hur det är att vara kvinna på en mansdominerad arbetsplats samt hur den situationen eventuellt kan förbättras. Utgångspunkten var att fokusera på informanternas psykiska mående på arbetet. Materialet samlades in genom kvalitativa intervjuer och analyserades sedan enligt Burnards flerstegsprocess. Resultaten visade på en variation i kvinnornas upplevelser där de upplevde sexuella trakasserier och en förhöjd kravbild i jämförelse med de manliga kollegorna, men också upplevda positiva erfarenheter som stödjande kollegor och raka och ärliga kommunikationsmöjligheter. Resultaten visade även på hur viktigt ett aktivt förbättringsarbete var när det gällde kvinnornas situation. Exempel på hur ett sådant förbättringsarbete kan bedrivas föreslås i studien.
What is it like, to be a woman at a male-dominated workplace? In this qualitive study, the question was asked to raise awareness around the complexities related to the subject, and how the situation for many women could be improved. The study focused on the psychological factors related to being one or one of few woman at a male-dominated workplace. The material was gathered through interviews and analyzed according to Burnard's step-process. The result showed a variation when it came to the women's experiences. Some of the women reported sexual harrassement and insuperably high requirements. Some also reported positive factors related to their situation, such as supportive male colleagues as well as honest communication styles. The result also showed on the importance of maintaining improvement work related to equality policies at every workplace. The paper offers some examples on such improvement work.

The focus of this action research study is the analysis of invisible assumptions that sustain gendered work processes based on the ideal worker values. The case study, which is set within a Maltese ICT company, also explores the potential for action research (CIAR) to challenge the gendered processes in ways that enable better work-life integration through the Dual Agenda logic. Data for this research, which adopts a constructionist and interpretivist approach, were obtained through various cycles of qualitative interviews and focus group meetings with participants, the majority of whom were males. These were analysed through NVivo on the principles of Thematic Analysis. This research showed how the hegemonic masculine values of the leaders which led to the conceptualisation of the ideal worker, allowed them the opportunity to perform their masculinity in a culturally approved manner, and because this brought them power and benefits, such values prevailed. It also confirmed that the default expectations by which ideal worker values were measured, stemmed from culturally normative behaviour typically linked to unencumbered men. This rendered anomalous, suspicious and undesirable attempts to integrate work and life for family-related reasons. This happened in an organisational context where the means to assess productivity were low, where organisational learning was weak, and within a national context where the work-life challenge is typically linked to mothers. This illustrates how interlinking factors within the multi-layers of context underpin the current notions of ideal worker thus rendering CIAR insufficient to tackle the multi-forces at play which perpetuate the Single Agenda logic. This research highlights the importance of studying situated hegemonic masculinity in the micro context of organisations without neglecting the interlinking factors at play within the broader context that sustain it. This multi-dimensional approach is useful in allowing a better understanding of the complexities surrounding the concept of gendered organisations within a dominant hegemonic masculine culture. Overall, this research strives to make a contribution to the debate about gendered organisations and work-life issues through a better understanding of hegemonic masculinity. Furthermore, it adds knowledge about the potential and barriers to Dual Agenda change through the use of the CIAR approach.

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.

Bakgrund. Mindre än 10% av de arbetande inom byggbranschen i Sverige är kvinnor. Branschen är en typisk mansdominerad bransch där kvinnor ofta möter barriärer i sitt arbete. Samtidigt är jämställdhet en bidragande faktor till ett företags prestation tack vare att de olika könen bidrar med olika kunskaper. Herzbergs arbetsmotivationsteori är vanligt förekommande i forskningsstudier för att identifiera motiverande faktorer. Vad motiverar de kvinnor som faktiskt verkar inom byggbranschen? Denna studie applicerar Herzbergs arbetsmotivationsteori för att utreda detta. Syfte. Syftet för studien ämnar till att utreda faktorer som motiverar kvinnliga arbetsledare i en mansdominerad bransch. Detta för att identifiera motiverande faktorer som på sikt kan bidra till att öka andelen kvinnor inom branschen. Studien ämnar även att utreda hur de kvinnliga arbetsledarna upplever vanligt förekomna barriärer kopplade till byggbranschen. Kvinnornas upplevelser av motivation och barriärer studeras i relation till hur detta uppfattas av manliga arbetsledare. En förståelse av hur de manliga arbetsledarna uppfattar sina kvinnliga kollegor kan förhoppningsvis bidra till att behålla kvinnorna i byggbranschen, detta genom en ökad förståelse för hur kvinnorna upplever arbetsplatsen. Metod. Två enkätundersökningar har distribuerats till alla kvinnliga samt manliga arbetsledare inom ett företag i svenska byggbranschen. Undersökningen bygger på tidigare studier, vilka använde sig av Herzbergs arbetsmotivationsteori i byggbranschen. Enkäterna distribuerades till 128st kvinnliga arbetsledare och 617st manliga arbetsledare i ett stort byggföretag i Sverige. Efter bortfallsanalys erhölls ett underlag på 120st arbetsledare vilket statistiska analyser utfördes på i SPSS. De statistiska testerna som utfördes var paired sample t-test, independent sample t-test samt ett oberoende Mann-Whitney U-test. Resultat. Studiens resultat påvisar att kvinnliga arbetsledare motiveras i större utsträckning av motivationsfaktorer relativt hygienfaktorer. Vidare identifieras att det finns en skillnad i upplevd och uppfattad motivation mellan kvinnliga och manliga arbetsledare. Vid analys av vanligt förekomna barriärer i byggbranschen visade resultatet på att det åter igen finns en skillnad mellan uppfattning och upplevelse av barriärerna. Slutsatser. Kvinnliga arbetsledare motiveras främst av motivationsfaktorer, vilket manliga arbetsledare inte uppfattat att de kvinnliga arbetsledarna motiveras av i samma utsträckning. Fokus bör läggas på motivationsfaktorer för att motivera de kvinnliga arbetsledarna i sitt arbete. En konsekvens av fel motivationsfaktorer kan leda till att förväntad effekt uteblir, d.v.s. individen motiveras inte. Barriärer kopplade till byggbranschen upplevs inte i den utsträckning tidigare forskning visat på, dock visar denna studies resultat att de kvinnliga arbetsledarna upplever barriärerna till viss del fortfarande.
Background. Less than 10% of the active workers within the construction industry in Sweden are women. The construction industry is a typical male dominated industry where women often face barriers in their daily work life. At the same time, gender equality is a contributing factor for a company’s performance thanks to man and women different knowledge. Herzberg’s two- factor theory is common in research studies to identify factors that motivates. What motivates women to work within the construction industry? This study will apply Herzberg’s two-factor theory to investigate that. Objectives. The purpose of this study is to investigate factors that motivates female team leaders in a male dominated industry. By identifying motivation factors, the purpose in the long run is to contribute to that the part with women in the construction industry will increase. The purpose of this study is as well to identify how the female team leaders’ experiences barriers related to the construction industry. By identify how the female team leaders experience motivation and barriers, this will be set in relation to how these factors are perceived by male team leaders. An understanding of how the male team leaders perceive their female colleges will hopefully contribute to the females remaining in the construction industry, this by a greater understanding of how the female team leaders experiences their workplace. Methods. Two surveys were distributed to all the female and male team leaders within a Swedish construction company. The survey is constructed from two previous studies which applied Herzbergs two-factor theory within the construction industry. The surveys where distributed to 128 female team leaders and 617 male team leaders in a big construction company in Sweden. After the response analysis 120 female and male responses remained for the statistical analysis in SPSS. The statistical tests were paired sample t-test, independent sample t-test and an independent Mann-Whitney U-test. Results. The study's results show that female team leaders are motivated to a greater extent by motivational factors relative to hygiene factors. Furthermore, it is identified that there is a difference in experienced and perceived motivation between female and male team leaders. When analyzing commonly encountered barriers in the construction industry, the results showed that again there is a difference between perception and experience of the barriers.  Conclusions. Female team leaders are motivated primarily by motivational factors, which male team leaders do not perceive that female team leaders are motivated by to the same extent. The focus should be on motivational factors to motivate the female team leaders in their work. A consequence of the wrong motivational factors can lead to the expected effect not being fulfilled, i.e. the individual is not motivated. Barriers linked to the construction industry are not experienced to the extent that previous research has shown, thou this study indicates that the barriers are in some extent still experienced by the female team leaders.

Syftet med följande kandidatuppsats är att skapa en större förståelse för ledares upplevelser av employer branding ur ett genusperspektiv i mansdominerade organisationer. Denna kandidatuppsats har undersökt en organisation inom tillverkningsindustrin och har inslag av fallstudie. Studien har fokuserat på hur kvinnliga och manliga ledare uppfattar arbetsgivarvarumärket för att attrahera och behålla kvinnliga ledare. Vidare har studien fokuserat på hur jämställdhet uppfattas av ledare i en mansdominerad organisation. Den teoretiska referensramen består av teorier, begrepp och tidigare forskning gällande employer branding, employer femvertising, genusteorier, jämställdhet, kvinnan i minoritet samt ledarskap.I kandidatuppsatsen har en kvalitativ metod använts där åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med kvinnliga och manliga ledare på olika nivåer och affärsområden. En kompletterande intervju har även genomförts med en representant från personalavdelningen för att skapa en överblick över organisationens kontext. Resultatet påvisar att organisationer som domineras av män tenderar att främja män. Vidare indikerar resultatet att det i den studerade organisationen finns få insatser för att attrahera och behålla specifikt kvinnliga ledare. Resultatet synliggör även hur organisationskulturen i en mansdominerad organisation kan bidra negativt till arbetsmiljön för kvinnliga ledare. Denna kandidatuppsats kan ses som ett komplement till tidigare forskning med sin inriktning mot employer branding och könsskillnader som få tidigare studier kombinerat. Vidare kan även denna studie bidra till praktikersamhället som inspiration samt underlag för mansdominerade organisationer som vill arbeta för en mer jämställd arbetsplats.
The purpose of this bachelor’s thesis is to broaden the perspective of leader’s experience regarding employer branding from a gender perspective in male-dominated organisations. This bachelor’s thesis has examined an organisation in the manufacturing industry and has elements of a case study. The study is focused on how female and male leaders perceives their employer brand to attract and retain female leaders. Furthermore, the study has focused on how gender equality is perceived by leaders in a male-dominated organisation. The theoretical framework consists of theories, concepts and previous research in employer branding, employer femvertising, gender studies, gender equality, females in minority and leadership.In this bachelor’s thesis, a qualitative method was used where eight semi-structured interviews was conducted with female and male leaders at different levels and business areas. A complementary interview was also implemented with a human resource representant to create an overview of the organisational context. The results show that organisations dominated by men tend to promote men. Furthermore, the results indicate that in the studied organisation are few efforts to attract and retain specifically female leaders. The results also show how organisational culture in a male-dominated organisation can contribute negatively to the work environment for female leaders. This bachelor’s thesis can be viewed as complementary to earlier research oriented around employer branding and gender differences, which few earlier studies have combined. This study could furthermore contribute to practitioner society as inspiration and basis for male-dominated organisations who aspire towards a more equal workplace.

Studying social work in Sweden is less popular among men than women. Only about one in five applicants who applied to the programme during the autumn of 2018 in Stockholm University were male, showcasing a gender imbalance. Thus, the aim of this study is to research why male social work students applied to the programme, how their environment influenced their choice, and their attitude towards working in a female dominated field. Furthermore, the study has a deductive approach where the two theories, socialization and Connells theory of masculinity, laid the groundwork for the analysis. Nine male students in Stockholm University were divided into two focus group interviews, and their discussions were later analyzed qualitatively. The empirical data was then constructed into four themes which were examined through previous research and the earlier mentioned theories. The results show that the respondents prioritize comfort and safety over status and income when choosing a profession, that they perceive important qualities in a social worker to be empathic yet assertive, that social work in general is viewed as an unclear subject which hinders others from seeing it as a viable career option and that men in social work are desirable in the labour market.

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.

Women working in male-dominated professions and environments face experiences that are unique to their counterparts in more gender-balanced and female-dominated professions. The nature of these experiences affects women’s integration and potential success in male- dominated professions. To enhance employment equity in historically male-dominated professions and environments, an understanding of women’s experiences in such environments is beneficial. The purpose of this research was to explore the challenges and coping strategies of women working within male-dominated professions and environments. This was an exploratory qualitative study conducted within the interpretive research paradigm. A purposive sample consisting of five women working in identified male-dominated professions and environments was utilised. In-depth interviews were conducted and data was analysed using grounded theory. The main findings indicate that the central theme pertinent to women working in male-dominated professions and environments pertains to the types of challenges inherent in their work settings. The main challenges found were as follows: discrimination and bias; physical and health-related difficulties experienced; negative emotions resulting from working in male-dominated environments; lack of real transformation; and work/life balance. This study provides current insight into the plight of women working in male-dominated professions and environments in South Africa.
Industrial & Organisational Psychology
M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

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)

D.Phil.
The major part of what is known about women in leadership positions, and the challenges they are facing, is based on studies conducted in first-world countries. There clearly is a gap in the literature in terms of studies that focus on female leaders in Africa. Much has still to be said about the role that cultural practices and prejudices play in hampering the growth and progress of these women. This authentic study of a South African Zulu female manager provides a unique insight into the way she negotiated the challenges of climbing the corporate ladder in a male-dominated environment. Its postmodernist approach challenges the writer to use herself as a research subject while applying the principle of reflexivity in stepping back and analysing lived experiences from a researcher‟s perspective. In opening up her innermost feelings to the world, the researcher reveals who she really is, and how she, as a Zulu woman, wife, mother, and manager, negotiated her way between her own traditional culture and the Western corporate world. This creates real challenges to the researcher, as she has to keep sliding between being the subject and being the researcher at the same time. This narrative of "self" is recreated through interviewing people who had been part of the researcher‟s life during the period which was the focus of the study as well as the researcher recalling significant events. The research focuses on the challenges of being a minority leader in a South African workplace. The resistance to a black female as their superior by black males is highlighted, as is the manner in which these cultural prejudices result in discrimination against women by members of their own culture. The research also illuminates the impact of legislation aimed at transforming the local workplace and the leadership fraternity in a post-apartheid South Africa.

Text in English
The purpose of this study was to explore the work-life balance experiences of female engineers as they progress through various career life stages. Research has demon-strated that female engineers experience unique challenges as a result of gendered norms within male-dominated occupations, with changing life-roles, needs and ex-pectations across the various career life stages, impacting how they negotiate and perceive work-life balance. A qualitative research approach was followed using a her-meneutic phenomenology paradigm that employed a multiple case study approach consisting of semi-structured interviews with nine female engineers across three career life stages. The findings of the study confirmed current research into work-life balance, highlighting that work-life balance needs and expectations are different across the lifespan and are particularly affected by the changing nature of the work role within the lives of female engineers. Companies should consider changing their organisational culture to acknowledge the needs of female engineers in both family and work domains.
Industrial and Organisational Psychology
M.Comm. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The paucity of women in senior leadership positions as indicated in the Business Women Association of South Africa 2011 census corroborates that gender equality is still a concerning issue even in the democratic era that we live in. This study explores career developmental experiences of women in senior leadership position in the civil engineering industry. The primary objective was to investigate how these professional women were managing their careers and what career experiences contributed to their ascent to the senior echelons of management. Meaning to the career experiences of these women had been given according to the self-determination theory. By means of purposive selection, seven women at senior management level were selected from both the private and public sectors in the civil engineering industry. Based on the semi-structured interviews conducted, personal documents reviewed and footnotes recorded; it was evident that there were different factors that had facilitated the ascent of these women to senior positions. Their career experiences were also characterised by challenges that subsequently instigated the development of coping strategies and methods. The study has implications for organisations in civil engineering that wish to attract and retain women from generations to come.
Psychology
M.A. (Psychology)