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“It’s a Man Who Runs the Show”: How Women Middle-Managers Experience Their Professional Position, Opportunities, and Barriers

“It’s a Man Who Runs the Show”: How Women Middle-Managers Experience Their Professional Position, Opportunities, and Barriers


Title: “It’s a Man Who Runs the Show”: How Women Middle-Managers Experience Their Professional Position, Opportunities, and Barriers
Author: Einarsdóttir, Unnur Dóra
Christiansen, Thora   orcid.org/0000-0002-8060-0676
Kristjánsdóttir, Erla S.
Date: 2018-01
Language: English
Scope: 215824401775398
University/Institute: Háskóli Íslands
University of Iceland
School: Félagsvísindasvið (HÍ)
School of Social Sciences (UI)
Department: Viðskiptafræðideild (HÍ)
Faculty of Business Administration (UI)
Series: Sage Open;8(1)
ISSN: 2158-2440
DOI: 10.1177/2158244017753989
Subject: Equality; Women middle-managers; Stereotypes; Gender bias; Self-confidence; Network; Jafnréttismál; Konur; Millistjórnendur; Staðalímyndir; Kynjamismunun; Tengslanet
URI: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/681

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Citation:

Einarsdottir, U. D., Christiansen, T. H., & Kristjansdottir, E. S. (2018). “It’s a Man Who Runs the Show”: How Women Middle-Managers Experience Their Professional Position, Opportunities, and Barriers. SAGE Open, 8(1), 2158244017753989. doi:10.1177/2158244017753989

Abstract:

The ratio of women in top-management positions is improving very slowly, even in countries scoring high on gender equality like Iceland. Despite over three decades of research having documented the barriers faced by women seeking top-management positions, understanding is still lacking as to why women are not overcoming these barriers at a greater rate. This study presents the lived experiences of women in middle-management positions in some of the largest organizations in Iceland, aiming to understand how the women experience the barriers and opportunities they face. It is important to give voice to these women as they are the ones who could be in line for top-management positions. Interviews with 11 women were analyzed and interpreted according to phenomenological methodology, revealing four themes. Findings show that the women experience top management as a network that is closed to them. Top-management jobs appear tailored for men and would require the women to take on unbearable responsibilities. They experience their hard work and diligence as unappreciated. Finally, they compare and contrast themselves with the stereotype of the male executive and blame themselves for not fitting the role. Thus, they feel pressured to adapt to the masculine gender role if they are to stand a chance of a top-management position. Not fitting this role further undermines their self-confidence and ambition, rendering them less likely to seek advancement.

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This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

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