Leadership and gender equality. An investigation of gender balance among leaders in the Norwegian maritime industry
Master thesis
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https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3095945Utgivelsesdato
2022Metadata
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Sammendrag
The purpose of this master thesis is to investigate the gender balance among leaders in the Norwegian maritime industry. The investigation was conducted by a qualitative research method, were semi-structured interviews of participants holding leadership positions within the maritime industry was carried out, to collect the primary data. The thesis considered leadership, personality and organizational culture as the factors that influences gender equality.
On a national basis, the Norwegian society promotes an engagement for gender equality, were everyone has been given the same rights and opportunities. However, there are significant inequalities within smaller groups and segments. By focusing on leadership within the maritime industry, the female representation is per today 15%. The findings in the thesisindicates the importance of locating the challenges the maritime industry is facing to be able to increase the proportion of women in leadership positions. To increase the proportion,specific measures such as facilitating for the employees to create their own career path and establishing diverse teams at the workplace are important. Additionally, the findings underline how the company within the maritime industry holds a responsibility to attract potentially employees, a responsibility that must be initiated by the management.
The thesis presents how gender equality is experienced by selected actors within the maritime industry, to establish a knowledge basis that can contribute to a greater commitment to gender equality. This includes theoretical and practical implications, as well as recommendations for further research.
Keywords: Gender equality, leadership, maritime industry, personality, organizational culture