The opaque gendered lens : barriers to recruitment and career development

Abstract Purpose – This paper aims to reveal gendered leadership constructs that hinder a competency-based view of leadership in Swedish-based global companies and the implications for leadership recruitment and development to top management positions. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on qualitative semi-structured interviews, which have been analyzed using a gender analytic framework to identify how senior management, Human resource management and leadership trainees are discussing leadership and career development. Findings – Three themes were identified as clouding the issue of gender-equal leadership practices thereby creating an opaque gendered lens of who is defined as eligible for leadership positions. The three themes were: symbols as gendered images, counting heads – preserving the existing system and illusive gender inclusion. Research limitations/implications – Recruitment practices were identified as contributors to homosocial practices that perpetuate male-dominated leadership representation. However, specific recruitment practices were not fully explored. Practical implications – The potential use of gender equality as a sustainable management practice for competitive organizations to recruit and develop talented people. Social implications – To create resilient and gender-equal recruitment and leadership development practices. Originality/value – This research offers an original perspective on gender representation at the senior management level in global companies by revealing gendered leadership constructs in the leadership recruitment and development process as antecedents to unequal gender representation in senior management positions

Attitudes towards comparison of male and female genital cutting in a Swedish Somali population

Introduction In Sweden, the law treats female genital cutting (FGC) differently from male genital cutting (MGC). However, the comparability of the medical, ethical, and legal aspects of genital cutting of girls and boys are increasingly discussed by scholars, although little is known about how practicing communities view these aspects. This study aimed to explore attitudes towards comparison of genital cutting of girls and boys among Swedish Somalis, and to investigate factors associated with considering the two practices to be comparable. Material and methods In a cross-sectional questionnaire with 648 Swedish Somali men and women from four Swedish cities, descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used for the analysis. Results Among the Swedish Somalis, 10% considered FGC and MGC to be comparable practices. A majority (98%) of the participants thought FGC could cause long-term health complications, but only 1% considered the physical health disadvantage of MGC would outweigh the physical health benefits. FGC was perceived to be a violation of children's rights by 60%, whereas this proportion for MGC was 3%. Individuals who had a dominant bridging social capital and those who expressed that performing FGC follows religion were more likely to think that FGC and MGC were comparable practices. Conclusions The increased global attention and emphasis on the comparability of genital cutting of boys and girls was not reflected in this study among Swedish Somalis. Rather, attitudes reflected the common description of the two practices in global public health campaigns, portraying FGC as a harmful practice violating children's rights, while describing MGC as a public health measure. Social interactions and separation of FGC from religion could explain why FGC and MGC were not considered comparable