From Engineering to Management : What makes management so appealing to female engineers?

• Main Authors: Guðmundsdóttir, Heiðdís Rún, Villca, Karina Lizeth
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Internationella Handelshögskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, IHH, Företagsekonomi 2017
• Subjects: Female engineers; Female managers; Management; Leadership; Career development; Business Administration; Företagsekonomi
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-35889

Background: Women, as managers and engineers, are both within minorities, and even though the number of women graduating with an engineering degree has been increasing for the last years, there are still a lot of women that never enter or drift away from the engineering work environment. It appears to be a known career choice for female engineers to move into a managerial position, and could that be one of the reasons why the gender gap in engineering is not decreasing as much as it could? Purpose: This research took on the career development of female engineers who are working as managers. The purpose of this thesis was to understand what provokes the decision of female engineers to change careers, enter the field of management, and what career path they went through on their way towards that change. Method: The empirical data in this qualitative study was collected through semi-structured interviews, as they were considered a good way to truly understand the reasons women had for this career change. The interviewees were selected based on the requirements that they had to be women with a degree in engineering, to have worked in an engineering company, and to be currently working as managers in a non-engineering company. The interviewees all had experiences within the same culture, as they had all worked and lived in Sweden. The analysis of the data was thematic, because the focus was mainly on what was being said rather than how it was being said. Conclusion: The interviewed women stated that the connection they could establish with people, and being able to impact them, was the reason why they were in the leadership environment today. The reason they left, on the other hand, was mostly because their career had evolved in that direction. Their career drift either happened without them knowing it or they had made a conscious choice. The engineering background was necessary for their development, and it was perceived to have helped them in their positions as managers.