Time, Love and Organisational Culture: Gender Disparity in Business Leadership in Iceland

• Main Author: Júlíusdóttir, Ólöf
• Other Authors: Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir, Félagsfræði-, mannfræði- og þjóðfræðideild (HÍ), Faculty of Sociology, Anthropology and Folkloristics (UI), Félagsvísindasvið (HÍ), School of Social Sciences (UI), Háskóli Íslands, University of Iceland
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Iceland, School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Sociology, Anthropology and Folkloristics 2019
• Subjects: Gender equality; Gender disparity; Business leadership; Work life balance; Organisational culture; Netwokring; Love power; Information and Communication Technology; Jafnréttismál; Kynjamismunun; Vinnumarkaður; Stjórnendur; Vinnustaðamenning; Tengslanet; Samskiptatækni; Ástarkraftur; Félagsfræði; Doktorsritgerðir; Iceland
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/1884

Gender disparity in business leadership positions has received increasing attention in the world. Globally, women are still vastly underrepresented in the higher levels of organisations. Despite women representing half of the capable work force population in the world, their increasing labour market participation and having surpassed men in educational attainment in theWestern world, this has not resulted in the integration of women into the higher levels of organisations. Women’s participation at the higher level of the corporate world is important to gender equality, and women and men should be more equally represented in decision-making positions. Iceland is considered a frontrunner in gender equality. However, even though various initiatives for a more gender equal society, progressive welfare policies and affirmative action, women still lack power in top leadership in the Icelandic business world. The objective of this research is to explore the gendered interplay between family life and paid work among business leaders in heterosexual relationships, with the aim of furthering our understanding of the overrepresentation of men in decision-making positions in private companies in Iceland. To attain this aim, both survey data and interview data were gathered to observe through gendered lenses multiple dimensions of the social and cultural world as they relate to women and men and their leadership careers. A survey was sent to 1349 individuals in executive committees selected from a list of the 249 largest companies in Iceland, and 61 semi-structured interviews were analysed. This dissertation demonstrates how the social organisation of time and love is gendered and partakes in preserving the status quo in business leadership. Men in decision-making positions show power over time whereas women feel powerless against time. Moreover, men are in a better position in pursuing their careers, possibly because men benefit from their partners’ "love power". Additionally, this work shows how organisational culture and ...