Abstract

Author: Kristina Tercero.

Title: “Same condition for both men and women?”- Leaders from a gender perspective.

Supervisor: Tina Mattsson.

The purpose of this essay was with a gender perspective examine how women and men  in leader positions in a organization who dominated by women experience their position at work and their leadership by clarify how the leaders in the geriatric care look at their function and position. Central questions were:

How do men and women who work as leaders in the geriatric care experience their opportunity to practice their leadership?

How does men and women experience to work as leaders in an organization who is dominated by women?

How does the leader experience their gender in relation to their position at work?

The essay has a qualitative design and semi structured interviews were maid with six leaders in the geriatric care, three women and three men. To analyse the work material

Hirdmans gender system theory and Westberg - Wohlgemuth theory about sex marking were used.

The main results indicate that gender does matter for the leaders in their work and in their leadership. The geriatric care is seen as a work for women which the men notice in their work as leaders. Men experienced that they more than woman were expected to make decisions and to do reprimands. Women's experiences were that it was hard to get acceptance in decision making. Women were on the other hand expected to be comprehended and to be able to listening more to the stuff.  The different expectations men and women felt can be understood in relation to chieftainship being connected to masculinity and therefore the chieftainship will be sex marked which Westberg – Wohlgemuth prove.