DOES GENDER MATTER FOR CAREER DEVELOPMENT? Evidence from a large Finnish firm Master’s Thesis

Despite the growing gender equality between males and females in educational, social, political and other fields, women are less likely to reach top managerial positions in enterprises and continue to be underrepresented in boardrooms. In this Master thesis, I use survey and registry information to investigate the factors that hamper the career progress of women in a large Finnish firm that operates in more than 20 countries across Europe and Asia. The company employs approximately 3,200 full-time employees in all its locations, of which 1,300 are office workers. This is a firm where most employees are females but, among the top management, there are very few women. Women account for 63% of the overall personnel in the firm but only 11% of top managers. The lack of women in managerial positions is particularly acute in this firm’s branches outside Finland. The analysis of HR database suggests that, to a large extend, the initial position at the beginning of their career in the firm plays a significant role in employees’ career advancement. Furthermore, I also observe that, conditional on the entry position, women are less likely to be promoted within the firm. To get a better understanding of the obstacles faced by women in the company, I conducted an online survey among all office workers in February 2017 (N=2,000, response rate=15%). According to this survey, employees, especially women, perceive gender stereotypes, parenthood and lack of skills as the main obstacles that hinder women’s career development in the firm. Respondents think that the best policies that should be introduced to improve the situation of women in the firm are additional mentorship and trainings/study programs.