Umeå universitets logga

The oldest industrial activity in Sweden is the mining industry, dating back to the 13th century. Somesay that the mining industry is what built Sweden's prosperity and it also confirms the geographicalimportance of the country. The industry has, due to rapid societal development and change in the wo-rk climate, undergone major structural and organizational changes throughout the decades. Over theyears, women have taken more of a place in the Swedish labor market, and the total workforce in thecountry consists of almost as many women as men today. Issues related to gender equality is due to thisgaining great importance for both employers and managers, as well as for organizations. Maledominance and traditional gender norms have long characterized the industry, but it is now slowlytransitioning in to a more equal gender distribution. The history of gender constructions has createdbarriers that have made it difficult for women to advance in industrial organizations. There are manymeasures to create an inclusive and equal working climate where leadership and role models play acentral role. Developing leadership programs have shown results at the individual and group level aswell as an organizational gain. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate what role aleadership program could have in achieving gender equality at a manager level in an organization. Thestudy has been designed with a qualitative approach in the form of three semistructured focus groupinterviews with a total of 12 managers at the Swedish mining company LKAB. The results of the studyconcludes that leaders and managers have a widespread responsibility in gender equality development.It also shows that any leader could benefit from developing in their own leadership role throughleadership development programs. It is further of great importance for an organization to adjust andadapt from internal and external factors. Lastly the study shows that it is important for any organizationto keep the subject alive both in formal and informal contexts at the workplace.