The antecedents of leader self-development within a male-dominant industry
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URL
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
School of Business |
Master's thesis
Authors
Date
2025
Department
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
People Management and Organizational Development
Language
en
Pages
70 + 10
Series
Abstract
This master’s thesis examines leaders' experiences with self-development within a male-dominated industry, focusing on both the individual and organizational level antecedents. Additionally, the thesis examines how leader self-development is perceived across genders and assesses the impact of prevalent male dominance in the field. The research identifies individual characteristics including mastery orientation, career growth and work orientation as well as skills and the value perceptions of learning as the individual-level antecedents. The research demonstrates gender variations, showing that despite the male-dominated nature of the industry often related to gender biases, female leaders demonstrated high self-efficacy and strong orientation towards career growth, challenging common gender stereotypes. Conversely, the findings revealed that male leaders especially struggled with time management skills. At the organizational level, antecedents such as strategic approaches to learning and inclusion, organizational processes, resources, and pre-vailing gender biases impact leaders’ self-development. The findings demonstrate that while women tend to seek networks and peer relationships, men utilize learning opportunities within the organization. An organizational culture that emphasizes learning, people-centricity, psychological safety, diversity, and inclusion are particularly effective in supporting self-development of all leaders, with particular bene-fits for female leaders. Norms like openness and transparency further enrich the culture, ensuring an environment that supports the self-development of leaders across all genders.Description
Thesis advisor
Diehl, Marjo-RiittaKeywords
leader self-development, antecedents, organizational culture, male-dominant industry, gender