Leadership: An exercise in gendered behavior?

Abstract: With its high rate of female representation within positions of power, Sweden is frequently regarded as being at the forefront of gender equality. While the division of men and women in leadership roles is an integral prerequisite for achieving equality, societal appreciation for gender characteristics is an important and often overlooked factor. The authors seek to combine this idea with the perspective of critical theory, where discourses are believed to create and reinforce power structures, in examining the Swedish leadership discourse. Through analyzing various leadership media and conducting semi-structured interviews with young adults, conclusions indicate that male-coded traits permeate the leadership discourse, and that this results in young adults perceiving leadership as something inherently male. It is ultimately argued that while women are increasingly allowed into leadership positions, they are so mainly when embracing masculine characteristics. While men might no longer be considered intrinsically more suitable for leadership than women, masculinity is persistently regarded as superior to femininity in the context.