Gender Quotas, Nepotism and Whiskey Clubs: A Qualitative Study of the Swedish Special Sports Federations' Shift Toward Gender Equal Boards
Abstract: Despite having had explicit targets for over 25 years, only 37 of 71 Swedish Special Sports Federations had achieved gender equal representation within their boards in 2016. It was thus decided during the general assembly meeting of the Swedish Sports Confederation in 2017 to implement a gender quota which all Special Sports Federations must adhere to by 2021, or otherwise risk losing their entire financial support. At the same time, while much research has been devoted to the benefits of gender equal boards, less focus has been given to organizational change processes towards the desired end-state. This study thus aims to examine how Swedish Special Sports Federations have worked to move from a state of gender imbalance to one of gender equality within their boards by addressing organizational practices and structures that influence the outlook for achieving gender equality. For this, a qualitative case study was carried out in which interviews were held with board members of 24 Special Sports Federations. The findings revealed that although almost all interviewed federations had implemented necessary actions to fulfill the gender quota, there was a discrepancy among the federations for which some mainly focused on representation while others showcased a holistic approach which involved deep immersion in identifying and addressing root causes of the problem. The change process was further found to be influenced by pressures from external as well as internal sources and the way the federations worked to manage perceptions of threat, discussions of the utility of gender equality, top management support and educational efforts.
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