On male territory : A survey of women's inclution in male-dominated occupations

This study aims to investigate what factors that affect the inclusion of female coworkers in male dominated professions. The study investigates when women is no longer considered different in male dominated professions because of their gender, but instead are considered as equal because of their profession. The question of the inclusion of women in male dominated professions is inspired by the classical question of gender integration in workplaces. In this study the question of inclusion is considered a possible cultural consequence of integration. The theoretical framework of the study consists of Randall Collin’s thoughts on group affiliation, and Rosabeth Moss Kanter’s theory about tokenism. These theories are used to analyze the data of the study. The study was conducted through a survey that was distributed between three different male dominated companies in southern Sweden. The companies where representative of three different types of branches: one technical, one electrical and the third an industrial company. The study demonstrates that organizational factors are the primary causes that affect the inclusion of female coworkers in male dominated professions