Narratives of change in OBOS and ManpowerGroup: Temporal perspectives on gender equality

Abstract

The founder and CEO of SHE, Heidi Aven has built an index that will help companies uncover gender imbalance in their organization. The goal is to use hard facts to close the gender gap. Gender equality has become a challenge of our time, and organizations need to take steps to realize the many benefits and opportunities that lie within this field. In order to reach the global goal to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, companies need to get on board and be a part of the change that is a human right. For this thesis, we have analyzed the work of ManpowerGroup and OBOS with gender equality. The reason why we chose these organizations is because of their high score on the SHE Index. To examine the organizations’ success, the thesis presents several success factors that have made them successful with gender balance. Additionally, the thesis investigates OBOS and ManpowerGroup’s journey toward gender equality with the use of narratives on the past, present, and future. These factors applied to theories of Positive Organizational Scholarship, Appreciative Inquiry, and ethical- and inclusive leadership. After interviewing 11 participants from different departments and roles, we outline findings and discussion in connection with theory to then reach a conclusion. Our main findings from this research are: a leadership responsibility, important to have clear objectives and evaluate these regularly, systematic and structured work in terms of role models, programs, and flexibility, and aware of the potential for improvements in part of the organizations.