Two ways of adressing gender balance. Between different institutional logics

Abstract

Gender balance in management is a highly relevant issue both in academia and in business. Through document studies and interviews with HR managers in 23 large national and international companies in Norway, we analyze which gender balance measures that can prove effective in including women in management. Our study shows that goal management as a gender balance measure and the use of role models can give results. While goal management gained a foothold in working life through New Public Management (NPM), we also thematize how uncontrolled trends such as “sharing” on digital social platforms can affect role models for management and provide new room for action for women, but also commodification. When women’s role in leadership is put into play between institutional logics related to market and democracy, the outcome can be affected by the dynamics between the various logics in ways that can be analyzed by existing theory, but also in ways that may require further development of the analytical tools.