Imprints at work

Job insecurity is increasingly present in Western economies, even in sectors where careers used to be stable, like the public sector. At the same time, gender inequality remains a persistent problem. Women are more likely to hold temporary jobs and continue to earn less than men. This dissertation looks at how leaders in organizations help shape these outcomes. It focuses on the question: how do leaders' own career paths and the history of their organizations affect who gets permanent jobs and fair wages? Organizational leaders are important, as they hold the positions that govern access to employment contracts and incomes. They act as a gatekeeper to organizational resources, and with their status and visibility they can stir organizational norms and culture. The studies in my dissertation brought interesting findings. It finds that public-sector leaders who started their careers in the private sector are more likely to create unstable working conditions in public jobs. Additionally, it finds that a female leader's early work experiences - and the values built in their organizations from its founding period - influence whether these leaders take action to reduce gender inequality in their organization when it comes to improving jo security and pay for women. This dissertation shows that leaders shape workplace precarity and inequality, but the way it happens is dependent on their own and their organization's past

Dissertation: https://hdl.handle.net/11370/06cf836f-3494-4125-8d38-d82f7fa432f5