Building a Career in Finland : Experiences of International Women in the Business Sector
Sladakovic, Katarina (2021)
Sladakovic, Katarina
2021
Master's Programme in Leadership for Change
Johtamisen ja talouden tiedekunta - Faculty of Management and Business
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2021-06-23
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202106216007
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202106216007
Tiivistelmä
Work is a central element of modern individuals’ lives. Beyond being just a means to secure income, work gives meaning to a person’s life, it affects how the individual is perceived by the rest of the society, how they perceive who they are and define who they want to be. The continuous evolution of our modern societies affects also how individuals approach and experience their career building. In addition, the topic of internationalization is particularly relevant for Finland, considering the country’s needs for a foreign workforce due to the growing economy and ageing domestic workforce. In recent years Finland has experienced an increased influx of skilled migrants, but the research show immigrant women remain particularly vulnerable, including skilled and highly educated female internationals.
Until recently, career development has been focused on the individual, neglecting the importance of the context, societal values, norms and structures in which individuals build and live their careers. Furthermore, despite the number of skilled female migrants has been on a rise, there is limited insight into their subjective career development experiences. This research responds to those two needs and explores how gender, foreignness and professional identity come together and shape the career building experiences of skilled international women in Finland. The main aim is to provide a better understanding of the totality of their experiences, career challenges and opportunities they experience, resources and strategies they use to navigate their career development in Finland.
This research was conducted using a biographical narrative interview method. Twelve international women living and working in Finland were interviewed, coming from diverse backgrounds, countries of origin, professions, and industries. At the beginning of the interview, the interviewee was asked a very broad question: to tell her career story – the past, the present and the future hopes. After the uninterrupted storytelling part, follow-up questions were asked to ensure the clarity and richness of the data collected. Insights about interviewees’ careers before moving to Finland, motivations to come and stay in Finland, challenges to kick off their careers and their experience of adjusting to the Finnish working culture were collected.
This study suggests that all three factors – gender, foreignness, and professional identity – are relevant to understand the career building experiences of international women. In addition, the study points out the interplay between those factors and highlights their intertwined nature. Overall findings suggest that building a career in Finland brings both challenges and opportunities for skilled international women. Challenges are mainly associated with the lack of career capital, language skills, and pressure to demonstrate their commitment to staying in Finland. In addition, findings suggest gender equal nature of the Finnish society can create challenges for women coming from less gender equal backgrounds. Career development opportunities are associated with identified features of the Finnish working culture. Those features include low vertical hierarchy, access to top management, high level of trust, freedom and autonomy, knowledge sharing, organizational openness to exploring different career paths within the organization and learning in all phases of a career.
Until recently, career development has been focused on the individual, neglecting the importance of the context, societal values, norms and structures in which individuals build and live their careers. Furthermore, despite the number of skilled female migrants has been on a rise, there is limited insight into their subjective career development experiences. This research responds to those two needs and explores how gender, foreignness and professional identity come together and shape the career building experiences of skilled international women in Finland. The main aim is to provide a better understanding of the totality of their experiences, career challenges and opportunities they experience, resources and strategies they use to navigate their career development in Finland.
This research was conducted using a biographical narrative interview method. Twelve international women living and working in Finland were interviewed, coming from diverse backgrounds, countries of origin, professions, and industries. At the beginning of the interview, the interviewee was asked a very broad question: to tell her career story – the past, the present and the future hopes. After the uninterrupted storytelling part, follow-up questions were asked to ensure the clarity and richness of the data collected. Insights about interviewees’ careers before moving to Finland, motivations to come and stay in Finland, challenges to kick off their careers and their experience of adjusting to the Finnish working culture were collected.
This study suggests that all three factors – gender, foreignness, and professional identity – are relevant to understand the career building experiences of international women. In addition, the study points out the interplay between those factors and highlights their intertwined nature. Overall findings suggest that building a career in Finland brings both challenges and opportunities for skilled international women. Challenges are mainly associated with the lack of career capital, language skills, and pressure to demonstrate their commitment to staying in Finland. In addition, findings suggest gender equal nature of the Finnish society can create challenges for women coming from less gender equal backgrounds. Career development opportunities are associated with identified features of the Finnish working culture. Those features include low vertical hierarchy, access to top management, high level of trust, freedom and autonomy, knowledge sharing, organizational openness to exploring different career paths within the organization and learning in all phases of a career.