Women working in the Nordic forest sector are underrepresented in top leadership positions, despite the female share increasing in higher education programs. Little research exists on this niche actor group in the forest sector context. To fill this gap, we assess perceptions of female leaders on the state of gender diversity in the Nordic forest industry, on the future of the forest sector in the bioeconomy, and on the potential contribution the Nordic forest industry can make to empower women, as promoted by the UN Sustainable Development Goals. An elite interviewing strategy was used to engage female leaders working at the top management level of seven Finnish and Swedish forest companies. According to our results, adapting to "being one of the boys" appears to persist as a norm for female leaders in this masculine industry field. Participants believed that their influence on the industry's sustainability agenda comes from being in a senior management position, and is not a gender-related aspect. We conclude that the ability of the Nordic forest industry to adapt to strategic renewal into the bioeconomy will require a more diverse company culture, which is not solely gender-based and is fostered at all organizational levels.
Increasing gender diversity is no longer just the right thing to do, but also the smart thing to do. Although there is general literature about gender diversity and the perspectives of females in top management and leadership, there are, however, very few forest sector specific studies. This exploratory study utilizes interviews to better understand how female executives in North America and the Nordic countries of Finland and Sweden perceive the impact of the situation of gender diversity in the forest industry. Respondents also provide career advice for young females entering or considering entry into the industry. Female executives in both regions agree that although the forest sector is still seen as a male-oriented industry, there are signs of increasingly positive attitudes regarding industry and company culture towards the benefits of greater gender diversity; however, the described changes represent an evolution, not revolution. Interestingly, despite the status of Nordic countries as leaders in bridging the gender gap, respondents from this region believe that there is significant progress yet to be made in the forest industry, especially at the entry level. With respect to career development, North American respondents suggested that young females should consider sacrificing their social life and leisure time activities, whereas Nordic respondents instead emphasized personal supports or using exit strategy from an unsupportive company or boss.
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