Geschlechtergerechtigkeit und Geschlechterkonstruktionen: Die mediale Darstellung von Frauen in Top-Führungspositionen

Since the beginning of the financial crisis the pros and cons of a gender quota in top management teams (TMTs) have increasingly been at the focus of debate. Many demand a quota system for reasons of equity, others point to reasons related to business. According to that argument diversified teams will ultimately improve economic performance. In arguing this way, they imply that men and women perceive challenges “differently” and that they decide “differently” because they have “different” motives. In short, they pursue the logic of increasing gender equity by increasing gender differences. The article starts by reconstructing the historical changes in the understanding of gender differences. Subsequently, the central results of a discourse analysis of successful female top managers are presented und discussed. The final section formulates and proposes further research perspectives.