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1. Introduction
According to the [65] Global Gender Gap report (2012), Finland is the second most gender egalitarian country in the world, behind Iceland and just ahead of Norway and Sweden, its Nordic neighbours in the northern region of Europe. However, according to the [64] Ministry of Health and Social Affairs (2012), attitudes and opinions to gender equality tend to change slowly, and the majority of Finns (both male and female) do not consider Finland a gender equal society as gender differences still persist. The Finnish workforce comprises quite evenly women and men ([51] Official Statistics of Finland (OSF), 2012a). Drawing on the traditional and increasingly high level of equality between men and women in Finland, no or little difference in their career aspirations might be anticipated (e.g. [3] Adler, 1984; [53] Stroh et al. , 2000). However, according to previous research, the number of women attaining higher positions ([27] Hearn et al. , 2009, p. 54; [25] Hearn and Piekkari, 2005, pp. 431-432) and on international assignments ([19] Harris, 2006, p. 265) remains low. This scarcity also applies in other countries ([61] Vinnicombe, 2000, p. 11), suggesting that differences in career patterns and organizational opportunities among men and women still persist (e.g. [50] Selmer and Leung, 2002; [55] Tharenou, 2010). Despite increasing gender awareness and the promotion of equal opportunities, organizational patterns appear to remain both gendered and multi-faceted (cf. [7] Bendl and Schmidt, 2010). Women face a number of obstacles not reported by their male counterparts; for example, "the obligation to balance home life and career, isolation and loneliness, constantly being aware of being a woman in a man's world, having to prove themselves to others, and having to work harder and be better than their male counterparts" ([32] Insch et al. , 2008, p. 21). Other barriers have been identified as women's lack of mentoring and networking relationships, fast track programmes, individual career counselling, and career planning workshops; whereas men more often have access to these types of support ([32] Insch et al. , 2008).
The gendering of career opportunities may be explained by the tendency to reproduce socially constructed gendered patterns in an organization, while simultaneously reproducing patterns of power, dominance, and subordination ([43] Lorber, 2005, p. 242). Research has...