A new generation of business masculinity? Privileged high school boys in a gender egalitarian context

Abstract

While gender equality and new softer masculinity ideals have gained prominence in the Nordic welfare states in recent decades, the top echelons of business seem to constitute a bulwark against these changes. Elite corporate culture preserves more traditional business masculinity ideals, both in terms of gender composition as well as in attitudes toward gender equality. This article analyzes if, and in what ways, central tenets from traditional business masculinities are upheld among the prospective male business leaders of tomorrow. By situating the interviews of young privileged boys within the contexts of both their renowned business high school and the strong gender equality ideals that exist in Norway, this article taps into a vital period of the construction of a 'business masculinity'. The analyses show that, while softer masculinity traits are expressed when societal issues are at stake, the school context nonetheless seem to provide a 'safe haven' for traditional masculinity.

How does parental time relate to social class in a Nordic welfare state?

“…Aarseth, 2021; Nordberg, 2019). The intra-middle class differences shown may indicate the perseverance of a ‘business masculinity’ in the business and financial sector (Halvorsen and Ljunggren, 2020), while a male breadwinner culture may still exist in the organisation and expectations of traditional male working-class occupations. Moreover, we note that fathers’ childcare time in various class fractions is only modestly affected when the mothers’ class is accounted for, suggesting that fathers’ childcare practices in Norway are less influenced by their partners’ socioeconomic characteristics compared to some other countries (e.g.…”

“…within the financial sector. Moreover, elite corporate culture seems to preserve traditional business masculinity ideals, where the economic upper class emphasises tradition, strength, and competition (Halvorsen and Ljunggren, 2020). Moreover, a qualitative study of parents where the father belonged to the economic upper-class fraction (e.g.…”

Poison or remedy? Masculinity in a pathos-based sustainable brand story

“…, 2020). While older generations uphold traditional hegemonic masculinity ideals, upcoming generations have embraced hybrid masculinity (Halvorsen and Ljunggren, 2021; Landsverk, 2021; Stavrianea et al. , 2021).…”

“…This more androgynous profile combines femininity with aspects of traditional masculine standards (Jiang et al, 2020). While older generations uphold traditional hegemonic masculinity ideals, upcoming generations have embraced hybrid masculinity (Halvorsen and Ljunggren, 2021;Landsverk, 2021;Stavrianea et al, 2021). As generational cohorts serve as a useful market segmentation tool (Kruger and Viljoen, 2022), this study aims to unravel whether the effect of brand masculinity depends on consumer generation.…”

“…Although research has proven brand masculinity positively affects men's brand attitudes (Grohmann, 2009;Brough et al, 2016;Clark et al, 2019), the effectiveness of different masculinity strategies and how different generational cohorts react them has not been explored. This lacuna is important given the constantly changing notions of masculinity and increasingly noticeable disparities among generational cohorts in responses to gender (Halvorsen and Ljunggren, 2021). Demographic factors typically contribute to differing attitudes and behaviors.…”