Women and leadership: obstacles and gender expectations in managerial positions

Abstract The representation of women in senior management positions has increased over the years, but the obstacles still remain. This study aims to understand how Brazilian women see themselves as leaders and what the main challenges are and how to overcome them to achieve equality not only in the workplace but also at home. To meet the objective of the research, we opted for a field research methodology. Were selected 15 women to interview, which worked at public and private organizations as leader, in Rio de Janeiro, between years 2014 and 2016. The results showed that women have a more androgynous notion of leadership than what was suggested by the literature and that they see themselves as worthy of this role despite suffering several cases of prejudice in their careers.