Coping with Career Boundaries in Masculine Professions: Career Politics of Female Professionals in the ICT and Energy Supplier Industries in Switzerland

This article investigates the mid‐career realities of female professionals in male‐dominated industrial sectors by way of two explorative company case studies, located in the IT and energy supplier industry in Switzerland. Based on preliminary results taken from qualitative interviews, we analyze career politics of female professionals trying to cope with career boundaries in the context of male‐affected management cultures. Career politics, such as pursuing calculated relationships with organizational gatekeepers, are part of a more or less conscious game, with the male order trying to compensate disadvantages in gaining access to career‐relevant resources. But as an unintended side effect, they contribute to the reproduction of gendered stereotypes and career boundaries in ‘male professions’.