*** THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE IN DANISH ONLY ***

Our biased – and often unconscious – attitudes towards what and how a leader is hinders us from achieving gender balance in the hallways of leadership, which in turn hinders us in developing society-wide values. We lack an acknowledgement that we have imposed on ourselves – and accepted – (perceptual) constraints that are rooted in outdated notions of gender and norms. These notions limit us, both as people in a society that wants growth and development and as parents to children for whom we want to provide unlimited opportunities. The only way to make up for these attitudes is through an intervention of 360 degrees. Digging more deeply down and reaching all the way around the root can pull these attitudes forth and into the light where they can be scrutinized on the stage of review.

The book provides a bold and slightly provocative picture of the reality in Denmark. Things are not going nearly as well as we tend to believe! In setting focus on gender diversity, the authors hope to promote a greater degree of inclusion, because in considering the feminine and masculine qualities of both men and women, consideration of other aspects of diversity will be inevitable. The book is not about gender as such but about the diversity that can arise from having an increased awareness of the feminine and masculine qualities of both sexes.

The authors include aspects such as:

• Status of gender equality in Denmark
• The Danish maternity system
• Expectations placed on leadership role
• The balance between the number of men and women on top
• Women’s leadership ambitions
• Equal pay and pay gaps
• Shortage of talented women
• Gender-specific differences between men and women
• Men’s perspective.

Our conceptions of what is masculine and what is feminine stands in the way of opportunities and perspectives we cannot imagine. In the struggle for women’s rights we have overlooked the fact that the conditions of men and women are linked. As long as we together create families and form relationships, our actions and choices will influence each other. It is therefore not enough just to talk about what women should do differently or what men should do differently. It is no longer a women’s struggle – it is a common concern.

Foreword by Per Holten-Andersen, former rector of Copenhagen Business School.