The Contemporary Role of Women in Organizational Leadership

This thesis focuses on gender equality in leadership within the Czech work environment. Its aim is to identify the key factors that influence the career trajectories of women in leadership positions and to examine their attitudes towards gender quotas. The research was conducted using a qualitative approach, specifically semi-structured interviews with women in leadership roles across various sectors. The findings reveal that women’s career advancement is strongly influenced by internal motivation, personal values, and support from their social environment. The main challenge is the difficulty of balancing motherhood and career. While women rarely report direct discrimination, hidden barriers in the form of stereotypical expectations persist. Attitudes towards gender quotas were predominantly negative, as leadership roles are perceived to be earned through individual merit. A key finding is that women’s professional development is not determined solely by external structures, but is also strongly shaped by individual agency and contextual factors. Therefore, support measures should focus on creating equal and flexible conditions that facilitate the balance between professional and family life.