Abstract:
Prior to this study, WXYZ (a non-profit service firm located in the Netherlands) conducted an employee satisfaction survey indicating perceived inequality in career opportunities amongst men and women of different ages employed at the organization. As it remained unclear to WXYZ how this finding could be explained, a call was made for qualitative in-depth research. Therefore, this study examined the roles of gender and age on the perceived (un)equal career opportunities at WXYZ. In order to study this phenomenon the following research question was composed: “What are the roles of gender and age on the perceived (un)equal career opportunities in a non-profit service firm in the Netherlands?”. To be able to provide an answer to this research question, qualitative research was conducted by 16 semi-structured interviews and a diversity policy document. The interview questions were based on academic literature regarding gender and age in organizations. After the data was collected, the interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed in order to draw a conclusion