Heike Schinnenburg & Nicole Böhmer

Despite the leaky pipeline of women on the way to top management positions, talent management research so far mostly neglects to integrate gender aspects in their concepts and theory. However, Gender studies show the relevant but mostly unconscious mechanism in society and organizations, which restrict career chances for women in a game in which the rules seem to be naturally set by traditional values and stereotypes. This qualitative study shows the perception of successful male and female managers concerning their perceptions of career options for both genders and gender equality in organizations, and what they expect from an equal-opportunity culture in organizations. The results show the necessity for a genders-ensitive Talent Management in research and practice.