Mulheres em cargos de liderança no setor automotivo no Nordeste: análise das barreiras organizacionais

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the organizational barriers that influence the advancement and retention of women in leadership positions within the automotive industry, based on the perceptions of professionals working in this context. This is a qualitative, descriptive study conducted through semi-structured interviews with four women from different functional areas and hierarchical levels within an automotive company. The data were analyzed using content analysis. The findings reveal that the barriers experienced by the participants do not emerge as a single, explicit obstacle, but rather resemble the leadership labyrinth metaphor. Throughout their professional trajectories, the women reported facing the masculinization of the workplace, the repeated need to prove their competence, challenges to their authority in leadership positions, exclusion from informal networking opportunities, difficulties in balancing work demands with family responsibilities, and the perception that organizational diversity policies remain insufficient in practice. The study concludes that these barriers manifest similarly across different areas of the organization, suggesting a broader cultural pattern characteristic of the automotive industry rather than one limited to specific departments. This research contributes to addressing a gap in the Brazilian literature, which remains limited regarding women's leadership specifically within the automotive sector, and offers practical directions for organizational human resource management policies aimed at promoting gender equity.