Research shows that gender inequality is still a major issue in the workplace when it comes to effectively promoting female leadership. Despite increased efforts to reduce gender inequalities, UN organizations in Vienna experience a decrease in female representations from middle to senior management positions. We therefore analyze if and what sort of gender discrimination female middle managers at UN organizations in Vienna face in their leadership development and how senior managers currently

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... upport female middle managers in their leadership development. Thus, it can be concluded to what extend senior managers currently contribute to gender equality in supporting female middle managers on their way to higher managerial levels. The thesis is based on a descriptive case study design. A total of eight female middle managers from three UN organizations were interviewed anonymously. This thesis can conclude that there is a lack of active leadership development given to middle managers by their senior leaders. Most senior managers are passive-avoidant and, thus, do not actively support female middle managers in their development. While all interviewees experienced gender discrimination in their career path and even in current positions, they could feel changes in dynamics since there is an increase of fellow female middle managers. The transformational leadership style adopted by a senior leader seems to be, as per definition, the most supporting one, and shows also the fewest gender biases towards female middle managers. Promoting such leadership style among senior leaders might be a promising way to reduce gender biases towards women but also to support equally female middle managers on their way to the top.