Young Swedish women don’t want to become leaders, especially not in big companies. Only three of ten women at the age of 25-35 working at big and middle sized companies would choose to become a manager.

According to a new study by Sifo, the typical image of a Swedish leader is fairly old-fashioned and fits poorly with young people’s demands of balance in life.

Less than every third young and highly educated woman sees herself as a CEO.

There are three obstacles in particular that make women less interested in a career as a leader: The increased workload, doubts about their own capacity, and a hierarchic and sluggish organization.

“It’ll be a catastrophe for Swedish growth if the bigger companies won’t learn how to pick up and keep young people,” says Sofia Falk, Vice President at Wiminvest, who collaborated with Sifo on the study. Women want feedback and flexibility much more than men do, but both find the career path of a leader diffuse and long.

For more info, see Wiminvest (Swedish only)