...term “Glass Ceiling” became popular when a Wall Street Journal article used it in 1986. It refers to the barrier that prevents women from stepping into the top management level in any organizations. The “Glass Ceiling” is invisible and impenetrable. Very often a woman could see her ultimate career goal was just ahead of her, but she just could not get to the top of the hierarchy. Before the term was introduced, researchers had been exploring varies theories that could explain why it was so hard for women to reach the highest level in business that was dominated by white males. One explanation could be that women might have chosen less stressful jobs in order to take care of their family members. Another explanation was that women might lack the network of crucial professional contacts that could help them advance in their careers. After the term was introduced, the society became more and more aware of the unequal career opportunities offered to white men versus all other groups of people. The situation has been changing and improving, little by little. Many researches done in the 80s and 90s of the last century suggested that women were significantly underrepresented in upper management level, and their salaries and wages were much lower than the male counterpart. According to Cai & Kleiner (1999), in a 1989 estimation by the U.S. Department of Labor, only 1 to 2 percent of senior executive management positions include women. The report issued by the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission...
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...The Glass Ceiling And Women In The Workplace Sabra D. Pope SOC 490: Social Science Capstone Professor Sandy Smith October 10, 2011 There are far too many businesses around the world that either choose to or unconsciously interfere in the progress of women into higher positions. This problem, even if it is unconscious, can usually be back-tracked to the beginnings of a woman’s entrance into the workplace. This problem can especially be traced if she exhibits any proclivity for moving into management and a desire for moving further up the executive ladder. The reality is that women hold far fewer positions in management and executive ranks is not a new view. Women face many obstacles when trying to advance up the corporate ladder. Two of these obstacles are discrimination and stereotyping. But, the concept that is not new but may be unexpected is that there is the impression that many more obstacles are placed in a woman’s path from the beginning of their career when contrasted with a man’s career. There are several factors that seem to impede women from reaching upper management level positions. Two of these factors are the fact that women are less likely to get involved in variable pay schemes that are based on their work performance but there are also a lot fewer opportunities to obtain mentoring from those in executive positions. Ever since women have sought equal pay for equal work economists have tried to present an explanation of the pay gap between...
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...of life for the majority of the world’s bottom two billion people, helping sustain the gulf between the most deprived and everyone else on the planet (Coleman 13). Narrowing that gulf requires the involvement of the international major organizations. Not simply does the global private sector have more money than some governments organizations, but it can use crucial leverage with its popular labels and by expanding promises of investment and employment. Some organizations already promote initiatives focused on women as part of their corporate programs (Coleman 13). But the really transformative shift - for global businesses and for females internationally – will happen when the organizations recognize that empowering women positively influences their bottom lines (Coleman 13). The Glass Ceiling The impassable obstacles between female employees and the executive suite were reported in the report issued by the Glass Ceiling Commission in 1995 (Johns). The glass ceiling is a concept, which was initially introduced in the 1980s (Johns). In fact, it is a metaphor for the artificial obstacles, which prevent females and minorities from climbing the corporate ladder to...
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...A critical evaluation of Women in management- the glass ceiling at the St. Lucia Fire Service Executive Summary The topic of the glass ceiling has been of great interest in recent years especially in the field of management. The problem is that women demonstrate successful qualities over years and despite the qualities that they possess, the glass ceiling still continue to exist in organizations that are male dominating and find it difficult to break into management. The purpose of this research is to identify the barriers that exists impeding women’s career progression in the fire service and to make recommendations that the St. Lucia Fire Service may implement to increase capacity in senior management level. It is important for women to be part of senior management since women currently make a proportionally larger percentage at the workplace and also because the government has established that in any form of recruitment into the fire service, women should make up twenty percent of the capacity. This research examined how the concept of the glass ceiling is unavoidable in the fire service. Two stages of data collection and analysis were carried out. By using descriptive research the status of women in the fire service will be presented. A questionnaire was developed and delivered to two hundred fire personnel. An analysis of answers from the questionnaire was analyzed to assess the opinions about the impact of females on promotions to senior management. To...
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...The Glass Ceiling Effect: Women’s Career Advancement in Puerto Rico Ángela Ramos Pérez May 7, 2008 2 Index Chapter One .....................................................................................................................................3 Introduction..................................................................................................................................3 Purpose for the Study...............................................................................................................3 Limitation ................................................................................................................................6 Chapter Two ....................................................................................................................................7 Literature Review ........................................................................................................................7 Introduction..............................................................................................................................7 Glass Ceiling............................................................................................................................8 Career Advancement .............................................................................................................12 Gender Based Gap ...........................................................................................................
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...Executive Summary Men and women are entering the labor force in equal numbers but the majority of top management positions still belong to men. More women than ever are entering the labor force but the majority of top management positions in almost all countries are primarily held by men. Female managers tend to be concentrated in lower management positions and hold less authority than men. This suggests that something beyond just sex differences in career patterns must be at work to account for the huge difference in the number of men versus women in top management positions. Although women as a whole may place less emphasis on career success than men, there are a considerable amount of women who strive for top management positions and are unable to attain them. In a recent study almost three-fourths of women and two-thirds of men believe that an invisible barrier (a glass ceiling) prevents women from attaining top management positions. In this report we have tried to find out the barriers causing women advancement in organizational top levels referred to as “Glass Ceiling.” We have conducted our research among some of the top level organizations which are United International University (UIU), MERCANTILE BANK Limited (MBL), Islamic Bank Limited (IBL), and Mutual Trust Bank Limited (MTBL). Without their support we couldn’t have completed this report. Here we have conducted research about some of the factors which correspondents have identified as the major factors. The...
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...Problem The history of women and minorities in the American workforce has been shaped by diverse cultural, legal, demographic, and ethno-racial influences. African American men had to prove themselves worthy to fight alongside white Americans in past wars for the same rights. Women had to fight for their rights to work along men whether it was for paid or unpaid labor. Minorities have had to prove themselves to others to advance to a higher position. Sometimes after proving their skills and leadership abilities, the job or else the opportunity still does not get delivered. Minorities have been struggling to get notice in America for hundred of years. Many people have been paving the way for future advancement of people no matter the race, sex, or national origin. Whenever a minority has the opportunity and skills to advance in the workforce, but is not given a fair chance, this is commonly known as glass ceiling. According to the online database, Answers, glass ceiling refers to situations where the advancement of a qualified person within the hierarchy of an organization is stopped at a lower level because of some form of discrimination. This situation is in reference to the term glass ceiling because there are limitations of upward movement or advancement. The word glass comes from being transparent because the limitations are not immediately apparent and is normally an unwritten or unofficial policy. This barrier prevents large numbers of women, ethnic, and sexual minorities...
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...Although minorities and women have made some headway in management and professional positions in the last decade, the corporate "glass ceiling" still appears to be an obstacle to their advancement into senior leadership. We have done a qualitative research on the factors that are responsible for glass ceiling and the factors that help women find a way to get around the glass ceiling. We have followed an exploratory research design approach wherein we have used interview as the basis to get down to the factors. Background of the Problem Historically, India has been a male-dominated society. But in the past few decades, certain changes in our society have widened the arena for women. Be it managerial roles in corporate world, academics, politics, women are increasingly becoming more visible. Globalization has also helped bring concepts such as gender diversity in leadership roles. As opportunities for women have increased so now women are entering professions which were previously seen as the domain of men in the corporate world .But there are invisible and artificial barriers that impede women from advancing to senior leadership positions which is popularly known as “Glass Ceiling” .Glass ceiling describes the barriers that women face in the workplace. The word "ceiling" suggests that women are blocked from advancing in their careers due to many factors, and the term "glass" is used because the ceiling is not always discernible. Although many women hold management positions...
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...Stefanie da Silva April 4, 2014 BUS 410 – Maher Research Paper ------------------------------------------------- The Glass Ceiling: An Ongoing Problem and Its Solutions The Wall Street Journal coined the term “glass ceiling” about twenty-five years ago. The glass ceiling refers to invisible barriers that prevent women and minorities from reaching the top of the corporate ladder. Traditionally, throughout the United States and the world, men instead of females have held the vast majority of leadership positions. It has been found that the higher the position, in both private and public sectors, the less likely a women would hold it. For example, a study shows that women hold just 2% of positions on the board of directors of large companies in the United States of America and Britain. A second study, conducted in 1995, found that 95% of all top management positions were held by males; a staggering number considering women accounted for 45.7% of American jobs during that year. Additionally, of the Fortune 1000 companies recognized in 2003, only seventeen are led by women CEOS. So the main question at hand here is why do women lag so far behind men in moving up the managerial ladder? More women are in the workforce than ever due to the Civil Rights Act barring sexual discrimination in the workplace. However, very few of those women actually hold top leadership positions. Women’s development programs exist to help females move up in the ranks of corporate America, but...
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...The glass ceiling is defined as “an unofficially acknowledged barrier to advancement in a profession, especially affecting women and members of minorities” (2). In society, in particular the workplace, women and minorities are being deprived of a multitude of opportunities simply because of their appearance, sexual orientation and / or physical make-up etc…. The majority of high ranking job positions in the workplace are occupied by heteroxexual white males. This seems to be coincidence, right? No, this is anything but that, even if individuals are unaware of what they are doing, their subconscious kicks in and takes over, thus resulting in this trend to continue and worsen over the years. There is no doubt whether the glass ceiling exists...
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...Canadian workforce, specifically barriers that women have overcome, and the trends towards reducing gender inequality. I want emphasize the fact that it has been a slow progress and that a glass ceiling is still a predominant issue today. The first topic will be about the progress towards gender equality in the Canadian workforce. I will talk about some trends leading to this improvement. The first trend will be about the role of the women’s movement in the 1960’s. This movement was towards giving women greater equality in wages, working conditions, and to gain recognition of their social, economic and political position in society. I will talk about how this movement sparked the battle of gender equality in North America. The second trend will be focusing on the steady growth in the labour force participation among women with children. According to Statistics Canada, 64.4% of women with children under the age of 3 were employed, more than double the proportion of 27.6% in 1976. I will also talk about how there is a slight trend towards men taking more child care responsibility. The third trend will be about women and education. More specifically, how women seem to be more educated (graduating with more undergrad degrees) than men today. Based on data from Statistics Canada; women outnumbered men in 2009 with 34.3% of women having a university degree, compared to only 26% of men. In this section, I will also talk about how women are studying more male-dominated studies. ...
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...Glass Ceiling Effect Leslie S. White Concorde Career College Table of Contents References Aguilar, L. (May 22, 2013). Merely Cracking the Glass Ceiling is Not Enough: Corporate America Needs More than Just A Few Women in Leadership. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved from http://www.sec.gov/News/Speech/Detail/Speech/1365171515760 Herzlinger, R. (April 2, 2013). Has the Glass Ceiling Been Shattered for Women Leading Major Companies? Huffington Post Business. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/regina-e-herzlinger/has-the-glass-ceiling-bee_b_3001344.html Fedor¸L. (March 26, 2013). Minnesota women still struggling to break the corporate glass ceiling. (Fedor¸L, 2013)The Minnesota Post. Retrieved from http://www.minnpost.com/business/2013/03/minnesota-women-still-struggling-break-corporate-glass-ceiling Hamilton, N. (August 12, 2013). Even the Top of Corporate America Has a Glass Ceiling. Gawker. Retrieved from http://gawker.com/even-the-top-of-corporate-america-has-a-glass-ceiling-1121174143 Women in business (July 21, 2005). The conundrum of the glass ceiling: Why are women so persistently absent from top corporate jobs? Special report: The Economist. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/node/4197626 Civil Rights Monitor. (1995). Glass Ceiling Commission Issues Report: Discrimination Still Deprived Women and Minorities of Opportunities. The leadership Conference. Volume 8 no. 1. Retrieved...
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...Breaking thru the Glass Ceiling GEB 452 Organizational Ethics Introduction For too many women, discrimination still plays a role in the jobs they get, the wages they are paid, and the promotions they receive. The base of this paper is on the ‘glass ceiling’ metaphor, which is the invisible barriers women experience in their rising career, which prevents them from reaching the top of an organization or making it difficult to get there. Even though we have come a long way from how it was fifty years ago it’s undeniable that women still today are not accepted as an equal. Most women seem under-represented in upper management levels in many companies and getting paid less for the same work done by men. This paper will examine some of the obstacles that women have to face during their climb on the corporate ladder and once they arrive. I will also discuss how the gender discrimination has improved thru the years and explain what women are doing to try to break thru the glass ceiling. The Glass Ceiling Women have come a long way during the past century. They have flown alone across the Atlantic Ocean, they have been given the right to vote, they have gone in a rocket into space and they have even been elected to Congress. Even though all they hold all these achievements, women are still facing barriers and gender discrimination in the workplace. It has been shown that even if a woman has received the proper education and credentials, they are often not considered for the...
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...barrier for women in the working world? It might come as a surprise that in the year 2017, women in Ohio only made 77 percent of what the average Ohio man makes in one year (Webb). There is so much limitation for women striving to reach the top in any business today. Even in recent years, after some progress regarding women’s advancements in corporate settings has been made, it is found that only one tenth of the senior roles in companies are filled by women. The idea of the glass ceiling started in the 1980’s, when the phrase was used in multiple different books to describe an invisible barrier imposed on people because of race, gender, or any other “limiting” factors that may socially inhibit one from reaching their goal (Lewis). This is a socially constructed limit on these people, and is very prominent in corporate environments. When the Americans were asked if most people thought that barrier has been broken, 86 percent thought that the glass ceiling has not yet been broken, if even cracked (Lewis). Women’s salary, rank, and reputation in the workforce has consistently changed over the years. Fair treatment at the office has been a constant struggle for women in today’s society. Breaking...
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...“The Glass Ceiling” The glass ceiling is an invisible, but real barrier that prevents people, often women and minorities from achieving further success. I think that the glass ceiling may be more of a form of sexism. The expression is often used to describe the sexist attitudes that many women run into in the work environment. The term “glass ceiling” originated from the Wall Street Journal in 1986 and was then used in the title of an article by A.M. Morrison and others that was published in 1987 (“The Glass Ceiling”, 2009). The glass ceiling has yet to be broken, but as of now, it is scratched at the most. There are some women who succeed in breaking the glass ceiling of professional advancement, but unfortunately, they can face an increased risk of sexual harassment from coworkers and subordinates. Sexual harassment in the workplace in relation to the glass ceiling boils down to power. Some men may find the general growth of women in higher occupations not only disconcerting, but also threatening. Sexual harassment can be a way for these men to reassert their dominance and feel falsely secure. Even when breaking the glass ceiling, women have to earn legitimacy in organizations that favor and reward stereotypical masculine values and practices. In other words, they have to work harder than men to prove their worth. One case that may have cracked the glass ceiling was Petruska v. Gannon University. Petruska sues the university administration claiming that she was demoted...
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