Introduction This essay will examine the effect of the glass ceiling for women in management positions. The glass ceiling effect can be defined as barriers to advancement in a profession, affecting women, particularly for top management positions in this essay. It examines some specific barriers such as female role constraints and the importance of mentoring and other strategies for success. Furthermore, it will describe the methodology of the five examined articles and the significance of each. Women may be entering the labour force and management positions in greater numbers, however; research suggests that the issue of the glass ceiling effect is still prevalent to society today.
From the time women started working, they have been facing the challenge of breaking the glass ceiling in order to climb to the top of the corporate hierarchy. Although the glass ceiling is not as prominent as it was in the past, it is still very real, and it affects not only women but other minorities. Whether it is the ceiling, wall, elevator, or cage, the glass prevents women from advancing in their careers. It has existed from the beginning, and even with the help of equality laws, it still poses a problem today. However, thanks to several outstanding women, the glass has developed several cracks; the future appears brighter.
Women occupy a significant and growing proportion of entry and mid-level managerial positions, nevertheless women have been stymied in their entrance to top level positions, accounting for less than five percent of women holding executive positions. The lack of progress can be attributed to the glass ceiling, an invisible barrier to advancement based on attitude or organizational bias. Increasingly, individuals in many organizations are recognizing the importance of shattering the glass ceiling and removing barriers that prevent women from utilizing their full potential. Dismantling the glass ceiling requires these key pieces of information: First, it is critical to understand the barriers women face in their advancement. Second, it is instructive to understand the career strategies used by women who successfully overcome the barriers to advancement.
Finally, some conclusions and recommendations will be offered. General approach and rationale Women in managerial roles has been a topic of debate for many decades. The advancement of women into position of power and influence in organisations has seen a steady rise, contributing to the equality of opportunity, in the last years (ILO 2004). However, the management gender commonplace is still considered to be a barrier. Indeed, in a worldwide overview of women in management, Berthoin and Izraeli (2002), reckon that the most important obstacle faced by female managers in industrialized nations is the stereotype that links management ... ... middle of paper ... .../abs_lightningwintro.pdf> [accesed on 3/6/2011] Heilman, M., Wallen, A.S., Fuchs, D., and Tamkins, M. (2004) Penalties for success: reactions to women who succeed at male gender-typed tasks, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol.
Family responsibilities, stereotypes that have led to gender discrimination, are perhaps the most notable factors. Despite this negativity women can still perform exceptionally well as senior managers; especially if effective work/life balance initiatives are undertaken. Family Responsibilities Family responsibilities-such as childbearing, rearing and other common household duties which have traditionally been place on women- play are major role in hindering their career progress. These responsibilities reduce the competitiveness of women by adding to them other unpaid responsibilities that men usually do not face (Writh 2001; Adler & Izraeli 1994). This has had profound effect on the ability of women to pursue their career ambitions.
Many of the issues for these women are the same, from questions of male domination to secret dialogue, to discrimination to pay inequalities. Because the fields and agendas are so diverse, no one simple, set of answers resonates across the board. It is clear, however, that women will be instrumental in leading corporations to new resolutions. This paper presents a range of perspectives on gender and information technology (IT). The aim is to present some of the major debates and critiques of IT to highlight some important issues of concern for women in leadership rolls.
This barrier of blocking women and minorities from reaching top echelons reveals the extent of the problems faced by women. There is no doubt that the glass ceiling continues to plague talented women who struggle to reach the top positions in their career. The glass ceiling is also a problem for top management of corporations that need to recognize the changes in the modern age. By following the traditional way of hiring and promoting individuals, corporations are missing out on the vast talent pool of women. By opening higher management positions to women, corporations stand to benefit from the creativity, more interactional, more participative, and knowledge of women who will offer a unique perspective to growing corporations.
From this angle, the idea of feminism posed in Churchill¡¯s Top Girls is better driven home to us. Though committed to individualism, such ¡°top girls¡± as the fictitious Marlene in Britain in the late 1970s and early 1980s were essentially the trapped victims of the conflicts between certain social conditions having been established for their moving up the social ladder and the more powerful traditional gender bias having imposed so much constraint upon them. And this gender prejudice had been, in reality, enhanced by these feminists¡¯ tough reaction towards it. Therefore, girls in Britain then might reach the top of their social careers, but could hardly reach the top of individual freedom and people¡¯s esteem. Notes
He mentions that these stereotypes effectively maintain the glass ceiling, a term used to describe the disadvantage women face if they want to climb up in the hierarchical order of a business (Zeng 2011). Considering the very low percentage of women in power, existing prejudices about the competence of female leaders might not have changed. This essay will illustrate that a difference in perceived effectiveness of leadership styles of women could be seen as an explanation for this. In order to understand how prejudices influence ideas about the effectiveness of leadership styles, the existing literature on social identity theory and social identity theory of leadership will be explored. Social Identity Threat Social Identity Theory can be seen as the basis of the underlying prejudices about males and females: a sense of 'we' and 'them' naturally forms, and as Tajfel and Turner have argued, intergroup relations are formed by finding positive distinctiveness (Tajfel and Turner 1979).
Women like, Condoleezza Rice, Hilary Clinton, and Nancy Pelosi are great examples of women who have busted through the glass ceiling. That being said, there are still challenges faced by women in the workplace, especially those in lower and midlevel positions. Women do not progress in the ranks unobstructed before getting to the top. Instead, they face many challenges and difficulties. Because of this Eagly and Carli (2007) have labeled this journey of challenges that happen from lower levels all the way to the top as the leadership labyrinth(as cited by Northouse,2010).