Subordination and inequality of women has been a long standing issue because women have been considered inferior to men since history began. The opportunity for women to vote required a fight. Even though it was over 200 years since the 15th amendment law was passed, giving African Americans the right to vote, it took an additional 55 years before women were given the same rights. According to Forbes.com, the following are listed as of the 100 most powerful women in the world. Melinda Gates (Co-chair Bill and Melinda Gates foundation), Michelle Obama (First Lady of the United States of America), Hilary Clinton (Former Secretary of State and philanthropist), Dilma Rousseff (President of Brazil), Indra Nooyi (CEO PepsicCo), Sonia Gandhi (President, Indian National Congress). Although influential, these women represent a fairly small number of powerful leaders around the world in comparison to their male counterparts. Women and men represent lower and mid-level management positions fairly evenly however the case is different when it comes to top level management positions because only a small percentage of women are represented in those positions. The term “Glass-Ceiling” is defined as an unofficial acknowledged barrier to advancement of profession especially affecting women and members of minorities. This issue is not only prevalent in the United States but in other parts of the world today. According to the Federal Glass Ceiling, they found 95 to 97% of the senior managers of Fortune 1000 industrial and Fortune 500 companies are male and only about 5% of senior managers are women (Parcheta, Kaifi, and Khanfar, 2013). The goal of this paper is to uncover some socio-cultural factors that may determine the cause of inequality betw... ... middle of paper ... ...otions should be highly considered rather than waiting for a man to take on that position. Companies also need to have a more flexible working arrangement such as telecommuting where employees can work from home few times a week. Companies also need to review their policies to ensure that they don’t have implied anti-women leaders’ policies when it comes to hiring, promoting or anything between. In conclusion, although we as a nation have made great strides in the advancement of women rights, there are still obstacles facing women in society today. Currently women make personal sacrifices in order to progress in the work place. Whereas in light of the progress that has been made in the political world, the United States of America could see its first female president in 2016, as Former Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton is in talks of running for president.
After doing some critical thinking, I decided to select the "Glass Ceiling Theory" as my topic. My thesis statement will include how research proves that the "Glass Ceiling Theory" isn't a theory at all, it is an authentic term used to describe the invisible barrier that keeps women and minorities from advancing in the corporate world. The term "Glass Ceiling" can apply to women who are kept from elevating in the corporate world because they are female. Female executives are reduced to particular types of jobs, often staff and supportive jobs that provide limited opportunity for growth. I believe that men and women were proven to be equal decades ago, but the earnings of women in comparison to men are unjust. On average, women earn less than
Women face many obstacles as they climb their career’s hierarchy and for many different reasons their wage is comparably less than that of males. After the movements toward equality in the workplace, many think that sex discrimination isn’t present anymore. However, many still believe that the glass ceiling hasn’t shattered and still possesses a barrier for many women in the labor force. The glass ceiling and the wage gap exist for various reasons but, like many other women leaders, women can break the glass and abolish the gap.
This phenomenon was first described in a Wall Street Journal report by Hymowitz and Schellhardt (1986). Morrison, White and Velsor (1987) adopted the term in academic settings in their book titled: Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Can women Reach the top of America’s Largest Corporations? They defined glass ceiling as “a transparent barrier that kept women from rising above a certain level in corporations”. Many studies across different disciplines adopted the term since then (Bullard and Wright 1993; Cornwell and Kellough 1994; Crum and Naff 1997; Kellough 1989; Lewis and Emmert 1986; Lewis and Nice 1994; Mani 1997; Naff 1994; Naff and Thomas 1994; Newman 1994; Pfeffer and Davis-Blake 1987; Reid, Kerr, and Miller 2003; Wilson 2002). As a consequence, social psychologists provided the theoretical explanation of why there is fewer female on managerial positions. They came to the conclusion that this phenomenon is closely related to the fact that leadership is considered as a male quality. Traits that can be found in the literature, such as: ambitious, directive and risk-taking, are generally associated with men (Sabharwal, 2013). Moreover, there are some theories that try to expand the role of men in leadership even further. The “think-manager-thin-man” is undoubtedly dominating the literature (Agars
... market conditions for women for professional jobs can be extravagant due to many work related factors. Financial markets can become extremely volatile in certain times and women who have problem solving abilities can work just as efficient as men.
The “glass ceiling” is a barrier to advancement that affects women when they work in
Also, the majority of women have been able to secure employment from traditionally female occupations such as teaching compared to male-dominated careers like engineering. Moreover, democratic country like the United States of America has recognized gender inequality as a fundamental issue and espouse equal right between men and women in contributing to social, economic and cultural life. Despite this improvement, gender inequality persists as women are not represented and treated equally in the workplace (Michialidis, Morphitou, & Theophylatou, 2012). The increasing number of women in the workplace has not provided equal opportunity for career advancement for females due to the way women are treated in an organization and the society. Also, attaining an executive position seem impossible for women due to the glass ceiling effects which defines the invisible and artificial barrier created by attitudinal and organizational prejudices, which inhibit women from attaining top executive positions (Wirth
Women are usually targeted because they are seen as the inferior gender in society. They are often displayed as sexual objects in the media, such as in porn and video games. Because of the way women are portrayed in society, they do not have the same opportunities as men. Many people may think that sexism is not an important issue anymore because women are making their way to the top. For instance, Mary Berara, the CEO of General Motors says “There are more women in more senior roles than in 1980 when I started. But from my career perspective, I don 't go into a room and take count. I want to be recognized for my contribution and for what I do” (nymag). Women are pushing themselves to work in higher positions, to prove that they have the same ability as men. Although women are becoming more and more powerful, sexism is still a huge issue today. Women may have higher positions, but they are paid less than men. According to a news article, “In 2012, the median earnings of American women working full time year-round were $37,791. American men earned a median income of $49,398. The gender wage gap has hovered at about 77 cents on the dollar since 2007” (huffington). This proves that sexism is present today since women working in the same jobs as men are paid a lower
Parcheta, N., Kaifi, B., & Khanfar, N. (2013). Gender Inequality in the Workforce: A Human Resource Management Quandary. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 4(3), 240-248.
Even if the progress has been gradual, women have advanced in recent decades much faster than they did in the nation's first two centuries. Women did not win the right to vote nationwide until ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920. No woman served in the president's cabinet until 1933 or on the Supreme Court until 1981. And only in the 1970s did the first women win election as a U.S. s...
For many decades, women have faced inequalities in the workforce. At one point, they were not allowed to work at all. Although women's rights have improved and are now able to work alongside men, they are still treated unfairly. According to the 2012 U.S. Census, women’s earnings were “76.5 percent of men’s” (1). In 2012, men, on average, earned $47,398 and women earned only $35,791. This is when comparing employees where both gender spend the same amount of time working. Not only do women encounter unfairness in work pay, they also face a “glass ceiling” on a promotional basis. This glass ceiling is a “promotion barrier that prevents woman’s upward ability” (2). For example, if a woman is able to enter a job traditionally for men, she will still not receive the same pay or experience the same increase in occupational ability. Gender typing plays a huge role in the workplace. It is the idea that women tend to hold jobs that are low paid with low status. Women are not highly considered in leadership positions because of social construction of gender. Society has given women the role of “caretakers” and sensitive individuals. Therefore, women are not depicted as authoritative figures, which is apparent with the absence of women in leadership roles in companies. Furthermore, sex segregation leads to occupations with either the emphasis of women in a certain job or men in a certain job. In 2009, occupations with the highest proportion of women included “secretary, child care worker, hair dresser, cashier, bookkeeper, etc.” (3). Male workers typically held job positions as construction workers, truck drivers, taxi drivers, etc. (3). Sex segregation represents inequality because the gender composition for these jobs depends on what ...
Gender stratification limits women’s achievement in their lives. In term of jobs, women continue to enter a narrow passage of occupations range. Compared to men, women often face greater handicap in seeking job because the higher income and prestigious jobs are more likely held by men. In the workplace institution, men are also prior to a faster promotion. There is a case where women were allowed to get promoted to a more advance posi...
Since our time is so well educated, we have to change our mindsets on women changing their roles in the household or in the workplace and men being comfortable with having a woman who may be above him in the business management. Slowly but surely people in the business world should work on closing the gender gap, so that women may be equal to the men. Some measures have already been put in place of how to extinguish the gender gap.
Gender inequality is present in all aspects of human society, from culture, politics, and economic stand point to personal relationships. Gender inequality can be viewed as a major problem especially within the business world (Corporation, 2016). In the past, men are seen as leaders in all aspects. For example, men could work without any criticisms, they could participate in political issues and were given higher education. Women on the other hand, were given no political participation, criticized for working outside the household as they were responsible for chores such as takes care of their children, cooking or cleaning and given limited education compared to men. Although there are claims rights equality of women in 21st century and much has been written about it in the field of business (Player, 2013), but there is still a gap between male and female. This essay aims to explore the impact of gender inequality in business and will analyze the details in terms of the men are given high pay and specific jobs over women.
Women make up over 50 percent of the college graduates in the United States, yet only 14 percent of executive officer positions within companies are filled by women. Within the Fortune 500 CEOs, only 21 of them are women. The United States prides itself on equality and justice, but the majority of the population is not adequately represented in leadership roles. It is time for the entire country to reevaluate its internal gender biases. Women are taking strides to overcome the centuries-old tradition of men being the breadwinners and women taking care of the family and having low-demanding jobs. Biases do not just come from men, as it is proven that women are just as biased against themselves. Society puts more pressure on men to be successful while not expecting as much from women. Men typically attribute their successes to themselves, while women underestimate themselves and attribute their successes to luck or hard work. This lack of self-confidence can be traced back to years of women constantly doubting themselves (Sandberg). Women need to follow Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg’s advice written in her book “Lean In”: “But feeling confident—or pretending that you feel confident—is necessary to reach for opportunities. It’s cliché, but opportunities are rarely offered; they’re seized” (Sandberg 34). Willing women have to overcome societal traditions and sit at the table. To do this they have to either get into leadership positions to then break down barriers or break down barriers to get into those coveted leadership positions. These barriers are deeply-rooted into almost every culture worldwide. Sexism and discrimination are constant issues for women in the workplace and not enough is being done to address the...
Gender equality discourages women from pursuing a job outside of the status quo. The US dropped out of the top 20 in gender equality because wage similarity for similar jobs are dropping and there are fewer women in high government positions. My aunt had a chance to become the head of her department at her job, she was pushed to apply by her bosses because they felt like she would be a great fit. Another candidate for the job was one of her male coworkers, he had this job before, and so he knew the tricks of the trade. My