Glass Ceiling- Global Study and Its Related Implications

Journal of Evolutionary Studies in Business-JESB

Given the preponderance of women in the workforce, it remained a puzzle why the entry of women into higher managerial positions remains restricted and why the syndrome of 'think manager think male is growing progressively? The objective of this paper is to examine the glass ceiling conundrum with a view of ascertain how it limits women's career advancement in the workplace. Extensive review of literature was presented and discussed. The paper revealed that women are not making it to the very top of their career not as a result of lack of requisite qualifications, and experience etc.; but as a result of factors that are rooted in cultural, societal, organizational, individual and psychological factors that inhibit women career advancement. Against the aforementioned background, the paper concludes that women advance marginally to certain level in corporate executive cadre, before they experience 'glass ceiling' that impedes their prospect of attaining senior executive position. Accordingly, women compared to men represent an insignificant fraction of those in managerial positions due to cultural prejudice, religion convictions, family related issues, individual and organizational influences. Similarly, inadequate opportunity to networks and seek sponsorship limits women progression to top managerial hierarchy. The study recommends the need to articulate policy frameworks that promote strong organizational culture and a more helpful and supportive environment to develop women leadership skills. Similarly, there is need to promote sponsorship for women in a way and manner that safeguard the relationships between sponsors and protégés.

Canadian Institute for Knowledge Development (CIKD)

Women constitute almost half of the workforce of a society and there has been considerable increase in women employment rate in recent years. However, their promotion to management positions has not been very tangible. Gender inequalities in the workplace especially in the domain of management have resulted in the lack of efficient use of potential capacities of women. Even though the previous research demonstrates that women are not less ambitious than men, wrong beliefs which attribute management to men make a kind of invisible barrier, known as glass ceiling, which prevents women’s promotion to top organizational positions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reasons for the lack of promotion of women to top management levels in the society. It was conducted with a descriptive analytic method through the review of the related literature and emphasis on the concept of glass ceiling to present practical solutions to solve the problem.

Analysis of the effects of the glass ceiling on women's career development (WCD), which enables quantitative references of women's perceptions of the glass ceiling, is the goal of this study. 125 women from all levels of academia who completed a 15-item version of the WCD with consideration for Glass Ceiling concerns. Inequalities, Uninformed, Discrimination, and Lead Positions are the WCD factor models on views towards glass ceilings that were developed from data analysis of study work. The variables showed strong internal consistency. The WCD enables a comparison of favourable attitudes regarding seeking advancements in the workplace at organisations, involvement of women in decision-making, and giving women the opportunity.This new statistic might be recommended for analyses of men's and women's opinions on gender inequality in organisations. It might be helpful in defining the organisational cultures that already exist.

With more and more women are being educated, confident, self-reliant, skilled, competentenough to give tough competition to their male counterparts in management sectors. But sadly despite all the existing legal provision women are still struggling more than ever to reach the top positions and this has been labelled glass ceiling.A research by International Labour Organization (Breaking through the Glass Ceiling 2004) being one of the most comprehensive international studies reveals that the attainment of top executive positions for females in the world in general and India in particular is complex. Over a period of time number of highly educated women in the workforce has increased and in some way has achieved commendable success in male domain of the corporate world. However gender discrimination in working world has adversely affected the advancement of women. Women today comprise only 2 percent of the total managerial strength in the Indian Management sector.Although there is an increase in the female workforce but professional development opportunities for them remain negligible or not up to the mark. Thus we can say it is easier for females to enter the managerial jobs but it is all the more difficult to make progress regardless of her credentials. This paper focuses on the reality of the glass ceiling, the invisible barrier that women experience in their upward career mobility which prevents them from reaching the top of the organization. Specific personal comprehensives, characteristics and activities are regulated to the background. The presupposed female stereotype dominates the relationship, since it's difficult to describe the career growth possibilities and upward mobility. Here we review some of the gender inequalities that lie behind the phenomenon of the glass ceiling. A major source of discrimination stems from strongly held attitudes towards women's and men's social roles and behaviour. If one compares the effective roles played by women and men rather than looking at women as an isolated group it becomes apparent that each has different access to resources, work opportunities and status. The consequences of gender inequalities include women being " crowded " into a narrow range of occupations where there is less responsibility and/or lower pay, or having to work part time where are fewer opportunities for advancement. While this situation can be explained to some extent by men's and women's perceptions of their respective social roles, these roles have in fact been undergoing substantial changes in recent decades. Labour force participation patterns of men and women, and social attitudes, have been gradually evolving to reflect these.

Business ethics and leadership, 2019

With the evolving nature of the business world, it has become a modern necessity to have a diverse workforce. As such, human resources professionals and managers must be prepared for the redesign of their organizations to be more inclusive throughout their formal hierarchies. Although the overall attitudes have become generally more feminist, the unfortunate reality is that women continue to face internal and external barriers which act as a ceiling to their career development and advancement. Rather than viewing the paucity of women in management positions as a problem because of public disdain towards gender disparities within the workplace, this paper emphasizes that organizations should view this as an opportunity to gain a competitive advantage, given that having more women in leadership positions is correlated to improved organizational performance. The main argument of this research is that gender diversity can lead to better outcomes for an organization; in addition to this, research demonstrates that the inclusion of more women within management positions may also encourage a transformational leadership style, which could potentially lead to sustainable growth for a company. Throughout this paper, using the methodology of reviewing recently published literature, this paper demonstrates the fact that the glass ceiling is detrimental to the economic development of both women and the companies as institutional barriers seem to persistently block them from equitable advancement opportunities. Using published data and expert analysis, we provide suggestions and recommendations for the creation of an inclusive work environment where all employees can have fair and transparent progress based on their goals and qualifications. The "glass ceiling" literature has empirically demonstrated that managers can reduce the negative genderbased stereotypes by empowering more qualified women to take on leadership responsibilities. At the meantime, professionals can serve as advocates in their local governments to create and change laws that are unfair and unjust. All local leaders, managers and employees must promote the benefits of diversity to build and encourage inclusion in the workplace. Furthermore, all organizations can improve their inclusion training so their employees can keep an open mind regarding diversity. With the application of the recommended skills and suggestions, coupled along with public awareness and advocacy for equity in hiring and promotion decisions, the "glass ceiling" can certainly be eliminated in all organizational settings.

2023

The study aims to identify and analyze innovative strategies that promote gender equality in the workplace, specifically focusing on dismantling barriers, such as the glass ceiling, that hinder women's advancement to leadership roles. A mixed-method approach was used, combining qualitative interviews with female leaders and quantitative surveys of employees across sectors, along with case studies of organizations with progressive gender policies. The findings reveal significant gender disparities in leadership representation, particularly in high-revenue sectors like technology and finance. Statistical analysis indicates that flexible policies increase female retention, mentorship programs boost career advancement, and gender-inclusive strategies contribute to a 65% improvement in employee satisfaction and performance. Conclusions suggest that flexible work arrangements, structured mentorship, and regular pay equity audits are vital in addressing gender gaps. Recommendations include implementing targeted gender-inclusive policies, enhancing mentorship, promoting flexible work options, and fostering an inclusive corporate culture.

AITU Scientific Research Journal, 2023

In the current era, we have seen that females are getting independent and entering the business world. Female workers are contributing to our society and working like males. Therefore, the motive of this study is to detect the factors; affecting, their work in different organizations in Karachi. Additionally, this attempt will help classify the causative factors that affect employee performance. The results of, the, study show three aspects responsible for employee performance which ultimately affects their performance and motivation level. The identified factors are Glass Ceiling, Organizational Policy, and Work Environment. After evaluating the information, it can be concluded that respondents come to an agreement regarding these factors affect their performance. According to the respondent’s opinion in their organization glass ceiling exists and promotions in senior positions are not given on merit a basis. The respondents agreed that male employees hold influential positions in their organization and that affects their performance. The organizational policy and the work environment of their organization also demotivate them and become a factor in their performance. Therefore, this study identified three factors that affect employee performance and after collecting and analyzing the data it has proved that there is an impact of the glass ceiling, organizational policy, and work environment on employee performance.

Research Paper, 2023

No matter their skills or accomplishments, many women are unable to advance above a certain point in their careers and professions, which is sometimes referred to as the "glass ceiling". The phrase "glass ceiling" refers to imperceptible or unnoticeable restrictions that prevent women from moving up the corporate ladder to senior positions. This research paper's aim is to compile and synthesize the theories and points of view that have been made about the "glass ceiling" problem. The overview of research targeted at reducing gendered glass ceiling discrepancies in the workplace.

The last few decades have witnessed an augmented amount of women in the place of work. Over 50 percent of adult females now work; a situation that has possibly consequence in gender roles alteration. However, although there is new candidness to women participation in the workforce gender disparities still persist in the workplace. The glass ceiling is a pattern that hampers women attraction and development particularly when evaluated against the overall figure of females in the labour force. It scrutinizes gender disparities between men and women in the workplace. There are discriminations against women, generating a gender gap that checks the advancement of women into top-level managerial positions. This study focuses on the effect of the glass ceiling on women career advancement. Five hypotheses were tested on the influences of personal dynamics, relational dynamics, organizational dynamics and cultural dynamics on women career advancement. The sample size was 480 and a self-administered questionnaire was employed. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were employed in data analysis. The results depict a moderate negative relationship between the glass ceiling and women career advancement, and also confirm that personal dynamics, organizational dynamics and cultural dynamics significantly influence women career advancement. This study thus concludes that there are significant effects of the glass ceiling on women career advancement.

NUJBMS Vol.1, Nos. 2 & 3, Pp. 45-64 ISSN 2249-5630 April-September , 2018

The concept of the glass ceiling includes racism in terms of colour as well as gender. However, for the purpose of this research, the detailed study has concentrated only on gender in the Indian context, with respect to senior managerial roles or roles requiring an identified form of leadership. Examples have been drawn on the basis of a review of related literature from the last three decades. Literature from studies conducted in the West, the Far East, and in India has been reviewed in order to ensure that the context of the research remains as global as possible. The presence of the glass ceiling differs from organization to organization and it depends on the organizational culture, climate, and structure. The dominance of a patriarchal cultural or the lack of it determines the degree of the existence of the glass ceiling. The examples used to demonstrate the same are largely based in the Indian context. WHAT IS A GLASS CEILING? The term 'Glass Ceiling' is used to refer to the major hindrance that women and marginalized communities or people of different races face at the workplace. The United States Department of Labor has defined the concept of the 'Glass Ceiling' as fake obstacles founded upon 'attitudinal or organizational biases that prevent qualified individuals from advancing upward in their organization into management level positions' (Sabharwal and Varma, 2017). Roberto Fernandez describes the glass ceiling as "the phenomenon in which women disappear as one looks up through the levels of the organizational hierarchy" (Fernandez, and Campero, 2017). The glass elevator is almost comparable to the concept of the glass ceiling. It refers to the perception of the unfamiliar in the familiar (Clarke, 2013). According to Jenna Goudreau, "Men that enter female-dominated professions tend to be promoted at faster rates than women in those professions" (Goudreau, 2012). This phenomenon is more conspicuous at the senior managerial levels of most organizations. FACTORS CAUSING GENDER-ORIENTED GLASS CEILING Glass ceiling effect can be often seen in the patterns for women's promotions. It is a locus of external recruitment and selection process. Women friendly policies should be designed to have a vast pool of female candidates, if the organizations want to reap rich dividends in the future (Fernandez, and Campero, 2017).