Essay on Glass Ceiling

Diversity is not something one may think about in daily life, or even on a regular basis; however, it affects us each and every day, and in more ways than we would like to believe. The term diversity may be used to describe something positive, such as the diversity of a school’s athletics participants has helped reduce gang violence by facilitating cross-cultural friendships. It may also carry a negative connotation, as in a workplace’s lack of diversity has cultivated an environment of racism and sexism that affects company productivity. It is especially important for employers to be aware of the issues surrounding workplace diversity, as this can affect every aspect of a company. In my search to understand some relevant issues

In the United States, study after study continues to show that women have fewer opportunities to advance in the workplace than men. These disadvantages are a result of society’s views of women in leadership positions and how women may view themselves in these roles. Women have been making progress in terms of equality in pay and job positions, but significant gaps remain. Women who strive to be promoted into higher levels of responsibility in their companies often meet resistance that prevents them from achieving the goal of a senior or executive level of management. This barrier is referred to as the “glass ceiling” and it is a controversial issue in our country today. The glass ceiling called this because women are able to see the higher level positions, but can reach them because of an intangible barrier. One can look at the Fortune 500 companies, which are the most successful companies in the U.S. in terms of revenue to see how few women are in leadership positions. Clearly, women are significantly underrepresented in these companies, as less than 5 percent of these companies have female chief executive officers (CEO) today (Dockterman 105). Providing the opportunity for women to move into management positions, like CEOs, would bring a unique talent and a new perspective on how the company can operate to perform better (Buckalew 147). The “glass ceiling” is a real obstacle that creates an intangible barrier that puts women at a disadvantage in advancing in a company.

The “Glass Ceiling” is known as an invisible barrier that stops someone from gaining more success. In this case it deals with women in the workplace, not being able to move up in a company. Even though no one knows who started the phrase, “A widely read Wall Street Journal story in 1986 popularized the term”(Napikoski). The “Glass Ceiling” has played a big role in women not being able to be

Sociologist Dalton Conley wrote his book, You May Ask Yourself, addressing how “gender is a social construction” that is so normal for society to think how a man or woman should act towards the public. Society often categorizes roles that females and males are suppose to play in, but not only are they categorized they are also being taught what their gender role is suppose to do. The beginning of gender socialization can start with a child who is not born yet by simply having the parents purchase items that are all pink if its expected to be a girl, but if its expected to be a boy then everything they purchase will be blue. Conley states that gender roles are “sets of behavioral norms assumed to accompany ones’ status as male or female” (Conley [2008] 2013:134). So even when a child is growing into their infant years, toys are made specifically for their gender. By examining how social construction places gender in categories it becomes apparent that males and females get differentiated a lot which emphasizes inequality between them.

The Glass Ceiling theory explains how a woman may never make it to the top of their profession when compared to a man who may also want to advance. The term “Glass Ceiling”

According to United Way (2017), the vast majority of their Board of Trustees, employees and volunteers create a great internal representation of their organization (United Way, 2017). Similar to Verizon, United Way understands the importance of bringing diverse minds together to collectively push the organization forward. While diversity statements acknowledge an organization’s attempt to include all qualified individuals, according to Jonathan Webb (2017) women currently only earn 75% of their male counterparts salary. As the importance of a title or position advances, a number of women in leadership roles continue to decrease heavily despite account for almost half of the entry-level (Webb, 2017). While based on the diversity statements from Verizon and United Way provided, they are making great efforts to promote diversity, there is no way to ignore that there continues to be an ongoing issue regarding glass ceilings for a specific group of employees. Whether it be favored by a particular group by race, gender or financial class, in certain scenarios, a glass ceiling definitely given to a special group of

The notion that a woman was intellectually equivalent to a man was considered absurd. During the American Revolution, women found themselves living independently of a man’s presence and responsible for duties both inside and outside the home. With this women developed a new sense of ability for themselves. Women began to regard themselves as intellectual beings and started questioning their lack of liberty and

Throughout life every man and woman fits into a specific gender role. We are told what is expected of men and women from birth until death. Many people influence our view of how we should act and what we should say such as our parents, friends, and even the media. Males and females play very different roles and these differences are apparent in our every day lives. These differences are not the same as they used to be. Society has changed the way it treats men and women over time.

When women started their careers, the barrier prevented them attaining equality with men later on. The expression “the glass ceiling” first appeared in the Wall Street Journal in 1986. The term the glass ceiling was later used in an academic article. The article looked at the persistent failure of women to climb as far up the corporate ladder as might be expected from their representation in the working population as a whole. The article helped explain the fact that in large corporations in Europe and North America women rarely came to account for more than 10% of senior executives and 4% of CEOs and chairmen. (The Economist: The Glass Ceiling,

Thomas, Bierema, and Landau (2004) also describe the glass ceiling as a metaphor for the invisible barrier used to pushed women to the sidelines to slow their upward mobility and career growth. The authors suggest the glass ceiling is created by prejudicial practices such as cultural tendencies and power, and believe that glass ceiling practices keep women in compliant roles, making them inferior to males (Yasin & Helms, 2007). In 1989, Elizabeth Dole, Secretary of Labor for the Bush administration, launched a Department of Labor investigation to identify glass ceiling practices. The investigation found there were no women employed at nine major corporations that were awarded significant government contracts (Office of Federal Contract Compliance, 1991). As a result of the investigation, the Glass Ceiling Act was enacted in 1991 as Title II of the Civil Rights Restoration Act and a commission was formed to identify barriers and implement strategies to promote employment opportunities for the advancement of minorities and women (Falk & Grizard, 2003). The research available on glass ceiling practices in higher education is limited. However, there are some researchers who have examined the practices as it relates to higher education. Unfortunately, in higher education the majority of the available research focuses on the deferential treatment of female faculty. Some of the researchers who did examine the effects the glass ceiling had on women pursuing executive positions in higher education (Thomas, Bierema and Landau, 2004) showed that male-controlled environments contributed to the limited access women have had to leadership positions, acknowledge the existence of the glass ceiling, and suggest it serves as a significant barrier to women seeking

Glass ceiling is an intangible barrier within a hierarchy that prevents some people (such as women or people of certain race) from getting the most powerful jobs. The glass ceiling is an accurate repressentation of how women was treated unfairly in the work force from men. Women in the United States suffer from low self-esteem because they got little respect from thier family responsibilities (page 259). I believe that women have made progress through the glass ceiling. The Women's Civil Rights movement and feminism has open up many door for women in the work force. The women's movement has succeeded in gaining many rights for women. In the 1700-1800 people believed that a women place was in the house cooking, cleaning, and taking care of her

According to the text book, the glass ceiling is a circumstance resembling an invisible barrier that keeps most women and minorities from attaining the top jobs in organizations regardless of their qualifications or achievements. For many years, men (white) have been "perceived as balanced individuals who are capable of making the right decisions and leading an organization toward success". However, women have been "perceived as emotional" beings and "less capable" of making sound decisions in the workforce. Society knows that women are nurturing by nature and prefer to raise their children at home. To compete in a professional environment with the opposite sex is like a lose-lose effect. For example, a single women with children who have more experience and education compete with a single white male for an executive position will be excluded because she is a female that have children, and may need time off from work in the future because of her children's needs (appointments, school conferences, sick child, and etc…). Unfortunately, women as well as minorties have

The glass ceiling is responsible for women and minorities not being able to achieve what they are capable of. A glass ceiling is an invisible barrier. For many of the years, women were not put in jobs that require top executives such as management and that is why many of them have not accumulated the

Are all men and women really created equal? Most people would say yes, but if that is the case, why are women prejudiced in the workplace and society? Surprisingly, even in our time period, women struggle to advance to high-skill level positions. Men dominate the vast majority of these positions. Men also, in general, lead their households by making the most income for their families and make the most financial decisions. It is clear that we still live in a patriarchal society. Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart show us that the effects of the gender gap are still evident in current times and women are burdened by the glass ceiling.

The glass ceiling starts to form itself very early on. From the moment a woman enters the work force after college, she is faced with much discrimination and unjust belief that she will not be able to do as well of a job than a man. A man and a woman, who both have the same education and training for a job, will have a considerable gap in their yearly income. In a first year job, a man will make approximately $14,619 compared to a woman who will make only $12,201. That is a pay gap of 17%(Gender Pay 1). There is no reason why there should be any gap in their incomes during the first year of their jobs. They have both had the same formal education and both have the same qualifications necessary for the job, yet