The Glass Ceiling : A Human Capitalist Perspective

Women are considered a minority group, because they do not share the same power, privileges, rights, and opportunities as men. The term "glass ceiling" refers to institutional barriers that prevent minorities and women from advancing beyond a certain point in the corporate world, despite their qualifications and successes. The existence of a glass ceiling indicates that women, even today, do not enjoy the same economic opportunities as men. Throughout the past two centuries, there is a recurring pattern of unequal economic rights for women as well as discrimination. These actions that burden women bring on a psychological effect such as oppression. The constant battle women face with an unequal economic opportunity contributes to their feeling

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.

According to Metz (2011), women are being deprived of opportunities and being squeezed out of organisations due to preconceptions about their dedication to a long term role, based on outdated gender stereotypes. In general, women experience higher rates of harassment at work, compared to men(McLaughlin, Uggen and Blackstone 2012).

The first question asks what factors can influence an employee’s chances of receiving a promotion? The second question asks are these factors enough to explain the lack of women in management positions? And the third question asks are African-American women less likely to obtain promotions compared to Caucasian women? Included with these questions are several hypotheses. The first hypothesis is women are less likely to be promoted compared to their male counterparts. The second hypothesis is African American women are less likely to be promoted for management positions compared to Caucasian women. The third hypothesis is African American women are also less likely to receive the same pay as Caucasian women, regardless of education, or experience. Key variables in these hypotheses are race, gender, pay wage, and promotions

In Sarah Bianchi-Sand’s article, she details the “glass ceiling,” or an unofficial boundary that prevents women and minorities alike from reaching their highest potential. Her work is meant to persuade readers that the glass ceiling isn't a myth, but a real and serious problem. Being the Chair and Executive Director of the National Committee on Pay Equity, Sarah has plenty of reason for wanting to persuade this topic. Her thesis effectively starts this process by laying out what is happening. “This theory is circulating widely among the press-perhaps because it is controversial and contradicts what has become rather boring to the media-but what remains are the real-life experiences of women and people of color- no real change in the wage gap and no improvement in the glass ceiling (Bianchi-Sand p.306). This thesis opens the door for Sarah to talk about and persuade her readers that the glass ceiling is no myth. By using ethos, pathos, and logos our Author persuades her readers that the glass ceiling is hurting business but can be raised.

Gender stereotypes are one of the most common encountered on a daily basis. The infamous ‘Glass Ceiling’ still exists in many areas of the professional world, restricting valid promotions simply based on gender. This type of concept can be verified by looking at comparative weekly wages of other professionals in a variety of industries. Most people will generally see female dominated occupations, such as nurse, teacher and secretary as requiring feminine personality traits and physical attributes for success; whereas male dominated occupations such as doctor, lawyer, and business executive are seen to require male personality traits for success (Sanderson, 2010, p. 344).

Meanwhile, the segregation of jobs by gender and other factors affect pay equity. A term used back in the 1980’s as a metaphor for the invisible and artificial barriers that blocked women and minorities from advancing up the corporate ladder to management and executive positions is called the glass ceiling (Hill, 2013). Louisville Women’s Careers Examiner argues “ Glass ceilings are still found in the workplaces, not only in the discrimination of pay scales, but also marked by sexual harassment, exploitation at work and as a feeling of insecurity in women due to conduct of the opposite sex” (Hill, 2013, p.33). Societal barriers that women tend to face are prejudice and bias, cultural, opportunity and attainment, gender, and color-based differences. Moreover, several other barriers women run into are governmental, business structural and internal businesses all of which have ramifications on their chances of success.

“Stereotypes are categories that constrain and shape what a person believes about, and expects from, other people” (Bartlett 1910). The workplace is one of the most active environments for women to be stereotyped against. Women are judged in ways such as being weaker than, and not as active as a man. This can be a problem for a woman in a male dominated occupation by making them feel, or seem, not as valuable as a man. For example, women in the police field will face the struggle of being seen as weaker, gentler, and to submissive to fight crime compared to men. This type of behavior leads to women not receiving much earned promotions, and having more struggles applying to male dominating jobs.

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

Glass ceiling in the United States today is not commonly practice in the workplace or businesses because there is a labor law that simplify and protect the needs of each workers. Also, there is a female that can works a male jobs and there is male that can works as female jobs. For example, in the hospital, there are

Stereotype threats are negative consequences about one’s race, sex, nationality, or social group. Stereotype threats are used a lot more frequently than people realize. Gender is a powerful stereotype that affects many people’s decisions and actions. The stereotype of women in the workplace has come a long way even in the last twenty years. Many businesses tend to want to diversify their demographics by making the ratio of men to women almost equal. “Demographic projections anticipate that by the year 2000 women will exceed 50 per cent of the total workforce…” (Johnston and Packer, 1987). Women were able to make their way in to the workplace when men were off at war during the 1950s. During this time, women proved their ability to do the same kind of jobs men did. Many women worked as machinist, factory workers, and clergies.

Another stereotypical belief is that women aren’t as intelligent as men. If this were true, then the female generations of our past would not have come as far as they have today in the workplace. There are women involved in politics, the medical field, and education. If men were truly more intelligent, then women would not be capable of being successful in those fields. Linda Tapp, president of Crown Safety in Cherry Hill, and a very successful female, states that “gender discrimination is still live and well. No matter how much we like to think things have changed, there are more than a few people out there who think a woman can still not do the same jobs a man can do”(Eglash). In my own experience, I have learned that female teachers and doctors do an equally good job as males in those fields. A woman is fully capable of doing a job that requires high intellect, just as a man is. I believe that it is ridiculous and unjustified for a man to treat a woman at work poorly because he believes that men are more

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

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

Even though numbers are slowly rising in the United States, there are still more men in executive positions than women. According to one survey, female workers only made up 43% of legislators, senior managers, and senior officials whereas male workers made up 57%. In congress, congresswomen make up only 17% of representation compared to congressmen making up 83% (Ferrante, 2011, p. 312). Gender stratification is one explanation for the tremendous gap. Ferrante (2011) describes gender stratification as the unequal distribution of opportunities and resources amongst male and female employees. (p. 311) For example, male workers have an increased opportunity to receive a promotion than a female worker. According to Tinsley (2013), women are more likely to receive executive positions when a company is doing well, rather than when a company is suffering. Some companies stereotype that women workers will leave the workforce soon to bear children, limiting their chances of achieving executive status (Ferrante, 2011, p. 316).