The Glass Ceiling And Gender Analysis

Even though there is an Elimination Act of all forms of discrimination against women in 1979 the United States still continue to bridge a gap in wages. When you look at the wage gap you can clearly see the difference in gender and it is much worse for people of color. The wage gap is not just a gender issue it also affects racial minorities. Asian American women experience the smallest gender pay gap. The Hispanic and Latina women had the largest gap with 54 percent of what the white men were paid in 2013. The gender pay gap for American Indian and Alaska Native women has went down to 60 and 59 percent in 2013. As for African American women they are paid 64 percent of what white men were paid in 2013 and white women were paid 78 percent of what white men were paid ( Catherine, H). Over the years the wage gap is in fact improving but only by a small percentage. In 2012 the wage gap was 77% and in 2013 the

Even though women had same jobs as men, they did not receive equal salaries in the 1940s’. In these times employed women have traditionally fought for higher wages and better working conditions without the support of the trade-union movement. The campaigns of female workers led to the passage of the Equal Pay Act in 1970, which applied to the public and private sectors where men and women were engaged in the same or broadly similar work. As women have increased their participation in the labour market, their earnings have also increased. Median wage and salary income in 2010 dollars increased steadily for women in the U.S., from $7,352 in 1940 to $21,323 in 2008 (Appendix 1). In contrast, men's earnings peaked in 1970 at approximately $35.000;

Women have made significant strides in society, proving themselves to be as capable as men in the workforce. However, while women are making equal contributions, men and women are not earning equal wages. Even though the Equal Pay Act was established in 1963, women continue to earn lower wages than men over half a century later. This inequality not only affects women as individuals but has a detrimental effect on the national economy. The gender wage gap in the United States should end because it is unjust; correcting it would have social and economic benefits for the U.S.

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.

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

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

The "glass ceiling" has held women back from certain positions and opportunities in the workplace. Women are stereotyped as part-time, lower-grade workers with limited opportunities for training and advancement because of this "glass ceiling". How have women managed their careers when confronted by this glass ceiling? It has been difficult; American women have struggled for their role in society since 1848. Women’s roles have changed significantly throughout the past centuries because of their willingness and persistence. Women have contributed to the change pace of their role in the workplace by showing motivation and perseverance.

Gender plays a huge role in workplace 'success' and can be a big challenge especially if the employee is a woman in a male dominated workplace or career. No matter how 'hard-nosed,' 'ruthless,' 'workaholic' a woman may be, or how much personal success she achieves, there will always tend to be some type of obstacle to keep her from getting completely to the top of the corporate ladder. She must also still fight stereotypes that undermines her confidence or limits her potential. Since the early 20th century, women and minorities have sought equal opportunities in education and in the labor force with little success. These obstacles or barriers are all known as the glass ceiling.

The concept of “glass ceiling” is that women often face an invisible barrier in the workplace that they can no longer receive pay raises and/or promotions whereas their male counterparts would and continue to do so, thus creating the inequality between men and women in the workforce. This is obviously visible with certain positions, such as CEO that as of 2008 there is only 15.7% of women who hold that position. There are many reasons for the glass ceiling, gender and social expectations are the main reasons. The society is constantly evolving, usually for the betterment of the society, so as the result the rights for women are improving and on par with the men’s rights and how they should be treated everywhere, including in the workforce.

There are different controversial issues of Glass Ceiling till now, some people claim glass ceiling does exist in 21st century and some people say it does not exist. But glass ceiling is still practiced all over the world especially in women case in every field. Mainly in business environment women are becoming target of discrimination. After they get a job, women face different difficulties with many scenarios. Women are less appreciated even though they give 100 percent in the organization. Men are praised higher and given most priority in business to perform better.

The glass ceiling was first introduced in the 1980’s and is a transparent barrier that women are blocked into which prevents them from moving up not just at their job but, prevents them from moving up simply because the gender is female. Since the early 1700’s women have been fighting to become equal to their male counterpart and still today the battle to break the glass ceiling continues. There are many discrimination women face in the workplace which Is not limited to their wages in comparison to men, sexual harassment and job segregation. Women can seek and achieve the highest level of education but in the corporate world a woman will be kept from reaching the highest paid or reputable position because it is respectively not accepted.

ways. Glass ceiling, gender inequality and gender discrimination are issues females are forced to encounter through different facets of life, even though it became a crime to do that in 1964. The use of education is one way to teach individuals what behavior should look like. In the advancement of most females career most are aware that education is one of the tools that can be used to address this issue, unfortunately the corporate world has yet to learn that females are equal to males on all levels. Dedication, commitment and practicing the corporation’s policy is one way to negate discrimination of any kind in the labor field.

American society continues to evolve as forces have been brought upon it seeking equity for all members. Recognition of issues that present themselves in this evolution may be the first step in addressing and correcting the inequities that have become ubiquitous and perhaps accepted by many within our culture. This is certainly true of gender discrimination at the workplace and as the substance that makes up our workforce has found equity in relation to gender composition, an inequity of the relationships between the two genders continues to persist through discriminatory practices. Although this gender inequity has many facets, this discussion will focus on persevering gender ideologies, income disparity, a gender barrier known as “the glass ceiling” and sexual harassment.

One possible explanation as to why people believe gender discrimination does not exist is because of personal choice. Women may choose to leave jobs to start families instead. “Approximately 8% of professional women with advanced degrees leave the workplace during their childbearing years,” according to Nicole M. Stephens and Cynthia S. Levine, writers for Psychological Science. This is a personal choice women make, not one based off gender discrimination. This also explains why women are underrepresented in leadership roles. “‘Why don’t women get to the top?’ the article’s headline asked, before offering its response: ‘Because they choose not to’” (Stephens and Levine). Women often leave the workforce before they can attain higher positions within a company. The authors of The Glass Ceiling in the 21st Century: Understanding Barriers to Gender Inequality also provide possible explanations to help readers understand why gender discrimination exists in the first place. For example, “women’s fewer hours of paid employment, combined with their greater responsibility for domestic work, produces a modified form of the traditional labor that still favors ascribing somewhat greater agency to men and greater communion to women” (Barreto, Ryan, and Schmitt 34). Both women working part time and the women who work to take care of the home contribute to the preconceived notions that attribute to gender discrimination in the workplace. This leads to the belief “that individual