The Glass Ceiling And Gender Analysis

Women have a harder time excelling in the job industry than men do, due to an unspoken term called, “The Glass Ceiling.” Essentially, this refers to an

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;

The American economy runs as a cycle of employment and consumer spending for centuries, with profit, cost and salaries as the inputs and outputs. If the market is supplied by workers who are paid and encouraged to spend their wages in order to keep the market running, then the phenomenon of all employees paid equally for the same job should be universally understood in modern society. The working gender gap in the United States has revolutionized since the end of World War II in which the women who were originally temporarily employed in the workforce in place of drafted males were now seeking to be the rising breadwinners of the family. Through the Equal Pay Act, signed into law by President John F. Kennedy on June 10, 1963, the “prohibition of sex discrimination” in all forms of pay intends to eliminate unequal pay for the same jobs occupied by different genders (“The Equal”, n.d.).

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

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

Challengers of the glass ceiling idea argue do, however recognize the obstacles women face in the corporate world. “According to an article in the Harvard Business Review by Alice H. Eagly and Linda L. Carli, the answer is no, however, the sum of many obstacles along the way often hold women back from making it into the C-suite” (Quast, Lisa). Some of these obstacles include prejudice, resistance to women's leadership, family demands, and leadership style issues. Men see leadership from women to follow than from men simply because they fall under the stereotypes. Yes, women do sometimes take time away from work rather than men to take care of children and families. Those who deny the existence of the glass ceiling believe they lack the time to engage in career advancement. They see the prejudice, how men are promoted more quickly than women with equivalent qualifications, even in traditionally female settings such as nursing and education. Another argument against this idea is within the name itself. They believe it is absurd for being called “clear”. “Supporters of this idea say, glass is clear so those forced under this ceiling would probably not even notice, at first, they were under such a restriction. But, if they tried to go through the glass, they would see quickly that the ceiling prohibited any rise to higher levels. This analogy is their only defense

The workforce is constantly inclining in it’s participation of women, and thus, affects the way the United States economy is displayed. In other words, women have a perpetually strong contribution to the economy. Taking this into account, sources from the “National Partnership for women and Families”, a nonprofit organization that concern policies and education that focus on women and families, confer facts for the wage gap concerning women. The organization reports that, “On average, women employed full time in the United States lose a combined total of more than $840 billion every year due to the wage gap” (“NPWF”). Nationally putting everything together and applying it to a single woman that is being affected, there is an “ annual gender

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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