Women and the Glass Ceiling

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the ability of women to reach certain echelons in corporate America. The author also discusses the factors that contribute to women's promotions to chief executive offices in Fortune 500 firms. The term glass ceiling is defined. The paper then describes how affirmative action programs were implemented into many business strategies in order to eliminate glass ceiling situations in the workplace. The author concludes by stating that although affirmative action has diversified educational institutions, such diversification is yet to be seen in corporate America. It is not clear why all the barriers exists or why women are not in more senior executive positions.

Outline:
Introduction
Glass Ceiling
The Glass Ceiling and Affirmative Action
Female CEO's at Fortune 500 Companies
Limitations of Affirmative Action as it relates to the Glass Ceiling

From the Paper:

"Affirmative Action has long been a topic of debate in America and other nations throughout the world. More often then not the focus is primarily confined to race. However, affirmative action has also had an impact in terms of gender and the ability of women to reach certain echelons in corporate America. The purpose of this discussion is to examine the problem of the glass ceiling and women in the business world. The research will also examine the factors that contribute to women promotion to chief executive office in the Fortune 500 firms. Let us begin our discussion by defining the phrase glass ceiling."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Higginbotham, Elizabeth. Too Much to Ask: Black Women in the Era of Integration. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2001.
• Jones D. Not-so-good year for female CEOs. 16 Apr. 2006 http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2005-12-22-women-ceos-usat_x.htm
• Morrison, Ann M., Randall P. White, Ellen Van Velsor, and The Center For Creative Leadership. Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Can Women Reach the Top of America's Largest Corporations?. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing, 1994.
• Philipkoski K. Where are all the Women? Wired News. 16 Apr. 2006 http://www.wired.com/news/women/0,1540,66603,00.html
• Schreiber, Carol T., Karl F. Price, and Ann Morrison. "Workforce Diversity and the Glass Ceiling: Practices, Barriers, Possibilities." Human Resource Planning 16.2 (1993): 51.

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