The Glass Ceiling

Paper Summary:

The paper explains that the term "glass ceiling" first became popular in the 1980s to describe the invisible but very real barrier keeping women from rising to positions of power in organizations across the US. The paper attributes this to the attitude of many corporations and managers that women cannot manage or lead effectively, the social pressures and roles that place women at a disadvantage and the idea that women are sometimes not aggressive or assertive enough in the workplace. The paper provides examples of several women who have risen to the top of their organizations, but concludes that society must begin to alter its ideals about female and male identities and stop gender from being a deterrent to job satisfaction and success in the workplace.

From the Paper:

"More women are working than ever before, and more women are starting their own businesses. While it would seem that because there are more women in the workplace, there would be more female executives in large (and small) corporations, that is simply not the case. Two authors note, "Apart from upper management roles, the proportion of women in management at any level is disproportionate to their presence in the workplace" (Miller, and Lemons). Women still have enormous difficulty rising above the glass ceiling. Several authors write, "The glass ceiling is not simply a barrier for an individual, based on the person's inability to handle a higher level job. Rather, the glass ceiling applies to women as a group who are kept from advancing higher because they are women" (Morrison, White, Velsor, and The Center For Creative Leadership 13)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Are Women Responsible for the Glass Ceiling?" USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education) Apr. 2000: 5.
• Castro, Ida L., and Diana Furchtgott-Roth. "Q: Should Women Be Worries about the Glass Ceiling in the Workplace?." Insight on the News 10 Feb. 1997: 24+.
• Miller, Thomas R., and Mary A. Lemons. "Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Lessons from a Management Pioneer." SAM Advanced Management Journal 63.1 (1998): 4+.
• 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.
• Tannen, Deborah. Talking from 9 to 5: Women and Men at Work. New York, Harper Paperbacks, 1995.

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