LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY

TERM PAPER

ON

GLASS CEILING

SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED BY

NIDHI NEGI MAM GAURAV OJHA

LECT. (LSB) ROLL.NO.1907A02

MBA (HHM)
INTRODUCTION

In economics, the term glass ceiling refers to situations where the advancement of a qualified
person within the hierarchy of an organization is stopped at a lower level because of some form
of discrimination, most commonly sexism or racism, but since the term was coined, "glass
ceiling" has also come to describe the limited advancement of the deaf, blind, disabled, and aged.
It is believed to be an unofficial, invisible barrier that prevents women and minorities from
advancing in businesses.

GENDER DISCRIMINATION
Sexism
Sexism, a term coined in the mid-20th century, is the belief or attitude that one gender or sex is
inferior to, less competent, or less valuable than the other. It can also refer to hatred of, or
prejudice towards, either sex as a whole , or the application of stereotypes of masculinity in
relation..
Racism
Racism is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that
racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. In the case of institutional
racism, certain racial groups may be denied rights or benefits, or get preferential treatment..., but
since the term was coined, "glass ceiling" has also come to describe the limited advancement of
the deaf,blind
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological
factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define
blindness...disabled, and aged. It is believed to be an unofficial, invisible barrier that prevents
women and minorities from advancing in businesses.

OVERVIEW

This situation is referred to as a "ceiling" as there is a limitation blocking upward advancement,

and "glass" (transparent) because the limitation is not immediately apparent and is normally an
unwritten and unofficial policy.

This invisible barrier continues to exist, even though there are no explicit obstacles keeping
minorities from acquiring advanced job positions – there are no advertisements that specifically
say “no minorities hired at this establishment”, nor are there any formal orders that say
“minorities are not qualified” – but they do lie beneath the surface.

When a company exercises said discrimination, they will usually attempt to use an indirect
justification, such as "You are shouting obscenities that upset the customers.

The "glass ceiling" is distinguished from formal barriers to advancement, such as education or
experience requirements. Mainly this invisible barrier seems to exist in more of the developing
countries, in whose businesses this effect is highly "visible".

In economics, the term glass ceiling refers to situations where the advancement of a qualified
person within the hierarchy of an organization is stopped at a lower level because of some form
of discrimination, most commonly sexism or racism, but since the term was coined, "glass
ceiling" has also come to describe the limited advancement of the deaf, blind, disabled, and aged.

It is believed to be an unofficial, invisible barrier that prevents women and minorities from
advancing in businesses.
HISTORY

Sexual discrimination was outlawed in the United States through the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in
the hopes of allowing women to rise in the working world once proper experience has been
achieved.

The term "glass ceiling" has been thought to have first been used to refer to invisible barriers that
impede the career advancement of women in the American workforce in an article by Carol
Hymowitz and Timothy Schellhardt in the March 24, 1986 edition of the Wall Street Journal.

However, the term was used prior to that; for instance, it was utilized in a March 1984 Adweek
article by Gay Bryant.

The term glass ceiling was used prior to the 1984 article by two women at Hewlett-Packard in
1979, Katherine Lawrence and Marianne Schreiber, to describe how while on the surface there
seemed to be a clear path of promotion, in actuality women seemed to hit a point which they
seemed unable to progress beyond.

Upon becoming CEO and chairwoman of the board of HP, Carly Fiorina proclaimed that there
was no glass ceiling. After her term at HP, she called her earlier statement a "dumb thing to say."

However, the term was used by the U.S. Department of Labor in 1991 in response to a study of
nine Fortune 500 companies. The study confirmed that women and minorities encountered
considerable glass ceiling barriers in their careers; these barriers were experienced earlier in their
professions than previously thought.

United States Senator Hillary Clinton used the term glass ceiling in her speech to endorse
Senator Barack Obama for President: "And although we weren't able to shatter that highest,
hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it."
OBJECTIVE:

To analyze and understand how glass ceiling occurs what are the concept behind it (i.e why,
when does glass ceiling occurs). How and what are the methods that should be adopted to
overcome the glass ceiling .To signify the role of management for improvement of worst
condition.

METHODOLOGY:

The completion of this term paper was not possible without the help of secondary sources which
I have used. I owe my deep sense of ineptness and thanks to all those sources who played a vital
role incompletion of my term paper. In making this term report I collected the whole lot of data
from publications internet and various business magazines. Some of the sources are like:-

Internet (various websites)

Newspapers (the Hindustan times, the times of India economic times, the Hindu.)

Magazines like coping with crises, master mind, India today, business lines etc.

Current affairs book.

CONTENT:

GLASS CEILING IN VARIOUS SECTOR EFFECTING WOMEN

The overall employment situation of women has not evolved significantly since 2001. The
Global Employment Trends (2003) reported that women continue to have lower labor market
participation rates, higher unemployment rates and significant pay differences compared to men.
Women represent over 40 per cent of the global labor force, approximately 70 per cent of women
in developed countries and 60 per cent in developing countries
There has also been little change in their share of professional jobs in the last few years. Women
occupy around 30 to 60 per cent of professional jobs in the sample of countries from which new
data were available. This represents an increase of 0.7 per cent between 1996-99 and 2000-02.

However, considerable variations remain between women’s share in different types of

professional jobs. Cultural and social attitudes towards what constitutes “male” or “female” jobs
result in occupational segregation1, although the extent of the problem varies from country to
country, and from job to job. Women are mainly concentrated in the “feminized” professions
such as nursing and teaching (horizontal occupational segregation), where at the same time they
remain in lower job categories than men (vertical occupational segregation).

However, women continue to make small inroads into non-traditional fields such as law,
information and communication technology (ICT) and computer science, and engineering, and
there is evidence that employers are beginning to promote women more systematically and to
introduce family-friendly policies in order to retain them.

However, women who choose non-traditional jobs can face special constraints in the workplace,
not least of which are isolation, limited access to mentoring and female role models, and sexual
harassment.

WOMEN IN PROFESSIONAL JOBS:

Women work in a variety of professional services all over the world. They are predominantly
found in traditionally female professions such as nursing, teaching and administration, although
they have also been infiltrating many of the male-dominated fields, particularly the ICT sector
and judicial systems around the world
The statistics show that there has been little change in their share over the last three to five years
with women continuing to occupy close to half or more of professional jobs in many countries.
However, considerable variations remain between women’s share in the different profession.
 Women’s share as professional, technical and related workers, 1996-99 and 2000-02

 OCCUPATIONAL SEX SEGRATION IN PROFESSIONAL WORK

The main factors contributing to occupational sex segregation are cultural and social attitudes
towards what constitutes a “male” or “female” job and gender inequality in education and
training, which have resulted in both sexes being streamed (or streaming themselves) into
different professions. In many countries, occupational sex segregation in professional jobs is still
prevalent, although the extent of the problem varies from country to country, and from job to job.

Traditionally, engineering, physics, the judiciary, law and health service administration are
considered “male” jobs and library work, nursing and teaching (especially in primary education)
are considered “female” jobs. This phenomenon is called “horizontal occupational
segregation”. Even in jobs dominated by women, there is also “vertical occupational
segregation” where men are more likely to hold the more senior and better-remunerated
positions.

For example, in the health sector men predominate as doctors and administrators. New areas
where women are making headway in non-conventional jobs in some parts of the world include
in the information and communications technology sector and the judiciary.

In spite of the slow but steady increase being seen in the share of professional women in the
workplace, the nature of women’s career paths continues to block them from making progress in
the organizational hierarchies in which they work.

On recruitment, qualified women tend to be placed in jobs that have a lower value in terms of
skill requirements and remuneration. They find themselves in what are considered “non-
strategic” jobs, rather than in line and management jobs leading to higher positions. Thus, they
effectively become support staff for their more strategically positioned male colleagues.

The reason for the slow increase in women working in male-dominated professions can to a
certain extent be attributed to the different constraints they face compared to women who work
in traditionally female professions.

 Workplace discrimination, such as a lack of acceptance by male supervisors or

colleagues, lack of proper training, isolation, and limited access to mentoring and female
role models, is more likely to make them leave their jobs.
 Sexual harassment also tends to occur more frequently in non-traditional work
environments. Women may be subjected to inappropriate language or unwelcome sexual
conduct.
 Also, if male supervisors or colleagues resent the presence of women in their workplace,
they may use sexually harassing behavior to humiliate them.

 WOMEN IN ICT (Information and communication technology)

Catalyst, a research and advisory organization in the United States working to advance women in
business, casts doubt on the idea of women managers thriving in the technology sector. In a
recent regional survey of 75 senior executives, it found that companies were not promoting
women to management positions. Respondents cited corporate culture, the lack of career
development
opportunities, women’s isolation and lack of role models or networks and mentors, and the all
too familiar argument that work and family responsibilities are mutually exclusive.

 WOMEN IN LEGAL SYSTEM

Women’s share as judges in 2001 and 2002 was more than 50 per cent in six Eastern European
countries including Hungary (70 per cent), Romania (68.7 per cent), the Czech Republic and
Estonia (62.2 per cent), Croatia (61.7 per cent), and Lithuania (51.8 per cent). The lowest share
was recorded in the United Kingdom (15.6 per cent), Ireland (19.2 per cent), and Armenia (20.6
per cent).

In 2001, women accounted for 26.5 per cent of Polish high court judges, 35.5 per cent in the
highest administrative court and 16.6 per cent in other administrative courts. In early 2003, out of
the 18 judges elected to the International Criminal Court (ICC), seven were women.

In spite of these encouraging findings, resistance to women’s progression to traditionally male-

dominated professions is still prevalent. For instance, women lawyers in the United Kingdom
find it difficult to progress in their careers because of the inflexibility of the profession’s working
conditions.

In 2003, a survey by the Young Solicitors’ Group, the Association of Women Solicitors and the
Law Society drew attention to the fact that woman lawyers were defecting from the profession
because of the long working hours.
The survey found that 60 per cent of women leaving the profession did so for family-related
reasons, and out of these 67 per cent were deterred from returning to work because of the
difficulties of balancing their work and personal lives and because of the profession’s attitude to
women returning to work.

Women’s decision to drop out at a crucial point in their careers had resulted in the profession
being dominated by men in the upper echelons. Women professionals are very aware of the
negative career consequences of reducing working time, and they are reluctant to take advantage
of flexible working hours even when they are offered.

WOMEN IN MANAGERIAL JOBS

Management positions represent only a small proportion of the total workforce, although this job
category has grown over the last few decades due to the growth in the service sector. The
expansion of this sector has often given more employment opportunities to women and, although
they remain under-represented, their increased participation in the sector has exceeded increases
in their labor force participation as a whole.

Recent global statistics show that women continue to increase their share of managerial positions
but the rate of progress is slow, uneven, and sometimes discouraging for women faced with
barriers created by attitudinal prejudices in the workplace.

In those professions normally reserved for men, women managers are few and far between. Even
in female-dominated sectors where there are more women managers, a disproportionate number
of men rise to the more senior positions.

The rule of thumb is still: the higher up an organization’s hierarchy, the fewer the women.
WOMEN LEADERS IN POLITICS:

In general, women aspiring to careers in politics still encounter obstacles and difficulties, which
suggests that the democratic principles of parity and
equality continue to be burdened by the deeply entrenched rules and practices
inherent in political life.

Women’s share of single or lower parliamentary seats (selected countries

Difficulties faced by women in politics

Eighty per cent of the respondents considered that the increasing representation of women in
politics had renewed public trust in politics, and that the public recognized that women worked
hard and wanted to achieve concrete results. The women generally believed that female
representation in politics was changing society for the better.
.
A majority of the respondents claimed that their presence in Parliament had moderated male
members’ behavior; for example, men used less sexist language and were more polite.
The women viewed the media as both helping and hampering then in politics. On one hand, the
media focused on traditional stereotypes of women such as their appearance and privates lives,
instead of their political activities.

On the other hand, media coverage showing their relatively novel status as politicians
made them visible. However, there was a perception that women were frequently shown in the
media as only concerned with women’s or social issues rather than with more “strategic” issues
such as economics, transportation or finance.

WOMEN IN TERTIARY EDUCATION

The number of female students enrolled in tertiary or higher education continues to grow, and
parity with male students has been achieved or surpassed in many countries. These higher levels
of education should enable female graduates to compete for professional and managerial jobs as
never before.

Despite this increasingly enabling educational environment, differences in the nature and quality
of tertiary education and training for females and males continue to pose obstacles for many
women during
recruitment and later in their careers when vying with men for promotion to professional and
managerial positions.

One challenge is that academic choices young women make mean they lack the relevant
educational profile to enter and progress in professional and managerial careers to which they
aspire.

Women traditionally choose caring professions such as teaching and nursing. If, however, they
show an interest in careers in which few women are working, they may bow to pressure from
peers, parents and teachers not to pursue these fields.
Women’s share of managerial jobs, professional jobs, and tertiary enrolment, 2000-02
Selected countries using ISCO-1968 classification

Women also know that employers are influenced by views that tend to classify jobs as being
more “suitable” for women or men , hence women adapt subjects they study and their choice of
profession accordingly.
In some countries, women’s labor force participation might be seen to conflict with the
traditional roles of women as careers, and regardless of their level of education women may have
to prioritize their family responsibilities over employment.
Traditional and cultural factors may also sometimes discourage women from taking certain types
of jobs. This tends to restrict their access to the labor market and consequently influence their
academic choices

EARNINGS GAPS
It may be due to
 Research has shown that established social or cultural attitudes and gender inequality in
education, training and recruitment cause vertical and horizontal occupational sex
segregation, and that this is the principal reason for the persistent gaps between men and
women’s earnings.

 Institutional barriers and social attitudes towards women’s abilities also hamper the
movement of professional women upward through occupational categories to
increasingly responsible managerial jobs.

 High levels of vertical occupational segregation, where men and women work in the
same job categories but men do the more skilled, responsible or better-paid work, are
considered to be a reason for the earning gaps between equally qualified male and female
employees.

 Women remain concentrated in the lower levels of the job hierarchy: in the employment
market, the company, and job category.

 Women are likely to have shorter careers than men of the same age because they do not
necessarily work full-time throughout their working lives This leads
to slower promotion and less pay.

 In addition, managerial positions require longer working hours, a certain amount of

travelling, or even relocation. Many womentend to avoid such jobs because of their
family commitments.
  Earning the same base rate of pay for doing the same job is only part of the equation.
Differences in fringe benefits and bonuses offered to men and women also contribute to
earnings gaps.

PERCEPTIONS OF WOMEN AS MANAGERS:

WANTING IT ALL
Many women and men “want it all”: a successful career and a happy family life. However,
finding a balance between paid work and family life is difficult, especially for women. Women
still perform a large share of household tasks in addition to childrearing.

Therefore, they often have to choose between paid work and family, or they have to prioritize
one over another at some stage during their lives. Men seem to be able to “have it all” more
easily, but traditionally their participation in household tasks is far less than that of their female
partners.

Finding a balance between work and family is clearly a problem for women worldwide although
it can be exacerbated in more family-oriented cultures where women are expected to take care of
their homes, husbands, children, etc. and men are expected to provide the money for the whole
structure. There are
still very differentiated roles for both, according to many.

On the other hand, it was argued that the focus on family in Latin American countries ensured
the availability of childcare facilitates, which helped women who wanted to stay in the
workforce find ways of adapting their working schedules. It was also noted that women’s
decisions on prioritizing work and home were made on the way up the corporate ladder, so that
by the time they reached senior management level they had already found ways of balancing
work and home.

Also, women would cease to be discriminated against for taking parental leave or for working
part-time. The article concluded “as long as work/life issues are regarded as only women’s
issues, there’s a limit on how much progress women can make”.
BARRIERS:
The women face the following problems in their work.
 Lack of management or line experience.
 Lack of mentoring and role models for women at the highest levels.
 Exclusion from informal networks and channels of communication where important
information on organizational politics and decision making is shared.
 Stereotyping and preconceptions of women’s roles and abilities, commitment and
leadership style.
 Lack of flexibility in work schedules.
 Lack of career and succession planning.
 Counterproductive behavior of male co-workers including taking credit for women’s
contributions
 Sexual harassment
 Attributing women’s successes to tokenism.

The impact of corporate culture:

Corporate culture is a fundamental reason for women’s absence from management
and leadership positions which includes.

 Sexual harassment was a major workplace problem (51 per cent).

 Women’s exclusion from high-profile training programmers represented a major problem
(38.8 per cent), but over 39 per cent felt this was a non-issue.
 Difficulty with child care arrangements was a major workplace issue (19.7 per cent).
 Positive action was very important and responsibility for pushing for changes should be
shared by management (69 per cent).
 It was very important or at least important that the business sector should be directly
involved in positive, voluntary action in support of women’s progress into management
(87.5 per cent).
 Provision of equal employment opportunity legislation would not be adequate in meeting
this objective, and the administration of such laws was important (70.6 per cent).
  They had never actively promoted the need to recruit and retain capable and high-
potential women at management level (69.7 per cent).
 An organizational policy on equal opportunity in recruitment, training and promotion (71
per cent) had been implemented.
 They were not ready to consider the implementation of a sexual harassment policy (26
per cent).
 They might consider a sexual harassment policy in the future (32 percent).

LITRETURE REVIEW:-

RESEARCH PAPER 1:

Glass Ceilings and Glass Escalators ,Occupational Segregation and Race and Sex
Differences in Managerial Promotions byDAVID J. MAUME, JR. ,University of
Cincinnati :Source: www.google.scholar.com

This paper discusses that the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to examine the effect of race and
gender composition in the origin occupation on movement to a managerial position. It show that
for men, percentage of women in the origin occupation positively affected the chances of men
moving to a supervisory position and that Blacks were less likely than Whites to be promoted.
For women, percentage of women and percentage of Blacks in the origin occupation significantly
decreased chances of women attaining a management position. The findings suggest the impact
of a "glass escalator" for White men, a "glass ceiling" for others, and contradict the notion of a
"declining significance of race."

ARTICLE 2:

Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling Without Breaking a Nail: Women Executives in
Fortune Magazine's "Power 50" List Sherianne Shuler 31 aug 2004 : source
www.google.scholar.com
The article tells that "there is not a glass ceiling" in today's organizations. ,".  The increasing
number of women executives demonstrates progress, the magazine coverage perpetuates familiar
stereotypes of women in organizations. This popular business magazines are part of the broader
discourse in which organizations are situated, this paper examines Fortune's "Power 50" lists,
arguing that they help to construct the glass ceiling. This shows that in present scenario that the
organization are making attempt to remove this discrimination from corporate world.

ARTICLE 3:

Have women shattered the glass ceiling? By Antamani Wilson :21 june 2000. Source:
www.google.scholar.com

This article tells that 500 companies, women occupy 15% of board seats and are 3% of CEOs. In
Canada, women make up 14% of board seats and 4% of CEOs at Financial Post 500 businesses.
There are only four female CEOs leading the 100 most highly capitalized blue chip companies
listed on the London Stock Exchange, while 10% of board seats in Europe are held by women —
a percentage largely buoyed by Norway's strict boardroom diversity laws.

In the United Kingdom, women earn 23% less than men. Organizations should build in checks
and balances that root out unconscious biases. They should collect and review salary growth
metrics and provide development across all levels. Managers must guard against stereotypes
influencing judgment and make assignments based on qualifications.
ARTICLE : 4

Glass Ceiling Effect December 5, 2008 By: keshev mallick: source: www.soople.com

This article tells that invisible barrier affect working women the most as it diminishes any
chances of advancement for someone who is career conscious. This discrimination leads women
to have feelings of low self-esteem, decreased motivation and a slowing down of interest in their
jobs. One of the many fangs of the glass ceiling effect is the evident difference in wages for the
same job. Also, women are given inferior statuses within the same job and in most places are
treated as subordinates to their male counter partners. Workplace discrimination is witnessed in
all levels from blue collar jobs to professional careers.

ARTICLE: 5

Through the glass ceiling: prospects for the advancement of women in the federal civil
service. by Katherine C. Naff Source: google scholar

This article discusses the discrimination in the federal government has been Illegal since the
passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The progress made by women in terms of representation
has been impressive: women now hold nearly half of the white-collar jobs in the executive
branch. Meanwhile, the focus of those opposed to gender discrimination has shifted to jobs in the
upper levels of government, since only about one in four supervisors and one in ten executives in
the federal bureaucracy are women. Such statistics suggest that while employment may no longer
be denied to women based on sex alone, some form of discrimination continues to prevent
women from moving into supervisory and management positions.
CONCLUSION

The successful elimination of glass ceilings requires not just an effective enforcement strategy
but the involvement of employers, employees and others in identifying and reducing attitudinal
and other forms of organizational barriers encountered by minorities and women in advancing to
higher level management positions in different workplace settings.

REFERENCES

 http://www.google.co.in/imgres?
imgurl=http://filipspagnoli.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/women
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women-worldwide/
 www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/.../HROB019.htm -

 www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1268524321.html - 23 hours ago

 www.google.com
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 www.wipcoaching.com/downloads/the-real-glass-ceiling.pdf