While reading through the course material for Leadership in Global Context, I came across some information as it pertained to the glass ceiling. I feel that I have been somewhat naive to the concept my entire life, probably because I am a man and as events in my employment unfolded, I never considered that I was being treated unfairly because of my sex.
My mother, however, communicated to me different instances in her experiences as a Certified Public Accountant working in a corporate environment. She worked for a handful of businesses in Little Rock, Arkansas for decades. I saw her works nights and weekends regularly. I saw her frustration as she often felt her commitment and sacrifice was underappreciated by her employers.
When I was younger I just thought that she might have been a pain to work around, but now I realize that she probably possessed the skills and talent that in frequent occasions were stronger than her male counterparts, but she was not considered for promotions or respected more merely because she was a woman.
A series of disagreements with one superior and her inability to turn her head to corporate and regulatory guidelines left her unemployed at one point for months. I am certain that it was a blow to her ego adding insult to injury that was fired because she would not break the rules, choosing her integrity over her employment.
I had only met one other woman like her in Little Rock at that time who had her credentials and ambition. Occasionally they would meet at my sports games and talk about work. The two of them spoke to each other with such intensity. They might as well have been drawing my team’s next set of attack plays in the dirt.
I am glad that things have changed and become more diverse in corporate America, whether by necessity or by force of law. I think diversity in corporate culture has helped me become more conscious of my actions and conduct as more women and ethnicities are now present in the workplace. A person can no longer and should no longer act with complete disregard for everyone but themselves.
Few people have definitively helped raise my intellectual and moral standards. I feel that my mother directly and indirectly has been the biggest source of brave inspiration. I hope that her contribution to change the culture and perception of women in a corporate setting with high profile jobs has impacted generations to come.
Great story and your mom sounds awesome! I think from lesson 3 the most prevalent concept I took away is the concept of inclusion. I can appreciate your mother’s view point of feeling passed over because of her sex. I think older generations had a difficult time seeing women as equals. Hopefully as you mentioned, either by necessity or by law things have improved.
Understanding surface-level and deep-level diversity has helped me recognize areas in can improve on. Being a man myself, I don’t think I’ve personally experienced flagrant discrimination. But recognizing it should help us be better leaders of tomorrow because you are right, there is so much diversity in the workplace. (Moran et al., 2014) The old days of a white male dominant company seem to have given way to true cultural diversity. In my job today, not only are there are more women working at my company, but I believe just about every culture is represented. A lot has changed from when I started out.
Great write up. I wish you success.
Don
Moran, Robert, Abramson, Neil, & Moran, Sarah. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences. Oxford:
Routledge.
Your mom sounds like an amazing woman! Kudos to her for standing her ground and not jeopardizing her integrity. It takes a lot of courage to stand up to authority. While the outcome may not always be in our favor, there is always another and possibly even better opportunity out there waiting for us. Was she able to go on to bigger and better opportunities?
Moran, Abramson, Moran (2014) share with us that “most companies have put into place specific programs to assist in breaking down barriers impeding a woman’s progression.” I am thankful that I work for a company that values women in the workplace. Our company is a big supporter of development and education for all employees. Over the last few years, several employee resource groups have been formed. Many are in support of women in the workplace and their development within the organization. There are also a lot of opportunities for women to mentor with other women leaders as well as leadership development opportunities for women both in and outside the organization.
While we may not have broken the “glass ceiling” just yet, there have been great strides made as far as women in leadership roles. I am confident that work will continue to chip away at that ceiling.
Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (Ninth ed.). New York: Routledge