The term “glass ceiling” can be defined as the barriers that women and minorities must reach in order to climb the corporate ladder (Moran, Abramson, and Moran, 2014, p.156). I chose this topic because not only am I a woman who will want to excel and progress in her career, but I am raising daughters who I hope will have the same opportunities. A study from 2008 found that women often are hired at lower levels and with lower salaries than that of their male coworkers which often resulted in them not being on the path to the top of the company (Moran, Abramson, and Moran, 2014, p.156). The hiring and development of a more diverse workforce will only benefit a company. When a company is more diverse, they can reap the benefits of greater collective access to relevant information, more creative solutions and reduced conflict” (Moran, Abramson, and Moran, 2014, p.183). Therefore, corporations should invest in programs that help women and minorities to break through the glass ceiling.
One way a corporation can help break through the glass ceiling is by mentoring programs. An example of a mentor program would be pairing a more experienced employee with a less experienced one to form a nurturing work relationship and gain valuable knowledge (Moran, Abramson, and Moran, 2014, p.158). I believe success could be found in having women of any management level mentoring other women as they enter the company in entry level positions. This could also help a company when recruiting, training and placing women into positions of management which is another step to breaking through the glass ceiling.
Another way a corporation can break through the glass ceiling is simply by showing CEO commitment. The CEO is the leader of the company and to whom employees look to for guidance and vision for the company. The CEO should be making it clear in not only their “talk” but also in their “walk” by taking steps to put more women in leadership roles.
As more women are reaching the higher tops of the corporate ladder, another related concept should be considered, which is the “glass cliff”. This is a situation where a woman is brought in as a leader to turn around a sinking company (Forman, 2019). Laura Forman describes this term as when “a woman is able to rise, but to a height from which she is likely to fall” (2019). An example of this is most recently when Linda Kozlowski became the new CEO of Blue Apron Holdings after Brad Dickerson resigned following the company’s 72% market value loss (Forman, 2019). This is an example of how there is still work to be done and that even when we do make it to the top the expectations are often higher for us.
Works Cited
Forman, L. (2019, Apr 08). At blue apron, ‘glass ceiling’ gives way to the ‘glass cliff’. Wall Street Journal Retrieved from http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/docview/2204499307?accountid=13158
Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
mmi5072 says
Hello! Great post! This is a subject that should hit close to home for all professional women. I found the concept of the “glass cliff” that you mentioned to be quite interesting so I did a little more research on the topic. Baker and Cangemi (2016) postulate that “Men tend to avoid leadership positions if there is a significant probability of organizational failure, as they have more options. Women have limited options for career advancement and choose much riskier leadership positions due to necessity.” This is a thought-provoking statement, don’t you think? It just goes to show that, while women have made great strides towards equality, there is still a lot more work to do.
Works Cited:
Baker, J. & Cangemi, J.P. (2016). Why are there so few women CEOs and senior leaders in corporate America? Organization Leadership Journal. Bowling Green, Kentucy. Retrieved from: https://search-proquest-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/docview/1791020833?accountid=13158&pq-origsite=summon