HOW TO OVERCOME GLASS CEILING?

 

In the late 1970s, diversity advocate Marilyn Loden used the phrase “glass ceiling” to describe the invisible barrier that prevented women employees from climbing the corporate ladder and receiving leadership positions. She was credited with inventing the term "glass ceiling," encouraged companies to better support women in the workplace and their career advancement.

 The glass ceiling is a metaphor in sociology that refers to the invisible barriers and bias that keep women and minorities from opportunities to advance in the workplace. Gay Bryant was the first person to use the term "glass ceiling" in print with the publication of "The Working Woman Report" in 1984.

 Glass ceiling refers to the fact that a qualified person wishing to advance within the hierarchy of his/her organization is stopped at a lower level due to a discrimination most often based on sex or race.

 The glass ceiling metaphor has often been used to describe invisible barriers ("glass") through which women can see elite positions but cannot reach them ("ceiling").

 The glass ceiling effect is the pervasive resistance to the efforts of women and minorities to reach the top ranks of management in major corporations. The term was heavily used during the mid-1980s.

 The glass ceiling is a colloquial term for the social barrier preventing women from being promoted to top jobs in management. The term has been broadened to include discrimination against minorities. The phrase "glass ceiling" was coined at a 1978 Women's Exposition. The report defined the new term as "those artificial barriers based on attitudinal or organizational bias that prevent qualified individuals from advancing upward in their organization into management-level positions."

 Glass ceiling examples

1. Being passed up for a promotion to a management position because you're pregnant or looking to start a family. Being excluded from important, decision-making executive meetings. Lacking the proper resources and tools to succeed at your job.

 2. Some other vivid glass ceiling effect examples are as follows: Women and minorities are left out from attending important meetings and mass communication sessions. They are excluded from any networking events which are conducted outside their workplace. Women and minorities are deprived of good, exclusive mentorships.

Reasons for Prevalence of Glass Ceiling

In addition to gender roles women are often stereotyped for household works and issues such as male dominance, child care, pregnancy, lack of family - friendly workplace policies, sexual harassment, attitudinal and organizational prejudices etc.

 How to break?

 The review of the literature on the glass ceiling over the past 25 years indeed confirms the glass ceiling is shattering at glacial speed. However, during the past two years, awareness to gender inequality has risen to national awareness. Experts confirm that the data states that the glass ceiling is cracked but it is certainly not broken, and the current rate of change that we're seeing in organisations is actually quite depressing.”

 To be sure, progress has been made in the workplace over the past several decades. But you can detect the glass ceiling is still something women face today. In 2023, women's median earnings were only 83 percent of mens' median earnings, while just over 10 percent of Fortune 500 companies had women in CEO positions.

 To break the glass ceiling, you first have to identify it. Look for warning signs such as a lack of diversity in leadership roles, inappropriate comments, and a lack of innovation. Individuals can tackle the problem by learning more about it, raising their concerns, and taking responsibility for their own development.

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