What is Glass Ceiling in Women? How does it affect women?

 What is Glass Ceiling in Women? How does it affect women?

Glass ceilings have been broken, but more have to be broken.

Madeleine Albright

You must have heard about the glass ceiling effect from social media, colleagues, news, ads and your surroundings so just as the ceiling prevents sunlight and rain from entering ‌our rooms, the glass ceiling is the same barrier which prevents women securing top positions and equal opportunities as men.

You must think about what it will affect? Is it still reinventing in the 21st century? How can we combat it? What is the root cause and origin of the glass ceiling? So come let us find a solution to all these questions in this article. 

What is the effect of a glass ceiling?

The consequence of the glass ceiling is widespread resistance to the efforts of women and minorities to achieve the highest management positions in large companies. It is not clear who named the event, but the term was in trend in the mid-1980s. Women who joined employees in large numbers in the late 1970s and early 1980s could not exceed one level of management.

In the 1980s, the term "glass ceiling" was called with another term, "mom's track." It was common for women of childbearing age to be less motivated and less disciplined than male employees or older women. The perception is that women spend more time resting or quitting when they have children. When the women returned to work, they were ‌less devoted employees because of their maternity responsibilities. 

The Root Causes 

Many companies therefore avoid young women on the "mother's path", a kind of stereotype, where being a mother never leads to a woman getting positions or promotions that have a real impact on the business.

The “mummy track” became much older because of a combination of factors.

The Family and Health Leave Act 1993 requires employers to provide each qualified employee, whether male or female, with 12 weeks of unpaid leave during each 12-month period, including before the birth or adoption of a child. This law allows women to remain female employees after giving birth by giving them a reasonable time to stay at home. In addition, including men in the paternity leaves the father at home. 

Legal problems and a change of mindset have led many employers to offer more leave, some with pay, even to new parents. Companies are also increasingly offering additional benefits to encourage same-sex employees to find a work-life balance. Some of these benefits include flexible planning, the ability to bring a child to work all day, and even employer-sponsored childcare facilities.

While the problem with rails has been largely solved, the problem of the glass ceiling effect remains. Women are no longer immune to a completely different career. Yet they find ‌they reach almost - but not much - the higher ranks. The glass ceiling is so named because it is a point that women cannot reach or a ceiling in their development. 

How widespread is the glass ceiling effect?

A 2003 report from the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission found that only seven to nine percent of Fortune 1000s top executives were women. According to a 2005 article by Paul Igasaki in the Wall Street Journal's Career Journal, a similar study found that 97 percent of top executives in both companies were white. The impact is widespread in many industries.

What can an individual do to overcome the influence of a glass ceiling?

Unfortunately, there are no guaranteed strategies to help individuals get through the glass ceiling. Although there are exceptions to each rule, women and minorities should ‌expect it to be difficult to ascend. You may need to prove that you are double the number of your male employees, especially if you are a woman and a minority. Get more tasks, especially high-profile ones. Focus on intimacy with a superior that is far from you. Document all your achievements and briefly present them at each inspection.

Become part of an administrative network, even if it seems like a small "boy's club". In short, prove that you are not only highly qualified, but one of them.

Alternatively, try working for a woman-owned company or starting your own. There are many programs specifically designed to help women-owned businesses get started. 

However, if you decide to work for a woman-owned company, keep in mind that this does not guarantee that your problems will diminish. Some women who become successful develop hardness and bitterness and feel that they have reached the top, just like any woman who follows her. Of course, some top managers feel the exact opposite and try to make the situation easier for the women who follow.

Similarly, many top executives enjoy the status quo and are satisfied with their position of power and have personal prejudices against women who seek to interfere with what they consider being their territory. Other top managers see the system as outdated and unfair and are actively trying to break the glass ceiling from above. In short, even if your business is by high-ranking. men or women, personalities are individual and diverse. Your way to the top will be unique and you will have to read the situation and work in the system as much as possible.

What can employers do to face the impact of the glass ceiling?

Fighting Glass Ceiling Effect as an employee and how can you do it?

If you are in a prominent position in a society that seems to suffer from the impact of a glass ceiling, you are probably wondering what you can do to break the barrier. 

Unfortunately, there are very few high-level positions, and the competition is so fierce that the final decision to accept always comes with personal feelings. In short, setting quotas ‌you can set for reverse discrimination cannot be done much. Develop an atmosphere of equality at all levels of business. Ensure that women and minorities are equally represented in all existing staff development programs. 

Conclusion

The glass ceiling effect may have reduced in the 21st century but it is still relevant, and it only is removed when men and women come forward and raise their voices and women show authority and let go of all traditional, societal norms.

They should also delegate their household work for example if their maternity leave is short, so the family can take care of the child.