The Glass Ceiling and Executive Careers

Abstract

With respect to how the enduring challenge of the glass ceiling might be resolved, one position holds that parity in the executive ranks will be achieved, given enough women entering the managerial pipeline. However, there is scant evidence that such a pipeline exists, and pre-career women’s attitudes toward executive work remain to be better understood. Guided by theories of social role and stereotype threat, and research on work–life balance and culture, the study uses thematic discourse analysis to explore executive attitudes in an ethnically diverse sample of 69 Canadian undergraduate women in business. We find that they perceive the glass ceiling in stereotype threatening ways, blame their personal limitations and work–family choices for its existence, and sense a range of obstacles to their advancement. Although some expressed a desire for work–family balance, participants predominantly restricted career choices to favor one over the other. Implications, recommendations, and limitations are also discussed.

The ‘Mirrored Ceiling’: Young undergraduate student women’s expectations of gendered career opportunities and constraints

“…[A] woman could be seen as bossy whereas in comparison a man could just be seen as commanding and strong. So that will affect the way they are treated as well, even though you are doing the same thing (Hailey, paired interview) This was also suggested by the young women in a study by Ezzedeen et al (2015), who recognised that female leaders are often associated with being 'bitchy', 'catty' and other negative characteristics (ibid, p. 360). This is significant because it can cause women to feel that they have to act in a certain way in order to be deemed successful or taken seriously (Moreau et al, 2007;Worth, 2016a).…”

“…The perception of the potential to be left out in future careers is both reflected by, and connected to experiences of such exclusion reported in research with working women (Ezzedeen et al, 2015;Wrigley, 2002). Whilst this informal socialising is often not directly a part of work, informal networking can have a significant impact on career progression.…”

Promoting gendered structural change in leadership in higher education

“…Precisely regarding work-life balance issues, which affect women disproportionately as domestic and care tasks are mainly delivered by them, the majority of female interviewees who claimed to have projected themselves into leadership roles made it clear that they anticipated negative implications for their personal lives before deciding to assume higher positions, such as relationship issues and insufficient time for family. This is an issue widely mentioned in the literature on women and leadership from the most different backgrounds (Lutter & Schröder, 2019;Ezzedeen et al, 2015;Killeen et al, 2006).…”

Determinantes Da Diversidade De Gênero Das Empresas Do Brics

“…Apesar de as mulheres serem pelo menos iguais aos homens em capacidade de liderança, ainda existe uma distribuição desigual dos empregos mais bem remunerados na administração (BUCKALEW et al, 2012). Isto pode ocorrer pela existência de um teto de vidro que impede o acesso das mulheres a cargos executivos (EZZEDEEN, BUDWORTH;BAKER, 2015).…”