The Glass Ceiling Is Constructed Over the Gendered Office

Symons, Gladys L.

doi:10.1108/09649429210007331

Cited by 15 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…A number of important studies have been conducted in recent years which illustrate the extent of the international problem of the underrepresentation of women in senior management. Many of these studies are reported in major works by Adler and Izraeli (1994); Antal and Izraeli (1993); Davidson and Burke (1994); Fagenson (1993); Marshall (1984); and Still (1992), and in other work by Allan (1991); Andrew et al (1988); Chan (1988); Puffer (1993); Reimer (1991); Saso (1990) and Symons (1992). From this work Table I has been constructed.…”

Section: Reviewing the Underrepresentation Of Women In Senior Management From An International Perspectivementioning

confidence: 83%

Writing women into management or writing ourselves out: a dilemma for women as authors

Hall-Taylor

1997

Women in Management Review

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Examines the response of the discipline of management to the problem of the underrepresentation of women in senior management. Analyses 14 leading scholarly management journals and demonstrates that the journals ignore the problem of women's underrepresentation and that this has important consequences for women. Women are largely underrepresented as authors in management journals and, when they do publish, they do not publish on the problems of women in senior management. Moreover, the exclusion of women in management as a topic in the journals does not appear to be positively influenced by the presence of female editors or the representation of women on editorial boards. Explores the manner in which the knowledge produced by women about women in senior management in journals such as Women in Management Review works in ways that are simultaneously liberating and self-disciplining. Concludes by posing a profound dilemma for women who, as a consistent first choice, choose to publish in "gender journals" such as Women in Management Review.Writing women into management or writing ourselves out

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Section: Reviewing the Underrepresentation Of Women In Senior Management From An International Perspectivementioning

confidence: 83%

Writing women into management or writing ourselves out: a dilemma for women as authors

Hall-Taylor

1997

Women in Management Review

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“…In other words there is a possible mismatch between what an organization purports to do in terms of equal opportunities and what actually happens. According to Symons [9] a gender neutral organizational logic which denies prejudice and discrimination can mask a gendered hierarchy of power which is reproduced daily in practical work activities. Because of the overt commitment to equal opportunities these dynamics go largely unrecognized but exist nevertheless.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many of these women managers experience career barriers that are linked to male attitudes or to a male dominated organizational culture [6][7][8]. These attitudes can often go unchallenged alongside equal opportunities policies at the organizational level [9].…”

Section: Research Focusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is management education on the right track for women?

Simpson

1995

Women in Management Review

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The MBA as the top management qualification has enjoyed a considerable increase in popularity. However, doubts exist about the accessibility and success of the course for women managers. Describes a research project which aimed to make a comparison of the potential returns of an MBA for men and women. Also aims to explore the barriers which exist for women in the labour market and how far the MBA overcomes these. Based on a sample of 128 male and 55 female students from part-time courses, looks at management roles, management functions and salary levels. In addition identifies men's formal and informal networks as a significant barrier. Concludes that the MBA is less successful for women than for men in terms of career advancement and salary levels.

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“…According to Symons (1992), a commitment to equal opportunities at work can not only encourage the view that the organization is genderneutral (we treat everybody strictly on merit here) but in the process can cause women to question their own experience of exclusion and marginalization. Instead they take responsibility on themselves.…”

Section: She Went Onmentioning

confidence: 99%

Have Times Changed? Career Barriers and the Token Woman Manager

Simpson

1997

British J of Management

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Thirty years after feminism started to become part of mainstream academia and twenty years after the publication of Rosabeth Kanter's (1977) study of the lives of women managers in a US company, many researchers into women managers continue to draw from the knowledge she and her contemporaries created, locating their analysis in structural feminism and in the processes of asymetric power within the organization. Kanter in particular highlighted how the corporate treatment of women went beyond the activities of individuals but was part of culture in which the majority dominate and marginalize the minority and in which structures emerged to preserve the status quo.Much has changed for women managers since Kanter first published her work. Figures at that time indicated a rather poor picture. In 1976, over 96% of senior managers in the USA were men. Out of a survey of 163 American companies, over half had only 2% of women in first-level supervisory posts and in three-quarters women held only 2% of middle management and none of the top management jobs (Kanter, 1977).The situation for women managers both in the USA and in the UK has clearly improved since then, but despite the large increases in the number of women entering the labour market women still face inequalities in pay, status and level which are found even more sharply in the area of management. From the most junior manager to the most senior board-level director, men outnumber women and the situation worsens the higher up the hierarchy you go. Latest figures from the Institute of Management suggest year on year gains are small. The number of women managers in 1995 was 10.7%, up from 10.2% in 1993. They make up 3% of directors -an increase of only 0.2% over the same period. While they comprise 15.9% of section leaders they make up only 5% of the more senior function heads. Their average pay is 84% of the average male manager's pay and this disparity increases with seniority (Institute of Management, 1995).Against this background it is not surprising that studies continue to show women managers, particularly at higher levels, encountering problems and restrictions that relate almost entirely to their gender. The so-called glass ceiling may have increased in height during this time, but it exists nevertheless with various barriers limiting women's progress up the corporate hierarchy.Kanter's early work used the structural feminist paradigm to focus on barriers relating to the This paper explores the relevance of Kanter's early work on the numerical distribution of women in organizations for an understanding of the position of highly qualified women managers today. Despite the progress that women managers have made over the last twenty years, various consistencies stubbornly remain, particularly concerning the impact of the gender mix of the organization on women's progress and experience of career barriers. The results of this research on the nature of these barriers and how they vary with the numerical distribution of women are presented and discussed.

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The Glass Ceiling Is Constructed Over the Gendered Office

Cited by 15 publications

References 7 publications

Writing women into management or writing ourselves out: a dilemma for women as authors

Writing women into management or writing ourselves out: a dilemma for women as authors

Is management education on the right track for women?

Have Times Changed? Career Barriers and the Token Woman Manager

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