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Topic Discussion #6: Glass Ceiling
Rahul Hassani
University of South Carolina
HRTM344-Personnel Organization and Supervision
Kawon (Kathy) Kim, Ph.D.
June 11, 2021
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Topic Discussion #6: Glass Ceiling
The glass ceiling is a metaphor referring to an invisible barrier that prevents women and
minorities from being promoted to managerial- and executive-level positions within an
organization. The phrase “glass ceiling” is used to describe the difficulties faced by women when
trying to move to higher roles in a male-dominated hierarchy (Kagan, 2021).
The barriers are most often unwritten, meaning that women are more likely to be
restricted from advancing through accepted norms and implicit biases rather than defined
corporate policies.
This topic discussion paper promotes better understanding of what the glass ceiling is,
who it affects, why it exists and how the barriers could be broken down and at the same time
build a more diverse and inclusive workplace.
Factors Causing Glass Ceiling Effects
Some of the factors affecting glass ceiling are: personal factors, organizational factor,
societal factors, and demographic features (Azeez & Priyadarshini, 2018).
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Under personal factors, ability to work, willingness to do the assigned job, self perception
about themselves, family work balance have been cited as factors determining career
development. This shows the extents to which individual factors come as barriers for women's
career development Family work balance shows how relation of the female employees affect
their performance.
Organization policies, organization culture, perception of the management towards the
advancement of the women in higher roles are some of the factors under organizational factors.
Organizations are reluctant to invest in women employees, as they perceive women may quit the
job. Women have fewer promotion opportunities, despite having high coordinating ability.
Beliefs and stereotype are the factors identified under societal factors. This refers to the
extent to which the beliefs, traditions and influence the employee development.
Strategies women should pursue to break through the glass ceiling
Breaking the glass ceiling means overcoming the barriers set to prevent access to
advancement. Breaking the glass ceiling also includes removing barriers for others experiencing
the same struggles (Kagan, 2021).
Unfortunately, there are no guaranteed strategies that will help an individual break
through the glass ceiling. Although there are certainly exceptions to every rule, by and large both
women and minorities should expect that their climb to the top will be difficult. You may need to
prove yourself twice as much as your male coworkers, especially if you happen to be both
female and a minority. Take on extra assignments, particularly those that are high-profile. Make
a point of bonding with the supervisor a level up from your own. Document all of your
achievements and present them succinctly at each review (Fritscher, 2017).
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How should organization support women to break through the glass ceiling
In order to reduce unconscious bias when hiring and promoting employees, organization
should consider making their application and screening processes blind. Blind screenings
exclude information about candidates, like their name, interests and experiences (unrelated to the
role), that may reveal their assumed gender, race or ethnicity (Reiners, 2019). Regular bias and
stereotype training must be implemented within the company. The management should be aware
of the anti-discrimination laws and must establish their own set of anti-discrimination and sexual
harassment policies.
Conclusion
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 (Mind Tools, n. d.). Organizations can take action by
honestly exploring whether a glass ceiling exists, asking employees for their views, investing in
unconscious bias training, and offering support to employees.
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References
Azeez, P. V. & Priyadarshini, R. G. (2018). Glass ceiling factors affecting women career
advancement in IT industry in India. IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and
Engineering 390 (2018) 012021 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/390/1/012021. Retrieved from
[Link]
%20significant%20factors%20are%20ability,the%20management%2C%20belief%20and
%20stereotype.
Fritscher, L. (2017). The Glass Ceiling Effect And Its Impact On Women. Retrieved from
[Link]
women/#:~:text=It%20appears%20that%20long%2Dstanding,of%20less%2Dqualified
%20white%20men.
Kagan, J. (2021). Glass Ceiling. Retrieved from [Link]
[Link]
Mind Tools. (n. d.). Breaking the Glass Ceiling Overcoming Invisible Barriers to Success
Retrieved from [Link]
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Reiners, B. (2019). What Is The Glass Ceiling And How Do We Break It?: A guide to
understanding the glass ceiling metaphor. Retrieved from [Link]
inclusion/glass-ceiling
