3. • The GLASS CEILING-
Women, Racial, Minorities….
Difference and Inequality
• "A gender or racial difference that is not
explained by other job-relevant
characteristics of the employee."
• "A gender or racial difference that is
greater at higher levels of an outcome
than at lower levels of an outcome.
• "A gender or racial inequality in the
chances of advancement into higher
levels"
• "A gender or racial inequality that
increases over the course of a career."
4. • Why in HR?
Impact an organization's reputation,
customer loyalty, diversity of skill
sets, growth potential and even its
bottom line.
• Gender biased diversity, Sexual
discrimination …..
5. Levels of glass ceiling barriers
Societal barriers
Internal business barriers
Governmental barriers
Other barriers
6. Studies
Study by David R. Hekman
• White men receive significantly higher customer
satisfaction scores than equally well-performing
women and minority employees.
• White male doctors were rated as more
approachable and competent than equally-well
performing women or minority doctors.
• Customer ratings tend to be inconsistent with
objective indicators of performance.
Occupational segregation
• Women hold only 16% of the top executive positions
in America’s largest corporations and enterprises.
• Full-time working women is only 70.5% of full-time
working men.
• Earning gap mid 30s($$) to mid
50s($$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$)
7. Corporate Glass Ceiling
• Prevents qualified women from advancing upward into senior
management level positions.
• Discriminatory barrier that prevents women from rising to
positions of power or responsibility, as within a corporation.
8. Reasons for the Corporate Glass Ceiling
LATE 1970s – EARLY 1980s MID – LATE 1980’s
Women lacked required • Trends started changing
experience and skills • More women took up higher
education in management
• Looked for careers in operating
areas
They were restricted
to clerical and other support
services jobs
9. Factors that prevent women from rising through the
corporates
• Family responsibilities
• Paid less than men
• Sex Discrimination
• Sign of racism
• Job segregation
• Sexual Harassment
10. Women Managers are praised for:
► Soft Skills
► Caring
► Understanding
► Good teamwork
► Good communication skills
► Patience
►Style of Management
► Unique skills
11. Approaches towards Glass Ceiling
• Encourage women to assimilate, to adopt more masculine
attribute.
• Accommodate the unique needs and situations of women
e.g.. Extended maternity leave, rooms for nursing infants
12. Continued..
• Forgo assimilation and accommodation and instead emphasize
the differences that women bring to workplace.
• Emphasize existing systems can be reinvented by altering the
everyday practices in which biases are expressed
13. Signs of the Glass Ceiling
•Median earnings of female full-time workers were 17% lower than the
earnings of their male counterparts and that 30% of the variation in
gender wage gaps
• Women's hourly earnings were 17.5 % lower on average
• The female-to-male earnings ratio was 0.77 in the United States in 2009.
• In 2002 the median total compensation of male CEOs in non profit
organizations was $147,085, approximately 50% higher than the median
total of female CEOs ($98,108) in similar settings.
• Corporate policies and practices.
• Work/life balance challenges.
• Difference in life style.
14. International studies on Glass Ceiling
According to studies,
– Opportunities for women's advancement have greatly improved in the past five
years.
– Disadvantaged due to the lack of organizational support .
– All women managers in the study stated they hit the glass ceiling in their
organizations early in their careers .
– Only 25% believed they could make it to the top of their professions.
15. Continued…
– Women are perceived to be disadvantaged, compared with men,
regarding international mobility, balancing work and personal
responsibilities.
– Women in international assignments tend to be more isolated than
their male
– Counterparts, often lacking formal support, such as mentors and
networks, from their organizations.
16. Recommendations
Examine the Organizational culture.
Policies & practices
Informal culture
Drive change through management commitment.
Support top management.
Ensure diversity &accountability
Foster inclusion.
Establish & lead a change
Develop & implement retention.
17. Cont….
Educate and support women in career development.
Support develop & utilization of women network
Create & implement.
Measure for change
monitoring strategies, determining leadership , Evaluate & measure
explore reason why women leave organization.
18. Conclusion
• Barriers to women advancement still exist.
• Have knowledge about labor laws and regulations before going on foreign
assignment
• HR has significant role to play
• Seek challenging assignments and task consistently.
• No matter how things become….Don’t give up.. Believe in yourself.
