1. Carson.
Define and describe the glass ceiling.
Northouse (2018) describes the glass ceiling as an invisible, impassable barrier for women in the workplace generated by years of the gender gap and stereotypes. Weyer (2007) adds that the lack of women in top leadership positions can be explained by the glass ceiling, an invisible barrier for women and minority groups that prevent them from moving up the corporate ladder because of corporate practices, behavioral and cultural stereotypes, and preferred leadership styles. I first remember really hearing about the glass ceiling with regards to women running for President. I also have spoken with many women in the workplace, including my wife, about pregnancy and how that can impact career progression. It was very interesting digging deeper into the articles and text this week about the backstory and studies and learning more about how this could have happened in our society and how companies have fought to do what’s right to correct this problem.
Summarize the reports and/or research results of the glass ceilings impact on women.
Jogulu & Wood (2006) shared that the proportion of women in management roles in the USA in 1970 was only 16 per cent. Applebaum & Miller (2003) add that women account for 51 per cent of the population and 46.5 per cent of the labor force but their representation at more senior corporate levels in negligible by comparison. This is staggering to consider that in 1970 only 16% of management roles were held by women. I know we have come a long way, and that is 50 years ago we are talking about, but it’s really not that long ago. I was born in 1979 and to know that just in my lifetime women have had to push hard to punch through all of this to get where they are today in staggering to consider. I am so thankful for the hard work and finally showing improvement as a society, I just wish it didn’t take that long.
Have you faced barriers similar to those described or observed others experiences with any of these barriers? Give an example to illustrate.
I have never been directly affected or faced a barrier like women face with the glass ceiling. I am proud of my female co-workers and bosses and have thankfully have worked for a very ethical and diverse company. I have actually had more female bosses in high ranking positions with the company than male bosses, again a testament to Target’s culture. My job has very high expectations, is performance based and super stressful, and these women I have had the honor to work with have taught me, mentored me, and done an awesome job leading me over the years! Downey (2006) adds that leaders in todays organizational climate are constantly working within an environment that is changing, becoming more complex, and increasingly filled with uncertainty. In todays day and age just getting through the workday is so complex with covid, social unrest, social media, online business, global connectedness like never before and I am thankful to have strong women on my team helping me navigate through all of it!
References:
Northouse, P.G (2018). Leadership: Theory and Practice (8th Edition). SAGE Publications Inc.
Appelbaum, S. H., Audet, L., & Miller, J. C. (2003). Gender and leadership? Leadership and gender? A journey through the landscape of theories. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 24(1/2), 4351. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437730310457320
Downey, L. A., Papageorgiou, V., & Stough, C. (2006). Examining the relationship between leadership, emotional intelligence and intuition in senior female managers. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 27(4), 250264. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437730610666019
Jogulu, U. D., & Wood, G. J. (2006). The role of leadership theory in raising the profile of women in management. Equal Opportunities International, 25(4), 236250. https://doi.org/10.1108/02610150610706230
Weyer, B. (2007). Twenty years later: Explaining the persistence of the glass ceiling for women leaders. Women in Management Review, 22(6), 482496. https://doi.org/10.1108/09649420710778718
2. Jennifer.
The glass ceiling refers to the metaphorical barriers and obstacles that prevent specific demographics from rising or being promoted within a hierarchy past a certain point (Northouse, 2018). This concept is often seen with women and minorities. The idea of a glass ceiling implies that it is invisible, but there barriers and obstacles can very much be seen through ones actions or lack thereof. Researchers have stated that the glass ceiling is indicative of three types of categorical explanations: biological, socialization, and structural/cultural (Weyer, 2007). One of the older arguments, focused on the biological component, states that genetic pattern differences exist that are a result of evolution and that these can impact leadership abilities. Those who focus on socialization would state there are constructs within societal expectations that create gender inequalities. Finally, the structural/cultural model would argue that gender differences stem from power and status discrepancies, which then translate to leadership differences.
These aforementioned gender gaps in terms of leadership are most evident when observing the disproportionate number of women that are more highly concentrated in lower-authority and lower-level positions than men (Northouse, 2018). This has been tied back to three key explanations. First, there is the perception that women have less investment in work experience, training, and education than men, causing them to be viewed as less qualified. The second consideration is around gender differences and embody the concept that simply says women are just different from men. This could be in relation to the argument that women are being underrepresented in leadership positions due to leadership styles and effectiveness, such as choosing the transformation leadership style more readily in todays society than their male counterparts, which has proven to be rather effective (Jogulu & Wood, 2006). Third, there can be a degree of prejudice that comes from gender biases and stereotypes, including ones that state that women would prefer to take care as opposed to take charge (Northouse, 2018). While none of these considerations may be true, they contribute to the prevailing concepts that keep the glass ceiling steadily fixed in society, despite research that shows that women have shown higher degrees of emotional intelligence and leadership abilities in a variety of situations when compared to their male counterparts (Downey et al., 2006).
It is not uncommon for women to say they have felt unwelcomed, uncomfortable, or even threatened in their workplaces, especially in those which favor stereotypically masculine values and/or sex-based values (Appelbaum, Audet, & Miller, 2003). There are plentiful barriers that I have witnessed and experienced during my time in the workforce. One particular instance that comes to mind was when I worked in the mental health hospital. For this example, it is important to keep in mind that by and large, mental health is a primarily female-dominated field. At the mental health hospital, I was in charge of one work shift and my male counterpart was in charge of another. According to company metrics, my male counterparts team completed approximately 70% fewer admissions than my team, despite his team being nearly twice as large as mine. He personally would complete one to two admissions per shift in comparison to my own six or seven, though he often did zero admissions and stated he was busy doing administrative work (which in all truth was endlessly looking online at vehicles to purchase for his own personal use). He did not provide support to his team and his team would call me when I was not working to ask if I could come in early to help support them, despite my counterpart being in the same physical office with them. I was continuously told by my manager (who was often nowhere to be found) to just hold on because there would be a promotional opportunity soon. Yet, when it came time for that opportunity, my counterpart was the one who was promoted because there needed to be a strong presence in the intake department. The strong presence they spoke of clearly was not performance related, therefore the only thing I could gather was that they wanted a six foot plus tall, 250 pound male versus a five foot seven, 150 pound female. It was not long after the this I left the company, yet would still receive calls for guidance despite not working at the company any longer. Word quickly got back to me that the department was rapidly crumbling under his essentially absent leadership. Within the year, the company had fired this individual due to his lack of competence in the higher leadership position. In this instance, the glass ceiling created a situation of failure that could have been avoided had the upper management based their promotion on performance as opposed to what appeared to be a stereotype of male strength.
Appelbaum, S. H., Audet, L., & Miller, J. C. (2003). Gender and leadership? leadership and gender? A journey through the landscape of theories. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 24(1), 43-51. https://search-proquest-com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/docview/226922259?accountid=32521 (Links to an external site.)
Downey, L. A., Papageorgiou, V., & Stough, C. (2006). Examining the relationship between leadership, emotional intelligence and intuition in senior female managers. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 27(4), 250-264. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/01437730610666019/full/html (Links to an external site.)
Jogulu, U. D., & Wood, G. J. (2006). The role of leadership theory in raising the profile of women in management. Equal Opportunities International, 25(4), 236-250. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/02610150610706230/full/html (Links to an external site.)
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership theory and practice (8th ed.). SAGE.
Weyer, B. (2007). Twenty years later: Explaining the persistence of the glass ceiling for women leaders. Women in Management Review, 22(6), 482-496. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/09649420710778718/full/html (Links to an external site.)
Glass Ceiling Case Study [WLOs: 1, 2] [CLO: 5]
Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum, read Chapter 15 in the course textbook, Leadership: Theory and Practice, along with the following articles: Gender and Leadership? Leadership and Gender? A Journey Through the Landscape of Theories, Examining the Relationship Between Leadership, Emotional Intelligence and Intuition in Senior Female Managers, The Role of Leadership Theory in Raising the Profile of Women in Management, and Twenty Years Later: Explaining the Persistence of the Glass Ceiling for Women Leaders.
Define and describe the glass ceiling. Summarize the reports and/or research results of the glass ceilings impact on women. Have you faced barriers similar to those described or observed others experiences with any of these barriers? Give an example to illustrate.
Guided Response: Respond to at least two other peer posts regarding items you found to be compelling and enlightening. Remember to include active scholarship in these two replies to substantiate your points, and to properly cite your sources. Please refer to APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) by Ashford Universitys Writing Center for information on citing sources. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric under the Settings icon in your classroom for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.
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Could you please respond to 2 classmatess discussions. 1. Carson and 2. Jennifer .
You may start : Hi Carson, I agree with you because ….. ( for example). 1 page should be enough for 2 replies:
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