The glass ceiling in organizational advancement

Glass Ceiling

The barriers that hinder career advancement of women are complex, and have become important issues for most corporations and the government (Adaire, 1994). "Glass ceiling" is a term that describes numerous barriers that prevent qualified individuals from advancing higher in their careers. While many women hold management positions, few have made the breakthrough to top-level, executive positions.

According to statistics, women executives exist across corporate America, and many believe that they may actually be more effective managers than men (Patterson, 2005). In fact, women managers are consistently rated higher than their male counterparts on 37 of 47 critical management qualities such as leadership, social skills, problem solving and decision-making, according to a study by the Hagberg Consulting Group, a management-consulting firm in Foster City.

However, some of the traits that make women successful middle managers may hinder their ability to become executives (Patterson, 2005). Many believe that this is because women focus too much on details, speak elliptically and do not take as many risks, according to the Hagberg study. Men have more of a tendency to see the big picture. The research included 396 women and 1,600 men, in addition to 360-degree feedback from supervisors and subordinates.

Despite female managers' high ratings in the study, relatively few have achieved a senior level in their companies (Patterson, 2005). Among Fortune 1000 companies, only seven have female CEOs, according to a recent article in Barron's magazine. According to Catalyst, a research firm, women hold 10.6% of board seats at the nation's 500 largest companies, a small increase from the 8.3% they held in 1993. Also, women who hold director-level positions say they lack the influence their male counterparts have on such critical issues as management succession and executive compensation.

Women often say that the reason they do not advance as far as men is that men prefer to promote after their own image (Patterson, 2005). Too few women have the authority to hire, fire or determine compensation, and there simply are not enough role models or mentors for them at the executive level, says Barron's research.

In addition, there are other potential reasons for women's failure to break the glass ceiling (Patterson, 2005). The results of the Hagberg study indicate that qualities that make women successful at the mid-management level are also harmful to their careers. The main hindrance seems to be women's perceived discomfort with risk-taking. The Hagberg study suggests that women, because they are so detail oriented, want all the data before they make big decisions. This conservative decision-making style, which has helped women reach middle management, may discourage them from accepting career-advancing, high-risk assignments.

However, taking risks and accepting the consequences is a required skill in corporate America's top executives (Patterson, 2005). "When you're in senior management, you're expected to act boldly, so failures are very likely and very visible," says Hancock Williams. "If you're not taking risks and dealing with fallout, perhaps you're demonstrating that you won't like the intensity [at the senior management level]."

Other qualities also may also hinder women's ability to advance their careers. For example, women managers are rated as more nurturing, emotionally expressive and sensitive than male managers. "Women are less dominant, less competitive and more willing to ask for help," says Dr. Hagberg (Patterson, 2005). "That's why they're better team players."

These qualities result in high ratings from subordinates when women are at the middle management level, but by being too protective of their work groups, their bosses may see them as "rescuers and mothers," rather than as potential senior-level executives.

Fortunately, ambitious women executives do not have to reinvent themselves to advance. They just have to fine-tune existing skills, according to experts. "The team- and consensus-building skills women have are the skills required for managing," says Richard Hagberg, a consulting psychologist (Patterson, 2005). "In a flattened organization, when you must get things done through people over whom you have no formal authority, you need a different kind of management skill, and women have it."

In an attempt to figure out what conditions are required for women to command top executive positions, an ethnographic study was conducted at a hospital (Adaire, 1994). The study consisted of four women who held executive positions: one associate administrator, one interim associate administrator, one director and the CEO. An in-depth data gathering technique using observation, interviews and documentation was employed to investigate numerous factors, including skills, education influences, support, barriers and corporate culture.

The findings revealed the following (Adaire, 1994):