Glass Ceiling 2

Glass Ceiling
The glass ceiling is an invisible and unbreakable barriers that bar women from getting to the top levels of the corporate ladder, regardless of academic qualifications or achievements.
-The Federal Glass Ceiling Commission (FGCC)
Abstract
The paper will discuss the glass ceiling problem in the corporates around the country and around the globe. It will look at how the problem affects women when they attempt to rise to higher ranks as their male counterparts. It will also describe how other minority groups of people are affected other women in the same measure. In a nutshell, the paper will discuss glass ceiling as a corporate problem and mention the people that are most affected. It will propose possible solutions to the problem and the challenges that people face while solving the problem. It will also discuss the views of other people preferably experts concerning the issue at hand. The paper will discuss to details the cases of the invisible but real glass ceiling that bass the women from being at the same level with male counterparts. Societal barriers, government barriers, and internal business barriers are some of the causes that the paper will pay close attention to. In the same measure, the paper describes the destruction caused by that prejudice against women together with the glass ceiling. It will conclude by stating whether women have chosen to break the glass or go around and state the reason for the decision.
Introduction
Women have had the problem in proving themselves as equal to the male counterparts in all walks of life for an extended period, and the situations seem far from changing even as more efforts are geared towards the direction.

They have been discriminated at work at the corporate level, in politics and other places just because they are women. They are discriminated for what they are which they did not choose to and have no control over.
In some cases, women are always sexually harassed at work. Some managers want them to exchange sex for promotions and other royalties. They are told that they cannot match men and therefore cannot perform duties that the men do. In most instances, women have lost key positions at corporate levels and in politics to males because of the stereotype that they are too soft to make good leaders (Patterson 34-36). Some think that they are ineffective to perform some duties that requires much of a time because they need time to be with their children in effect, they believe that they cannot work until late hours as the men can do. According to research, women find it is easy to move around the invisible glass rather than break through. They think that the stereotypes against them are too many to deal with and they would rather accept the realities of life, live with them and move on. According to them, it is hard breaking through the glass and would rather move around it. The technique they use is by moving to agencies that are not dominated by men. At the companies, they find it easy to secure the top level positions and prove their worth.
Research Objective/Questions
i. The report highlights some of the research questions that guided the research work.
ii. To show how minority groups such as women deal with the glass ceiling. Are they choosing to break through it or move around it?
iii. Are there any signs of slight cracks in the glass ceiling? If any, how important are they?
iv. To determine the significance of veteran status and its importance in securing promotions.
Causes of Glass Ceiling
Societal Barriers.
According to a report by the Labor Department of the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission, there exist two major classifications of societal barriers. They include the supply barrier and the difference barriers. The supply barriers are those of denial of opportunities even when there is the achievement to prove that women are fit to hold the respective offices in question. On the other, the difference barrier exists in the form of prejudice and stereotypes that make the genders and particular groups of people different from the others. Some of the differences are consciously constituted to block the women and the minorities from certain things.
Internal Business Barriers
Men managers in the management positions carry out recruitment activities in closed door meeting and recruit fellow men instead of women. Some women in the business call it old-boy network which they claim is adamant. They argue that these people always call their school mates and boyhood friends to come and fill the positions. The women are not empowered as the men through training and work mentorship. They face imminent harassment by the male colleagues that reduce their productivity to prove that they are not competent. There is the thought by men that when they include a woman to help them manage, it threatens their chances to advance.
Government barriers
Failures in labor laws that should protect the women at against discrimination at the women while at work. The laws also fail in educating people on the adverse effects of the glass ceiling and the importance of having a diversity of gender at the workplaces. The government body should be at the forefront advocating for the breaking of the glass ceiling. Other barriers are caused by factors such as unequal pay for the same amount of work. Men are preferably paid more as compared to women, yet they do the same amount of work. Sexual harassment makes women shy away from attending work and feel discriminated. In fact, some employers ask for sex in exchange for a job and promotions. The women lack the role models that can hold their hands lead to the required direction as far as career is concerned.
Impacts of Glass Ceiling
Loss of Productivity
The prejudices against women make them feel valueless. They develop a low superiority complex while around men. They lose the morale to work and the motivation to follow their career calling. Those that have ego might rebel from the men who want them to bow and please them to get favors thereby creating hatred and wrangles within the organization that hampers general productivity and growth of the organization.
Promotions
Stereotypes that supervisors might be having concerning women might make them ignore women while dishing out promotions. The stereotypes rub away all the right things and dedications that the women put in their work to the favor of men. Some of these stereotypes and prejudice result from negatively preconceived notions that women are not worth certain things and cannot match men. It is just a male chauvinistic kind of reasoning that wants all for men. Such cases also apply to women when they are in power; they will always think that only ladies are the ones fit to get certain positions even when they lack the desirable qualities (Murray 22). It a case of hit back time.
Destruction
When women and other people feel that they have been very much discriminated upon, they can decide to destroy property to as a way of retaliating. They can also resort to physical violence that some can make people sustain long-term injuries.
Possible ways of breaking the Glass Ceiling
In the States, a body called the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission was formed to look into the issue of the glass ceiling and help avert the stereotypes that the society has placed on women. They are mandated to look into the plight of women and implement ways that can contribute to the breaking the glass. They propose the following forms as beneficial to the attempts of breaking the glass ceiling.
i. Give the women the chance to prove their worth alongside male colleagues and drop male chauvinistic reasoning. In the same, they should acknowledge the roles that they play in the growth of the organizations and reward them financially and through promotions (Bell 224).
ii. Women empowerment. The organization should train the women along with their career aspirations and break their barriers to development such as prejudice.
iii. The organizations should also train all their employees on gender sensitivity and the warn them of the consequences that come with it.
iv. The government should illegalize all the unfair treatment against any individual at the cooperate level. Many people have written a lot of article concerning the glass ceiling to demonize the issue and suggest solutions that can be applied to try to break it.
The glass ceiling is real, and it is a problem that has hit women for decades and centuries. Women do not only face the problem at the cooperate level but also at other platforms of leadership where men fail to give the chance to prove their worth. The problem is tough to solve because even those who advocate for the solution and abolition of women prejudice just find themselves doing the opposite (Barreto 32). The problem has existed for decades now and attempts to solve it have never been successful. The women have the thought that it is tough to break through the glass as compared to going around it. Sometimes, it is the women against themselves as women in top leadership positions might prefer the opposite gender to be their counterpart when there are open vacancies. It is, therefore, a challenge for the women to break the glass. The glass ceiling can sometimes have cracks, but the commitment that is required to break through it are uncalled for. What do women do instead? Go round the glass and find greener pastures that are not dominated by men and excel on their own. The cracks on the glass might just be there to give false hope that does not yield.
Work cited
Barreto Manuela C, Michelle K. Ryan, and Michael T. Schmitt. The Glass Ceiling in the 21st Century: Understanding Barriers to Gender Equality. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2009. Print.
Bell Myrtle P. Diversity in Organizations. Mason, Ohio: South-Western College, 2012. Print. 224
Murray Rainbow. Cracking the Highest Glass Ceiling: A Global Comparison of Women’s Campaigns for Executive Office. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger, 2010. Print.
Patterson Carol A. The Glass Ceiling Effect: A Perspective of African American Women. Minneapolis: Capella University, 2010. Print