QUESTION: Is There Still a "Glass Ceiling"?
Dear Merry,
I am a senior male HR leader in a global company. I feel the best way to differentiate my company is to do a better job of retaining women. As such I think it is important to understand the challenges that women face in the workplace. So I am wondering what your thoughts are on women in the workplace. Is there still a "glass ceiling"?
RESPONSE: The Facts about Women in the Workplace
Dear Executive,
It is perfect timing for this question as we just celebrated International Women s Day on March 8th. There have been many changes over the last 20-years for women in the workplace. But not necessarily in all the ways we expected it to change.
In celebration of International Women s Day, Accenture released a study of 1,200 male and female executives across 8 countries in North American, Asia and Europe called: "The Anatomy of the Glass Ceiling: Barriers to Women s Professional Advancement." In this study, participants were asked to rate the factors they felt influenced their career success across three "dimensions": individual, company and society. The difference between the male and female executive s responses were used to calculate the "thickness" of the glass ceiling.
Here are some highlights from that survey:
- According to the study, only 30 percent of women executives and 43 percent of male executives believe that women have the same opportunities as men do in the workplace today - supporting the existence of a glass ceiling.
- However, the study also found that overall the women executives were about as personally satisfied with their own career opportunities and positions as men were with theirs.
- For some women executives the glass ceiling is believed to be more of a societal obstacle than an individual barrier. Women executives in the United States and the United Kingdom, for instance, are very confident of their own business capabilities (the "individual" dimension) and are more likely to believe that the greatest barriers to their success come not from their own capabilities or even from their own companies cultures (the "company" dimension), but from society at large (the "society" dimension).
- On the other end of the spectrum, women executives in Canada and the Philippines believe that societal issues are less of a barrier to achieving career success and that corporate cultures are more to blame for the glass ceiling.
- "The study reminds us that while there has been progress in shattering the glass ceiling over the past 20 years, organizations - and societies - need to realize how important it is to capitalize and build upon the skills of women," said Kedrick D. Adkins, Accenture s chief diversity officer. "Creating a business culture that supports innovation, growth and prosperity requires people with diverse talents, and organizations need to ensure that they value all styles of leadership and work. In other words, global inclusion is the key to the long-term success of companies."
In my work as an executive coach to men and women, the issues of gender and advancement regularly come up. Two things that I see that continue to perpetuate the glass ceiling are....
1) Many top female achievers don t believe that there is a glass ceiling. They ve put so much energy and effort into making it and busting through the barriers that they haven t allowed themselves to even acknowledge the barriers. As a result they don t see anything special about themselves. By not seeing how differentiated they are, they don t feel that it is necessary to reach back down into the ranks and pull women up - something men do for other men all the time.
2) Because the glass ceiling is a product of our culture and social structures, it is very hard to see the subtle and very powerful difference women face in the work place. Some of the differences are so subtle, and so deep that male leaders are not able to grasp what it is about the system that limits the advancement of women. Men don t realize what it is to walk a mile in women s shoes.
The fact that you are even asking this question is great! Top companies have powerful programs in place for retaining their female employees. I suggest that you take a look at your particular company and invest money in retaining and rewarding your female work force. This investment will pay back to you in many ways, including better earnings per share.
Dare to Deliver!
Merry
Merry Marcus
President
www.breakthroughconsulting.com
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Merry Marcus, President of Break Through Consulting is a Certified Masterful Coach, entrepreneur and former Fortune 100 VP of Sales. Break-Through Consulting is a coaching and consulting company focused on producing otherwise impossible business results through breakthroughs in traditional thinking and actions. Merry can be reached at: (215) 579-8293 and mmarcus@breakthroughconsulting.com.
