The Glass Ceiling

The "glass ceiling" is a term used to characterize strong but invisible barriers for women and minorities to promotion into the higher levels of the organization. First, let me say I do not agree with Shell's comments. They call it an invisible barrier for a reason. The culture of a company starts from the top of the organization down. If the top executives of any organization do not believe in promoting women and minorities, then it won't happen, especially in organizations where Affirmative Action policies do not have to be followed. A minority can want it bad enough and be as goal-oriented as any top male or white manager, it simply will not happen if the executive levels of management do not "buy" into it. I believe there are more organizations out there than we want to believe exist. Think of the age of some of the top executives of the major corporations. Most I would say are in their 60's, which means they grew up in the 1950's and 1960's when most women stayed home. So, I think that Affirmative Action is a good plan to force some organizations into a new mindset. I also think the tide is beginning to change with younger management taking over the top executive roles as the current executives retire. According to the Henneman text, women in the officials and managers EEO category is still only 36% overall; and it is estimated that minorities fall along the same percentage.