1 / 35

Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Gender Issues and Advancement in Organizations

Explore the current status of women in the workplace, barriers to promotion, and individual and organizational strategies for breaking the glass ceiling. Learn about the gender pay gap and the underrepresentation of women of color in leadership positions.

richardwatkins
Download Presentation

Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Gender Issues and Advancement in Organizations

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Session #4: Gender Issues and the Glass Ceiling in OrganizationsObjectives and Agenda • Class members will gain an understanding of : • The current status of women in the workplace in the U.S. and Wisconsin • Barriers to promotion and advancement. • Individual strategies for breaking the glass ceiling. • Organizational strategies for helping women advance. • Killing Us Softly You-Tube clip • Relating as Equals exercise

  2. U.S. Stats(Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015) • Women are 51% of the population and 47% of the adult labor force • They account for 52% of all workers employed in management, professional and related professions, but hold about 5% of Fortune 500 CEO positions. • 2018: Less than 25 female CEOs in Fortune 500 companies

  3. The Glass Ceiling (Catalyst, 2018)

  4. The PAY GAP(Catalyst, 2018) • Women’s earnings are 81.8% of men’s in 2017 • The gap does not close the higher women climb • In 2017, women in full-time management, professional and related occupations earned 73% of what men earned • Gender gap increases with age • Women aged 55-64 earn just 73.7% of men’s median weekly earnings for full time wages and salaries • Cumulative wage loss over careers • Average full-time working woman will lose $403,400 in wages over a 40 yr period due only to the wage gap • College aged millennial women are projected to lose more than a million dollars ($1,066,721) due to wage gap • Biggest wage gap is in the finance and insurance industry even though women account for more than half of all employees

  5. Education and thePAY GAP • Women are more likely than men to have undergraduate and masters degrees, but pay gap persists and increases with education. • AAUW (2013) study: Accounted for college major, occupation, economic sector, hours worked, months employed since graduation, GPA, type of undergraduate institution, institution selectivity, age, geographical region and marital status… • Male college grads earned 7% more than female counterparts one year after graduating. • Gap increased to 12% 10 years after graduation --- this increase was not explained by above factors.

  6. From: AAUW (2013) Report, The Simple Truth About the Gender Pay Gap

  7. Pipeline’s Broken Promise Study(Catalyst: Carter & Silva, 2010) • Survey of 4,143 male and female MBA alumni of 26 leading business schools in U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia. • Women lagged in advancement and compensation in their very first post-MBA job – no matter if the job was first level manager or CEO (so differences are not due to aspiration) • Taking into account years of experience, industry and global region, women started at lower rank and earned on average $4,600 less than men in their first post-MBA job. • Not due to parenthood: Findings held even when considering men and women who did not have children. • Women’s salaries did not keep pace with men’s (even among high potentials without children – men’s salary growth outpaced women’s) • Top reason for leaving first post-MBA job was career advancement for both men and women – but – women more likely than men to say they left because of a difficult manager. • Female alumni less satisfied with their careers than male counterparts.

  8. Barriers to Advancement(from ground floor up)(cf: review by Powell, 2018) • Compared to white male counterparts, women and employees of color: • Extended fewer job offers (eg resume studies). • Enter at lower ranks. • Receive lower starting salaries. • Seen as less desirable for managerial positions. • Less likely to be tracked into powerful positions or have the power or authority associated with the position. • Women as likely to be promoted as men, but need more promotions to get to the same rank as men and do not get salaries associated with promotions. • Female executives have less authority than male counterparts; receive less support

  9. Women in WisconsinMilwaukee Women Inc. 2017 Census of Top 50 Public Companies in Wisconsin • Women make up 17.6% of directors seats in the top 50 publically held companies in Wisconsin • Companies with worst records (none to one women on Board) • Bon Ton Stores • Briggs and Stratton • Quad Graphics • School Specialty, Inc • MGIC Investment • Companies with best records (3 to 5 women on Board) • Alliant Energy (5) (50% representation) • Manpower (5) (50% representation) • Kohls (30%) • Sensient Technology (27%) • Rockwell Automation (25%)

  10. Workforce Stats: Women of Color(Catalyst, 2017) • Women of color under-represented in leadership positions • Hold just 3.8% of board seats in Fortune 500 companies • Black women: 2.2% • Hispanic: 0.8% • Asian: 0.8% • 5% of executive/senior level officials and managers • 9.8% of all first/mid-level officials and managers • Women of color will be the majority of all women by 2060 • Firms owned by women of color are growing at six times the rate of all US firms

  11. Career Strategies of Survivors • Catalyst survey of 461 female executives - Vice Presidents or above of Fortune 1000 companies(Ragins, Townsend & Mattis, 1998). • Asked to rank 13 strategies; 4 strategies for reaching the top: • 1. Consistently exceeding performance expectations(99% rated as critical or fairly important.) • 2. Developed a professional style with which male managers are comfortable(96%) • 3. Sought difficult or highly visible stretch assignments(94%) • 4. Developed mentoring relationships(91% had a mentor)

  12. Beyond Performance: Walking the Fine Line • ".... the guys can yell at each other all the time, shake hands and walk out the door, and it's perfectly comfortable for them--but on the rare occasion that I raise my voice, it's not accepted in the same way." -- Personnel Director, retail organization. "how to interact with men who had never dealt with women before, and how to be heard, and how to get past what you looked like, and what sex you were, and into what kind of brain you had.... I had to learn how to offer opinions in a way that they could be heard because I wasn't necessarily given the right to have an opinion." -- Vice President, (consumer products company)

  13. "Don't be attractive. Don't be too smart. Don't be assertive. Pretend you're not a woman. Don't be single. Don't be a mom. Don't be a divorcee.”(write-in responses) • "Do not make waves. Do not disagree and be correct (kiss of death !). [Working] longer, harder, smarter means nothing if you have a mind of your own and express your own ideas and opinions.”(write-in responses) • "With 13 men on the management committee, and I'm the only woman....it was very awkward at first. But it's been over two years now, and what I have found is that they are never truly comfortable because it's not a hundred percent men. And that's not because they don't like me, or they don't like the fact that a woman's there. It's that there's always that certain guard that what they might say in a roomful of men will be taken wrong when a woman is there." --SVP, health care organization.

  14. Mentoring is Mandatory • 91 percent of female executives surveyed reported having a mentor. All of the women interviewed had a mentor. • "I think it's the single most critical piece to women advancing career-wise. In my experience you need somebody to help guide you and ...go to bat for you. And I'm not saying someone to take care of you because you're a woman. I'm saying, because you are a woman, you need somebody to fight some of your battles in the male environment." --VP/Corporate Secretary, utility company • Over half the women interviewed reported being mentors. Nearly all of them reported mentoring other women. • "As my career has progressed, I have very consciously taken on the mantle of mentoring. I work at it because I think it's part of the obligation... to make sure to get people, especially women who are coming up in the field, out of a 'There's only so many slots for women' mentality." -- VP, chemical/manufacturing company

  15. The Mentoring Advantage • Mentoring related to compensation, job satisfaction, career satisfaction, promotions, organizational commitment & reduced turnover (Ragins & Cotton, 1999; Dreher & Ash, 1990). • Women and people of color face greater barriers to gaining a mentor, no gender differences in presence of mentor; mixed findings for race (Ragins & Cotton, 1991; Catalyst, 1999; Thomas, 1990). • Women and people of color more likely to be cross-gender/cross-race relationships (Ragins, 1997). • These relationships have restricted role modeling and social functions (Thomas, 1990; Ragins & McFarland, 1990) • White male mentors provide the most compensation (Dreher & Cox, 1996) and promotions (Ragins & Cotton, 1999).

  16. The Quest for Balance • Gender disparity in Marriage/Children: • 72% of women executives married64% have children • 91.4% of male executives married (Korn/Ferry, 1990) • 91% have children • Everyone Needs a Wife: • 45% of male executives have unemployed spouse • 2% of female executives have unemployed spouse • 75% of women executives were primary bread-earners • "I think every woman ought to have a wife, if you're going to dedicate this much energy and strive to continue in a position like the one I'm fortunate to have." --SVP, health care organization

  17. Or Supportive Spouse: • Largest single write-in response to "other: ___". Noted by 8% of the survey respondents. • "Had a very cooperative husband who shares 50 percent of the household and childrearing responsibilities." • "Married the right guy--not threatened by me, shares work." • "Married the right person -- the second time."

  18. Sacrifices Are Still Being Made • 10% of respondents reported that they decided not to marry in order to obtain a work/life balance. • One in four women executives (26 percent) postponed motherhood in order to obtain balance. • 20 percent reported that they chose not to have the children. • "I have chosen not to have children. I've kind of always thought, well, if my job gets a little bit more calm, then maybe I can do both. But I could never have this high-stress, high-intensity job and have kids as well... So I think that's a major personal sacrifice.” -- SVP, retail company

  19. Balance Requires Stamina and Priorities • "I set clear, limited priorities -- family and profession -- and ordered everything around them." • "Wake up at 5 a.m. every day, keep social obligations to a bare minimum, put job and children way ahead of self in establishing priorities." • "I sleep very little and have a huge capacity for work. So I married, had a child, got a Ph.D., and worked full time the entire time." • "Worked 60 hours a week, completed education, and slept 4-6 hours a night." • "Stopped sleeping. Developed a sense of humor to get through the crises."

  20. Balance: The Elusive Goal? • Some women executives reported balance: • "I think I'm very pleased with it (work/life balance). But I had to create that balance. It wasn't created for me." --General Counsel, technology company. • "I am the mother of three children under the age of 14. I was not willing to sacrifice my personal goals for professional gain. My company, my husband, and my own drive have enabled me to achieve both objectives." • However, other women characterized work/life balance as a myth: • "You can't have it all, and if there's a woman out there that says you can, she's crazy, she hasn't looked around. Something is going to sacrifice, because here are only 24 hours in a day."-- SVP, health care organization.

  21. "Balance ? There is no balance. My life consists of my kids, my kids, and my husband and my work. My other interests, the other things I would like to do in life have been absolutely subordinated to those particular set of obligations. I'm not proud of it, I don't think it's a healthy way to live, and the only thing that sustains me is the knowledge that life is chapters. My children are not going to be young forever. I've made choices, and for every choice in life you make, you pay. There is really no such thing as having it all."---General Counsel, media company.

  22. White Noise in the Executive Suite: Divergent Perspectives on Barriers to Advancement • WHAT'S HOLDING WOMEN BACK ? CEO's BLAME LACK OF EXPERIENCE: • "My class from business school had seven women in it, out of 650. So, there is a pipeline issue. And it'll take another five to eight years before the number of 45-year-old women ready for senior management jobs is balanced with the number of men. " • "It's not that women haven't been in the pipeline long enough; it's what they have done while they are in the pipeline." • "I think many women have been held back because they haven't been prepared to make the same sacrifices as perhaps men are.... they're not apt to move or relocate. Their families are all there."

  23. WHAT'S HOLDING WOMEN BACK ? • WOMEN POINT TO CORPORATE CULTURE: • "You'd want for once in your life to walk into a room where people are talking that they continue to talk and you don't feel that you're listening in on something you're not supposed to be listening in on." --Vice President, high tech company • "I don't think men are ever totally at ease working with women."--Senior Vice President, healthcare company • "There's still a perception in this organization that men are more long-term employees than are women. These things still go on." --Personnel Director, retail company • One interviewee described a situation where, despite her impressive credentials and achievements, she was still assumed to be a secretary in a business meeting: • "I was 43 years old and I was the highest ranking woman on the ... staff, and this guy thinks I'm somebody's secretary. I mean I was at Harvard. I was a Fellow at Harvard...."

  24. Implications of Dual Perspectives • THE PROBLEM DEFINES THE SOLUTION: • PIPELINE: • PROBLEM WITH INDIVIDUAL • PASSIVE/ TIME WILL REMEDY • CULTURE: • PROBLEM WITH ORGANIZATION • ACTIVE/ REQUIRES INTERVENTION • ACCURACY OF PERCEPTIONS OF MAJOR CHANGE AGENT (CEO) • IS THE SOLUTION WORKING ? IT DEPENDS WHO YOU ASK: • CEO’s more than twice as likely as female executives to say that opportunities for women improved in their company over the past 5 years.

  25. Conclusion • BREAKING THE GLASS CEILING REQUIRES: • 1. Tracking womeninto line positions with profit and loss responsibility. • 2. Minimizing gender bias by usingobjective performance appraisal systems. • 3. Holding managers accountablefor the career development and tracking of female employees. • 4. Developing effective succession planning systems. • 5. Facilitating access to effective mentoring relationships. • 6. Promotingwork/family balanceby implementingflexible workplace policies. • 7. Raising the awareness of CEOs and other male executives. (Particularly critical since top management commitment is necessary for effective implementation of #1-#5).

  26. Video Clips • Double Standards (3 min) • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nJq6des4jg • (3 minutes) • Gender Bias (5 minutes) • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFW2cfzevio&feature=youtu.be • Only Woman in Workplace Exercise (2 min) • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4Pnxh_WdJg

  27. Gender Role Stereotypes:TheRole of AdvertisingKilling Us Softly (Jean Kilbourne)You-Tube 7 minute cliphttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufHrVyVgwRg • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufHrVyVgwRg

More Related