1. Glass ceiling
To : Prof. Gyanendra Tripathy
From : Swetlina

2. GLASS CEILING
“An unofficial barrier to
opportunities within an
organization or
company which is
perceived to prevent
protected classes of
workers, particularly
women, from advancing
to higher positions”.

3. CONTENT
GLASS CEILING
BACKGROUND
BLOCKED FROM GETTING TO THE TOP
DISMANTLE THE ‘GLASS CEILING
STRATEGIES TO BREAK GLASS CEILING
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT TO ADVANCE WOMEN
ILO GENDER AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS
WOMEN WHO BROKE
CASE STUDY
USEFUL LINK

4. The very fact of women being adequately
represented in the work-force, but hardly
present in the senior managerial positions has
been labeled “the glass ceiling”,
“A barrier so subtle that it is transparent, yet
so strong that it prevents women from moving
up in the management hierarchy

5. • ‘The invisible artificial barriers that block women
from senior executive jobs.’
• It is a reflection of gender roles and relations
which give rise to and perpetuate inequalities
between women and men in all walks of life.
• ‘Sticky floor’- keeping women stuck at the
bottom of the economic pyramid

6. • The term “glass ceiling” first entered America’s
public conversation less than a decade ago, when
The Wall Street Journal’s “Corporate Woman”
column identified a puzzling new phenomenon.
• There seemed to be an invisible—but
impenetrable—barrier between women and the
executive suite, preventing them from reaching the
highest levels of the business world regardless of
their accomplishments and merits. The phrase
immediately captured the attention of the public as
well as business leaders, journalists, and policy
makers.

7. The Glass Ceiling
Support staff
(Majority women)
Pyramidal Organizational Structure
Glass Ceiling
WomenMen
ILO Geneva

8. Background on Glass Ceiling
• Gender Stereotypes
– Descriptive
– Prescriptive
• Management Types
– Employee Involvement
– Strategic Human Resource Management

9. Cont.
• Fortune 1000 companies: there are more than
twice as many male executives than females in
HR management.
• Fortune 500 companies: 50 companies have
25% or more of women with corporate officer
titles.
• Fifteen of the Fortune 500-and twenty-five of the
1,000 largest firms-have female CEOs.

10. Some Statistics
• Women hold 1 to 3 per cent of top executive
jobs in the largest corporations world wide
• Only 12 countries have a women head of state
• Only 14 % of the world’s Parliamentarians are
women
• Only 1 per cent of trade union leaders are
women

11. The Glass Ceiling: How women are blocked
from getting to the top
• Job Segregation Runs Rampant
• Old-Boy Network Still Strong
• Sex Discrimination Is Pervasive
• Sexual Harassment Is Widespread
• Enforcement of Anti-Discrimination Laws Is
Lax

12. Why Dismantle the ‘Glass Ceiling’
• Women are a key resource in the race to create
new products and resources
• Women’s skills level is rising
• More and more women are starting businesses
• It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s also good
for business

13. Strategies to break through the ‘Glass
Ceiling’
• Diversify occupations for women and men
• Foster greater sharing of family
responsibilities
• Objective and unbiased recruitment and
promotion procedures
• Gender-sensitive human resource policies
• Cultivate and nurture women’s
entrepreneurial talents

14. Human Resource Management to Advance
Women
• Equal employment opportunity policy
• Achieving targets: positive action
• Diversity management - visible and non-
Visible differences that include factors such
as sex, age, background, race, disability,
personality and work style
• Total E-Quality- gender equality a pre-
condition for the delivery of quality products
and services

15. ILO Gender Audit Recommendations
• Clear set of targets to improve staff sex balance
at all levels
• Continue to promote female leadership in the
Office and actively target women for senior posts
• Create a working environment for a more
balanced professional and private life
• Non tolerance of sexual and other forms of
harassment and all forms of sexist behaviour

16. WOMEN WHO BROKE
GLASS CEILING

17. • CEO YAHOO -Marissa Mayer
• TALK SHOW HOST - Oprah Winfrey

18. CEO-ICICI Bank- Chanda Kochhar
President –Godrej Group -Tanya Dubash
FOUNDER-VLCC- Vandana Luthra

19. Facebook, India Head Kirthiga Reddy
First woman president of the Fashion Design Council of
India- Ritu Kumar

20. List goes on……………

21. Next

22. IT CAN BE
YOU !

23. CASE STUDY
• Google prides itself on celebrating and supporting
difference and it sees itself as an “equal opportunity
workplace and is an affirmative action employer.” Google
is frequently cited as the best place to work. It
topped Fortune’s 2012 List , with New York employees
raving about the culture, mission and perks of their job,
which include great food, “bocce courts, a bowling alley,
eyebrow shaping (for a fee).” Google also featured as
the top employer in Australia according to Business
Review Weekly’s list in 2011, which surveyed 207
companies and 55,400 employees. Google sits in
the third spot for 2012. Google may well be a sweet gig –
but it seems to be less advantages for women
employees.

24. • The New York Times, finds that only one third
of Google’s 34,300 employees are women. CEO Larry
Page has removed the already-noticeably-few women
Executives from his “inner circle.” The previous CEO,
Eric E. Schmidt, had an Exec committee of 15 people,
four of whom were women.
• An organization that is serious about addressing gender
inequality in the workplace would ensure that productive
employees are not penalized for their gender and family
choices.

25. Useful Links
Useful Links
 http://www.breaktheglassceiling.com/
 http://www.theglassceiling.com
 http://www.catalystwomen.org
 http://www.germany-usa.com/useful_links.shtml
 http://www.zonta.org
 http://management.about.com
 http://www.bluesuitmom.com
 http://www.digital-women.com
 http://www.questia.com
 http://www.careerjournal.com