Have you ever wondered why you mainly see men, specifically White men, in top positions such as CEO’s, COO’s, and CFO’s at major companies like Apple, Exxon, and Amazon? It’s due to this invisible barrier called the Glass Ceiling.
The term “Glass Ceiling” represents an invisible, but very noticeable, barrier that prevents the advancement of certain individuals based on their gender, race, religion, or other criteria. This barrier isn’t a false notion, but rather a true ongoing social construct pushing gender and racial divergence even further and discriminating against minorities in the workplace.
The Glass Ceiling in the workplace is essentially a boundary that prevents individuals, commonly women and minorities, from being able to rise to top positions in the workplace. This boundary has been around for a long time. The website for Skagit County, a small area in northwest Washington state, details the jobs that were available in the area and whom they were given to in the early 1900’s. They state “As towns grew…[o]nly teaching and clerical work were acceptable for women and they earned about half what men made.” These descriptions clearly represent the barriers of discrimination against women at the time. The reason this is important is because this limitation is still present after 123 years.
Of course, there have been gains, but they are fairly minor and have occurred very slowly. Emma Hinchliffe, a writer for Fortune.com wrote about how, for the first time women ran more than 10% of businesses for Fortune 500 companies, “Women run 10.4% of companies on the Fortune 500 this year.” Although this is a huge win for women, 10.4% is a small fraction of 500 companies while it’s predominantly run by men.
According to Zippia, a career search and job organization that offers in-depth business executive demographics and statistics, “40.1% of all business executives are women, while 59.9% are men….The most common ethnicity of business executives is White (67.8%), followed by Hispanic or Latino (15.0%), Asian (6.3%) and Black or African American (6.1%).” Zippia doesn’t go into depth about these statistics, but consuming the statistics ourselves we can gather that business is mainly run by the majority being men and more specifically white men, while the marginalized are underrepresented.
Healthline.com is an online subscription-based blog that offers insight into health decisions and wellness of the body and mind. It discusses the impact of the Glass Ceiling and notes how it inhibits career progression, and disables potential amazing and talented businessmen and businesswomen. Regardless of their qualifications and capabilities, the underrepresented often struggle to climb the corporate ladder, which is significant to their at-home life, their mental health, and their professional life.
An organization with a barrier inhibits their progression and their employee’s progression. They would benefit from more diversity in their leadership because they can take advantage of unique perspectives and ideas that individuals from different backgrounds bring. Forbes.com, a newsletter well-versed in business and economics, dives into how diversity in a business can lead to more production. They affirm,“Studies show that more diverse teams perform better. Setting aside DEI, not considering diversity leaves enterprise performance gains and business success on the table — it’s a neglectful business decision.”
The Glass Ceiling isn’t a past thing; it still exists to this day. However, as companies grow they become more and more acquainted with this barrier that limits opportunities for women and the marginalized—leading to less close-minded businesses and more innovation and transformation of business CEO’s.