Is Glass Ceiling For Women a Myth? Part 3

First appeared on Technorati:
http://technorati.com/women/article/is-glass-ceiling-for-women-a3/

In the first part of this post we discussed the Glass Ceiling as being an invisible barrier against promoting women to senior executive roles; the second part discussed the obstacles faced.

Looking at the obstacles women face; it becomes evident that the problems are from both sides: women and organizations and since it takes two to tango- solutions have to originate from both sides:
A. Change organizations cultures
B. Women to learn how to brand themselves properly, project their leadership skills knowing how they are perceived

Easier said than done but here are some ideas to tackle the issues:

A- Organizations: Change the culture of the organization

1- Offer flexibility at the workplace for parents; and elderly care-takers especially women
2- Offer leadership training that is not bias towards male leaders
3- Have proper succession plans, including the proper assessments for female leaders, career development and training
4- Offer proper coaching, mentoring and sponsoring for promising female leaders
5- Research the acceptable work practices that can help women advance to senior positions instead of hindering them
6- Monitor the selection process of people for high visibility projects that can enhance a career
7- Offer incentive education re-imbursement for masters and doctorates programs for women
8- Have zero tolerance for stereotyping and discrimination against women – strong HR policies and departments are a great asset.
9- Have proper progressive performance evaluations and constructive feedback

B- Women Leaders:
1- Project their brands, and skills properly and assertively with confidence
2- Empower each other by forming and joining ERG and affinity groups to make their voices heard and to name the barriers and bias they might experience
3- Engage with the organizations in effective initiatives to change the organizations cultural barriers
4- Get rid of the “Glass Ceiling” excuse or as a fate defining issue, or fall under the self fulfilling prophecy to justify why they are not advancing. Acting as a victim is debilitating, we become what we work for.
5- Strategize a plan for your career: Plan properly for your S.M.A.R.T. goals, know what is needed to advance, get the required qualifications as education or certification or mentoring, 
6- Stand for themselves and speak-up; prevent others from assuming or trying to perceive their styles, competencies and abilities
7- Ask for feedback from managers or superiors, colleagues that they trust; take their comments into consideration as we are what we do – our actions, verbal and non verbal communications and behaviors affect how we are perceived. Never get defensive
8- Study and research what is needed as knowledge, skills and abilities needed to advance. It is fine to ask for help, seek coaching in areas identified as vulnerable
9- Knowing that it will not be easy, or comfortable, they will need to adapt to many changes along the way, get out of their comfort ones but who said life was easy? Look at career as being a adventure along the life journey.

Then, and may be then a path can be created to propel women through the glass ceiling to executive positions.

Diversity starts at home

 

Picture credit for http://www.nurseweek.com

Sahar Andrade

Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC.
http://www.saharconsulting.com 

(818)861 9434

Let’s connect on: 
Contact me:  saharconsulting

 

 

Is Glass Ceiling For Women a Myth? Part 2

First appeared on Technorati:
http://technorati.com/women/article/is-glass-ceiling-for-women-a2/

 

In the first part of this article, we discussed the Glass Ceiling as being an invisible barrier against promoting women to senior executive roles; I feel it is better described as a maze since it more accurately conveys the complexity and randomness that typically occurs better than the glass-ceiling metaphor.

Maze and games shouldn’t be there to start with, but women usually are met with stereotyping, and resistance to be promoted.

Some believe that if you fill the companies’ pipelines with exceptional women leaders talents, eventually they’ll make it into the executive suite kind of “build it they will come” or “just give it time” philosophies have been widely accepted for decades. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.

According to the 2010 study “The Impact of Gender on Voluntary and Involuntary Executive Departure”; showed that female executives voluntarily leave their corporate positions twice as often as counter males .

There are many challenges that continue to face women who strive to get to the top, but how long are we going to dwell over spilled milk? The fact that there are women in senior leadership positions, some in industries that are stereotypically male dominated indicates that the barriers can be broken. So what are the real reasons behind anyone including women not reaching a certain level of hierarchy, or promotion; so is it competence, supply, Comfort zones, complacency, fear of success or none of these factors?

If we can define the causes of an illness and control its symptoms, we can then find a cure, so if we can define the reasons of the Glass Ceiling and decrease its effects then we can find a solution and a remedy to the problem.

First let us address the most common obstacles: Please note that these are the generally dominant obstacles, they do not necessarily apply in all cases:

1. Gender stereotypes where women are seen as mothers and spouses with family responsibilities that will prevent them from moving upward
2. Perceptions of women inability to network especially after work hours, or mix with the boys for drinks
3. Outdated succession planning or lack of them; and career development systems
4. Frequent traveling, or relocation because of a job
5. Lack of sponsorships of females into leadership positions
6. Lack of mentors and role models for women
7. “All Boys” culture organizations’ cultures
8. Women fear of speaking up
9. Women fear of success

The leadership styles of men and women are different from each other, women are not men in dresses; and shouldn’t be expected to act or lead the same way to fit in. Plus women at the top are damned if they do and damned if they don’t; If they are aggressive and lead with an iron fist they are seen as a threat, if they try the inclusive and participative style of leadership they are seen as too soft.

In the next and final post we will discuss the effect of the obstacles and some suggested solutions.

Diversity starts at home.

Sahar Andrade

Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC.

http://www.saharconsulting.com

(818)861 9434

Let’s connect on: 
Contact me:  saharconsulting

 

Is Glass Ceiling For Women a Myth?

First appeared on Technorati: 
http://technorati.com/women/article/is-glass-ceiling-for-women-a1/#ixzz1F1Aa1DUq

Last Thursday I attended a conference sponsored by the US Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis, and the Women Labor Bureau. The conference theme was: Flexibility at the workplace.

Among the subjects discussed was the ability and capability of women in general to get to the C Suite positions and the barriers in the way, including lack of flexibility of working conditions

The topic reminded me of research I had done a couple of months ago about the percentage of women in the C suite compared to their male colleagues, as well as their presence and voices in board member and executive positions

Granted, the last few years have seen a bit of progress by women in the workforce, like in the Supreme Court of the United States, where in 220 years, only four women have served as justices, two of them nominated on the last two years by President Obama: Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

We have seen for the first time a female presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, and a female vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin (regardless of any political affiliations), as well as an increased number in female governors, both candidates and elected governors in the 2011 electoral race; Letitia “Tish” Long became the first woman to head a major intelligence agency. But we have also seen a standstill in the female leadership in 2010, as for every woman who was promoted to a C suite position, another was lost, according to Fortune magazine

We have also seen debates that were mostly negative around the placement of both female justices doubting their objectiveness; as well as the sexist remarks made about both Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin on the way they dressed, hair styles, how they looked, need of plastic surgeries, etc.

Statistics from the US Department of Education in 2009 show women at 57% of the students on college campuses and comprising around 60% of master’s degree recipients, as well as doctoral degrees awarded to more women than men. Nearly half of the US workforce is female, so logic dictates that there should be roughly 230 female CEOs, but reality numbers show that less than 10% of executives in large publicly traded firms are women, 12 female CEOs at Fortune 500 companies; only 6% of the most highly paid executives with titles such as chairman, chief executive officer, president and COO are women; only 15% sit on the board of directors; furthermore 12% of large companies don’t have a single woman on their boards (Korn/Ferry International).

These phenomena, accompanied by the fact that females working full time earn 81% of every dollar earned by men, have been going on forever and were dubbed by the Wall Street Journal as the “Glass Ceiling” that depicts limitations faced by women and minorities to advance into senior positions in corporate organizations. (We are only discussing factors affecting women in this post.)

In 1991, Senator Robert Dole Introduced the “Glass Ceiling Act” that was signed into a law as an amendment to Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1991. The Act established a commission to investigate if a Glass Ceiling existed or not, and if it did, to identify the barriers to placing more women and minorities into senior positions.

The commission found that, though CEOs understood the need to include women and minorities in the ranks of senior management, this belief was not shared at all levels of the organizations

The study also found 3 main barriers contributing to the Glass Ceiling causes:
1- Societal: Limited educational opportunities and bias against women and minorities
2- Internal Structural: Corporate practices; management shortcomings like outreach, recruiting and retaining female and minorities talents. Organizational Cultures that exclude women and minorities to participate in activities that will lead to advancement such as career development assignments, mentoring and management training
3- Governmental: Inconsistent enforcement of Equal Opportunity Employment laws, and poor collection and distribution of reports and statistics that showcase the problems

Audits are been conducted regularly by the commission to monitor the progress made in solving the Glass Ceiling.

So is the Glass Ceiling for women a myth or not?

Diversity starts at home.

 

Sahar Andrade
Diversity Consultant – Social Media Strategist
Sahar Consulting, LLC.

http://www.saharconsulting.com

(818)861 9434

Let’s connect on: 
Contact me:  saharconsulting