The Glass Ceiling effect is the phenomenon that gender disadvantages are stronger at upper levels of employment and that these disadvantages become more pronounced the later in one’s career .
There has been a constant debate about whether this phenomenon actually exists since the term was coined, and the question is often asked, does the glass ceiling really exist? The answer is, of course, yes. The glass ceiling does exist, because while women make up a very large percentage of the world, and the country, very few occupy senior level management posts as CEOs, CFOs and so forth.
The Glass Ceiling is an effect of early sexism, and the belief that women are not meant to hold senior level, board level or director level jobs. Ever since women’s rights and human rights as a whole became a global concern in the late eighties to the turn of the century, many countries around the world have put various systems in place to correct the damage caused by this discrimination.
One of the most popular systems is the quota system, recruiting women into high power positions and ensuring that there are more than just a few women in these positions. Unfortunately, the majority of these quotas only apply to jobs in governments, not in private companies.
The Glass Ceiling affects women worldwide, from American women, to
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There are thousands of studies to refute these claims, including studies done by Johanne Toussaint and feminist.org. If the glass ceiling is just a figment of someone’s imagination, then why are only 4.8% of Fortune 500 CEOs women? Why then is this number so painfully low? In South Africa, only 28% of Senior Management positions are filled by women- and 21% of companies surveyed said that they had no women whatsoever in Senior Management positions . Don’t these numbers seem a bit