a warm and caring manner, she was viewed as weak.
On the other hand, if a woman appeared to be
tough, logical, and unemotional—characteristics typ-
ically expected of a male leader—she could be viewed
in a negative manner, because she was not “feminine
enough.”
Other factors preventing women’s advancement
in the workplace included their initial placement in
dead-end jobs, lack of training opportunities, and
sexual harassment. Research conducted on the glass
ceiling in the 1980’s indicated that the effects of
these factors were subtle but systematic in many
types of organizations. It was recommended that
women adopt various methods and strategies if their
goal was to move into higher-level positions. Sug-
gested strategies included pursuing more difficult
and visible assignments, gaining support from an in-
fluential mentor, developing a style with which male
managers would feel more comfortable, and accept-
ing the need to outperform male colleagues.
Organizational Strategies Strategies were recom-
mended to organizational leaders to create more
opportunities for minorities and women to reach
higher-level positions. Strategies included develop-
ing policies and practices designed to increase op-
portunities for upward mobility; establishing pay
equity for work of comparable value; eliminating
gender, race, and ethnic-based stereotyping; creat-
ing “family-friendly” workplace policies; creating
“parent-track” policies; and collecting data to track
the advancement progress of women and minori-
ties.
Another View of the Glass Ceiling Some believed
that the glass ceiling did not exist and that women
could achieve a higher-level position through hard
work and ambition if they chose to do so. Supporters
of this view held that women might not pursue more
ambitious goals if they decided that family was more
important to them than career advancement. Oth-
ers argued that women were very successful as lead-
ers in smaller companies or as entrepreneurs and
that these accomplishments should carry equal value
when compared to higher-level roles in larger corpo-
rate settings.
Impact The Civil Rights Act of 1991 established the
Glass Ceiling Commission to study artificial barriers
to the advancement of women and minorities in
the American workplace and to make recommenda-
tions for overcoming such barriers. The commission
was composed of twenty-one members, with the sec-
retary of labor serving as chair. The intent of this leg-
islation was to ensure that women and minorities
would receive equal treatment in employment.
Further Reading
Frenkiel, Nora. “The Up-and-Comers: Bryant Takes
Aim at the Settlers-In.”Adweek,March, 1984, 8.
The term “glass ceiling” appeared in this article.
Hymowitz, Carol, and Timothy Schellhardt. “The
Corporate Woman: The Glass Ceiling—Why
Women Can’t Seem to Break the Invisible Barrier
That Blocks Them from Top Jobs.”The Wall Street
Journal, March 24, 1986, 1, 4-5. The article that
many credit with coining the phrase “glass ceil-
ing.”
Kanter, Rosabeth.Men and Women in the Corporation.
New York: Basic Books, 1993. Provides informa-
tion about corporate careers and the factors that
promote individual and organizational success.
Stith, Anthony.Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Racism and
Sexism in Corporate America—The Myths, the Real-
ities, and the Solutions. Orange, N.J.: Bryant &
Dillon, 1996. Describes racism and discrimina-
tion in corporate America and the impact that
these practices have on individuals and businesses.
Weiss, Ann E.The Glass Ceiling: A Look at Women in the
Workforce. Brookfield, Conn.: Twenty-First Cen-
tury Books, 1999. Provides a history of women
in the workplace as well as a discussion about
whether or not a glass ceiling really exists.
Sharon M. LeMasterSee also Affirmative action; Feminism; Income
and wages in the United States; Mommy track; Racial
discrimination; Sexual harassment; Women in the
workforce; Women’s rights.Globalization
Definition Process of integration of the world’s
economies into a single global market
Globalization increased significantly during the 1980’s,
but its spread was retarded by the persistence of communist
nations and Cold War politics. Even so, trade crossed many
barriers and was largely responsible for the export of cul-
ture, information, and ideas from the United States to other
nations, as teenagers in so-called Second and Third WorldThe Eighties in America Globalization 419