The Glass Ceiling

This root prognosticatees two articles, Wo manpower and the Labyrinth of Leadership written by Alice H. Eagly and Linda L. Carli, and A Modest pronunciamento for Shattering The scratch Ceiling, written by Debra E. Meyerson and Joyce K. Fletcher. The phrase screwball ceiling is described in many articles as a barrier that pr take downts women from achieving success in their c atomic number 18ers. Women ar found at the top of middle management and ar being denied of spicyer positions in the corporate ladder and argon getting paid less than men for similar type of action.Both articles address the question whether is the glass ceiling the reason wherefore women be not getting advancement in their c atomic number 18ers or it is the sum of many obstacles that hold women back into the high level jobs. tally to the authors of both articles, the answer to this question is that it is not the glass ceiling the barrier for womens advancement. To understand and overcome these barriers , the authors of the articles pitch used terms such as labyrinth and elf same(p) wins dodge. fit to Meyerson and Fletcher, it is not the glass ceiling but the administrational structures and its hidden barriers to equity and impressiveness what argon property back women. This paper leave behind explore the authors recommendations for overcoming these barriers and for helping women prevail by changing scarper entraps practices in arrangings. Overview The two articles chosen to write this abstract have been selected from the Harvard Business Review.In the first article, Women and the Labyrinth of Leadership, the word labyrinth is described as a contemporary symbol that conveys the root word of a complex journey toward a goal worth striving for (Walls all around section, para. 1). If women atomic number 18 able to understand the barriers in this labyrinth, they will be able to overcome many obstacles they encounter. Throughout sentiency and persistency during the process, women will have a much better chance to obtain their desirable goals in their careers. In the article A Modest Manifesto for Shattering The sugarcoat Ceiling, the authors mentioned that is very rare to principal(prenominal)tain women holding high evel positions in organizations. Women represent only 10% of senior manager positions in outcome 500 companies. According to Meyerson and Fletcher, the best way to destroy this glass ceiling is throughout the use of the small wins burn down. Main Issues In the article Women and the Labyrinth of Leadership, the term labyrinth is described as what women have to go through in the conveyplace to be able to occupy high level roles. Woman who require top positions, will encounter barriers during the journey, and some of them will be able to stimulate solutions to those obstacles to improve the situation. some of the obstacles or barriers named in the article are (a) prejudice (b) resistance to womens leading (c) leadership personal man ner(d) demands of family life (e) underinvestment in social capital. Prejudice The beginning of the labyrinth starts here with prejudices that hurt women and help men. Women in this country, with full clock positions, earn 81 cents for every dollar than men earned (Vestiges of prejudice section, para. 1). seek has been done by many professionals seeking an answer to explain the difference in pay among sexual urges.One of the most comprehensive studies, from the Government Accountability office, showed that men worked more(prenominal) hours per year and also had more years of experience (Vestiges of prejudice, para. 3). Even though variables such as marriage, parenthood and years of education were alter for both genders, the study showed a gender gap that lead to wage discrimination (Vestiges of Prejudice section, para. 4). According to Eagly and Carli, men are promoted more quickly than women with equivalent qualifications even in female settings such as social work and educat ion (para. 5).The authors add that White men were more likely to attain managerial positions than white women, black men, and black women (Vestiges of prejudice section, para. 5). Resistance to Womens Leadership The author describes women as having common associations and men with agentic ones. Women are compassionate, affectionate, friendly and sympathetic among other communal qualities. On the other hand, men are described with agentic qualities such as aggressive, ambitious, controlling, etc, which are associated with effective leadership (Resistance to womens leadership section, para. 3).Eagly and Carli consider that women are at a tough place, which she describes as the stunt man mystify, because state perceive women as lack the right traits to be effective leaders (Resistance to women leadership section, para. 4). Women who are described by the peers as effective managers possess the following traits insincere, avaricious, and pushy amongst others ((Resistance to womens l eadership section, para. 11). Leadership Style Women are struggling with peoples perceptions about by being compassionate and caring. Qualities such as assertive and controlling are perceived by people on nifty leaders.According to Meyerson and Fletcher, women are considered as transformational leaders. They encourage employees, and learn them to achieve desired goals. It is described as the type of leadership that leads to a more innovating, productive and businesslike for organizations (Issues of leadership style section, para. 6). Transactional leaders are described as leaders that reward employees for meeting their goals. custody are considered to be more transactional leaders than women. According to the article, the most effective type of leadership is the transformational style.Demands of Family Life. Studies showed that women are working less hours a year than men and have fewer years of experience collectible to family responsibilities. Women are confronted with the ch allenge of balancing work and family responsibilities. Many of them end up leaving their professional careers overdue to work-family conflict. According to the authors, in 2005 women devoted 19 hours per week to household work, while men just helped 11 hours a week (Demands of family life section, para. 3). Meyerson and Fletcher explain that married mothers increased their hours per week from 10. 6 in 1965 to 12. in 2000, and married fathers increased theirs from 2. 6 to 6. 5 week (Demands of family life section, para. 4). Underinvestment in Social Capital Women are trying to balance their responsibilities at spot and at work which leaves them little or no time to build the social capital needed to succeed in the workplace. Another obstacle encountered by women is the event that these networking activities are mostly composed by men who concentrate their meetings in male activities. The C-suite is described by the author as those positions such as chairman, chief executive office r and chief operating office.These positions are held mostly by men and only 6% hold by women (para. 1). The authors mention the following organization actions to help women obtain positions in the C-suites (a) Increase people awareness of prejudices against women (b) change over hours spent at work (c) be more objective in the evaluations (d) use transparent recruitment within the organization (e) place more women in executive positions (f) help women build strong social capital (g) give women prospect to return back to work when circumstances change.The second article, A Modest Manifesto for Shattering The Glass Ceiling mentions the tighties women confront in organizations to work effectively (a) women bear more responsibility at home than men (b) women who have a set schedule missed important company meeting set after hours (c) missing meetings made them look less committed (e) meetings put women in a double bind (The problem with no name section, para. 5). Meyerson and Fletch er mention three different approaches that have dealt with the solution to the symptoms of gender inequity (a) encourage women to assimilate to minimize the differences.In other words to act more like men (b) accommodates womens needs and situations such as extended maternity leave, flexible work arrangements, etc (c) emphasise the differences that women bring to the workforce such as their collaborative style (Tall people in a short circuit world, para. 5). The fourth approach mentioned by the authors, deal with sources of gender inequity. This approach consists on the belief that a change is needed in the organization due to a gender inequity problem.After recognizing the issue, this fourth approach should be linked with the small wins strategy (A fourth approach Linking equity and effectiveness, para. 2). The article mentions the reason why the small wins process is so effective for organizations (a) tied to the fourth approach help organizations to understand ill-considered pra ctices and assumptions (b) make a difference in the big picture in the road to change (c) make up sense that a small change is a huge and systematic change and have great impact throughout the organization (d) have a snowballing effect.By adding small wins, one by one, it will create a whole new system of revised practices and efforts (e) defeat discrimination by accept that change is needed and that it will help the organizations effectiveness. Factual Impact of the Main Issues in Organizations Labyrinths bath be thought of as a symbolic form of pilgrimage. As paths, women walk among its turnings confronting difficult situations that need to be managed along the way. What it is important for women it is to know that the passage for the labyrinth is not simple journey.It requires for women to be aware on their progress and also to be persistent to navigate it. Organizations need to be proactive about taking measures to understand the labyrinth that leader women confront in the wor kplace. Building unique leadership traits with a supportive work environment will help them to overcome the barriers to obtain the desire goals. To be more effective, organizations need to support women by becoming advocates for female to advance as managers finding sempiternal opportunities for promotion.Organizations need to understand that women had slowed their careers and earnings for taking the majority of family responsibilities. Thus, the implication for organizations is that women are choosing to work part time, work from home or take many days off from work. Another implication for organizations, it is the need to address the challenge for women to be perceived as capable leaders. The article describes this challenge as the double bind term where women at the workplace have to please both expectations in organizations, one as leaders and one as females.Meyerson and Fletcher explain that Most organizations have been created by men and for men and are found on male experie nces (The roots of inequity section, para. 1). Women have been entered in the workplace confronting the fact that organizations still compact traits associated with men such as though, aggressive, assertive, etc. Organizations must become a culture of fairness by creating practices that benefit both men and women where the division of labor by gender does not exist and where women line up that they add an enormous value and feel as competent as men.Also, organizations should foster a work environment that values working parents. It is crucial to create structures and policies where work and family complement each other and where women have the opportunity to fulfill their careers without felling guilty of abandoning their families. In the second article the authors described how important is to shatter the glass ceiling using the small wins strategy. Since this strategy initiates change using diagnosis, dialogue, and experimentation, it promotes efficiency and efficiency within t he organizations.The authors add, The strategy benefits not just women but also men and the organization as a whole (para. 4). The organization during this strategy go through the follow steps (a) the diagnosis of the problem in which managers dialogue to find out what is happening within the organization culture (b) experimentation where correctives practices are replaced to obtain real wins. text Comparison According to Greenhaus et al (2010), the glass ceiling is an invisible but impenetrable barrier that prevents subordinate women and people of color from advancing to senior management jobs (p. 321).The text agrees with the authors of the two articles, about the fact that even though the number of women in managerial positions had risen dramatically, women are experiencing difficulties in getting jobs above pass up and middle managerial positions. For the authors of the article, Women and The Labyrinth of Leadership, the glass ceiling is a barrier which limitations are fading. Women are liner are not only barriers, but what they describe as a labyrinth. It has obstacles and turns. For the authors of A Modest Manifesto for Shattering The Glass Ceiling, the glass ceiling is not the reason why women are holding back.The main reason, they affirm, are the organizations in which women work. The authors state that it is the foundation, the beams, the walls, the very air (The power of small wins section, para. 7). Greenhaus et al (2010) identified factors that organizations can seek to support women advance in their careers such as (a) giving more authority (b) cellular inclusion to formal networks (c) establishment of mentor relationships (d) mutual accommodation (e) elimination of access and treatment discrimination (f) borderline intergroup conflicts and (f) responsiveness to work-Family issues (p. 33).Eagly and Carli mention some these actions such as (a) establishing mentoring programs (b) using job performance assessments that are not biased against mino rity employees (c) using open recruiting tools (d) implement family-friendly policies for both male and female employees (e) emphasize the profile of women in high-level leadership positions. Debra Meyerson and Joyce Fletcher explain the need for organizations to address the power of small wins since they unearth and upend systemic arriers to womens progress (The power of small wins section, para. 1). According to Greenhaus et al (2010), it is the glass ceiling that limits opportunities to minorities to develop and reach top management positions in America (p. 323). They authors add that The small portion of women at senior management level suggest that many women do not move beyond jobs in dismantle and middle levels of management (p. 323).For the text authors the glass ceiling, in contrast with the authors of the articles, is about managing diversity since organizations are in need to understand why women and minorities experience restricted careers opportunities. According to G reenhaus et al (2010), organizations must develop a culture where employees understand multiculturalism that is the heart of the organizations mission that must be communicated and enforced at all levels (p. 349).ReferencesEagly, A. H., Carli, L.L. (2007). Harvard business review. Women and the labyrinth of leadership.Retrieved from http//hbr.org/2007/09/women-and-the-labyrinth-of-leadership/ar/2 Greenhaus, J. H., Callanan, G.A., Godshalk, V.M. (2010).Career management. Los Angeles, CA SAGE publications Inc. Meyerson, D. E., Fletcher, J.K. (2000).Harvard business review. A Modest manifesto for shattering the glass ceiling.Retrieved from http//hbr.org/2000/01/a-modest-manifesto-for-shattering-the-glass-ceiling/ar/1