Effects of Glass Ceiling in Corporate Organizations

GLASS CEILING

Acknowledgment:
I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my teacher who gave me the golden
opportunity to do this wonderful project on the topic, Effects of Glass Ceiling in Corporate
Organizations, which also helped me in doing a lot of Research and i came to know about so
many new things I am really thankful.

Abstract:
The current research deals with analysis on the effects of glass ceiling in the modern corporate
organizations. The research is conducted through literature review, survey among the working
professionals in corporate organizations (with less than three years experience), and the
interview with female corporate professionals with more than five years experience. The findings
of the research indicate that the glass ceiling show more adverse effects on senior female
employees. Support from organizations to the female employees and introducing more flexibility
to the work can reduce effects of glass ceiling.

Table of Contents
Acknowledgment:............................................................................................................................2
Abstract:...........................................................................................................................................3
Chapter1...........................................................................................................................................9
1.Introduction:.................................................................................................................................9
1.1 Background of the research:......................................................................................................9
1.2 Research aim and objectives:...................................................................................................11
1.2.1 Aim of the research:..............................................................................................................11
1.2.2 Objectives of the research:....................................................................................................12
1.2.3 Research questions:..............................................................................................................12
1.3 Structure of the report:.............................................................................................................12
Chapter 1:...................................................................................................................................12
Chapter 2:...................................................................................................................................12
Chapter 3:...................................................................................................................................12
Chapter 4:...................................................................................................................................13
Chapter 5:...................................................................................................................................13
Chapter 2: Literature Review.........................................................................................................14
2.1 Introduction:............................................................................................................................14
2.2 Glass ceiling in the modern organizations:..............................................................................14
2.3 Recognition of glass ceiling in modern organizations:............................................................17
2.4 Barriers for the progress of women at workplace:...................................................................18
2.5 Impact of glass ceiling on employee performance and satisfaction:.......................................19
2.6 Changing role of women in the Economy and effects of glass ceiling on the Economy:.......22
2.7 Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................24
2.8 Recommendations for further study:.......................................................................................25

Chapter 3: Research Methodology................................................................................................26
3.1 Introduction:............................................................................................................................26
3.2 Research Onion:.......................................................................................................................26
3.3 Research Philosophy:...............................................................................................................27
3.4 Research Approach:.................................................................................................................28
3.5 Research Strategy:...................................................................................................................28
3.6 Data collection:........................................................................................................................29
3.7 Ethical consideration:..............................................................................................................30
Timeline:........................................................................................................................................30
3.8 Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................31
Chapter 4: Findings and Analysis..................................................................................................32
4.1 Introduction:............................................................................................................................32
4.2 Quantitative data analysis:.......................................................................................................32
4.3 Qualitative data analysis:.........................................................................................................39
4.4 Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................40
Chapter 5: Presence of Glass Ceiling at IBM................................................................................42
Chapter 6: Conclusion and Recommendations..............................................................................43
6.1 Introduction:............................................................................................................................43
6.2 Linking findings to objectives:................................................................................................43
6.3 Recommendations:..................................................................................................................44
Chapter 7: Critical Evaluation.......................................................................................................45
References:....................................................................................................................................46
Appendix 1:...................................................................................................................................51
Appendix 2:...................................................................................................................................54

Table of Figures:
Figure 1:Research Onion...............................................................................................................26
Figure 2: Experience-wise distribution of respondents.................................................................32
Figure 3: Opinion of respondents on senior roles..........................................................................33
Figure 4: Opinion of employees on gender based bias in organizations.......................................34
Figure 5: Opinion of employees on conflicts between personal and professional life..................35
Figure 6: Opinion of female employees on need of breaks in career............................................36
Figure 7: Opinion of female employees on challenges faced after career break...........................37
Figure 8: Opinion of female employees on need of additional support........................................38
List of Tables
Table 1: Timeline for the research.................................................................................................31
Table 2: Opinion of female employees on need of breaks in career.............................................35
Table 3: Opinion of female employees on challenges faced after career break............................36
Table 4: Opinion of female employees on need of additional support..........................................37
Table 5: Opinion of female employees on need of flexibility at work..........................................38

List of Tables
Table 1: Timeline for the research.................................................................................................28
Table 2: Opinion of female employees on need of breaks in career.............................................32
Table 3: Opinion of female employees on challenges faced after career break............................33
Table 4: Opinion of female employees on need of additional support..........................................33
Table 5: Opinion of female employees on need of flexibility at work..........................................34

Chapter1
1.Introduction:
In the modern corporate organizations, the men and women are entitled to obtain the similar
opportunities to grow and develop. The modern corporate cultures of the organizations nowadays
are providing women with the opportunities to apply their skills and grow in the career. Despite
the opportunities present in the corporate world, the female employees of the organizations often
experience the issues related to glass ceiling (Cook & Glass, 2014). The glass ceiling refers to
the invisible barriers that the women face while progressing through their career. In other words,
the female employees of an organization can face a number of problems while working in the
company and sometimes, the problems can be difficult to detect. As the problems cannot be
detected easily, it is difficult for the businesses to solve such issues and providing the female
employees with the equal opportunity to grow. Presence of the glass ceiling often restricts the
female employees to reach the top leadership positions. The glass ceiling problems not only
causes issues in the career progression of the female employees of the organization, but it may
restrict the organizations also from utilizing its entire workforce fully (Newman, 2016).
Therefore, presence of the glass ceiling problems is disadvantageous for both the organizations
as well as the employees. So, analyzing the nature of the glass ceiling issues and assessing their
impacts on the modern workplaces is necessary. The current research deals with analysis on the
presence of glass ceiling issues in the modern workplaces and assessing their impacts on the
organizations.
1.1 Background of the research:
In the recent years, the women are participating equally at the workplace with men. The
organizations of the contemporary business environment are focusing to provide the female
employees with the equal opportunities to take part and grow within the business (Ezzedeen et al.
2015). As a result, the participation of women in the businesses has increased significantly than
it was before. However, the participation of women in the organization is not same at all levels.
A significant number of women are now participating in the entry level but the rate of