The Glass Ceiling: Women and Barriers in the Workplace

Picture this: A tall woman with long, dark hair secures the last button on her tailored suit, slides on her black spectator pumps and waltzes her way into the corner office, nodding at people as she passes. Her large desk is adorned with photos of bright-eyed children and a gold name plate proudly displaying her title, "Chief Executive Officer." This scene sounds pretty average, but it is really quite uncommon.

Women have come a long way during the past century: They've flown solo across the Atlantic, they've been given the right to vote, they've rocketed into space and they've even been elected to Congress. Despite these achievements, women are still not getting the credit they deserve in one very important place: at work.

Sure, women can file, fax, make copies, compile important business reports and give presentations just as well as any man. However, women are highly under-represented in upper-level management in many U.S. companies and are also making less than men for performing the same types of jobs. What gives?

The main argument is that a "glass ceiling" exists in the workplace. The term was coined more than twenty years ago by The Wall Street Journal to describe the barriers that women face in the workplace. The word "ceiling" suggests that women are blocked from advancing in their careers, and the term "glass" is used because the ceiling is not always discernable.

The awful truth: Research suggests women are making less for performing the same jobs as men. Despite the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which made it illegal to pay men and women different wages for similar jobs performed in similar conditions, the wage gap issue is still a hot topic.

On average, a woman working full-time is only making 77-cents to the full-time working man's dollar. She will also only earn 44-cents to the working man's dollar over the course of her entire lifetime. According to Women Employed, an organization with a mission "to improve the economic status of women and remove barriers to economic equity", nearly 15 million women in the U.S. earn less than $25,000 a year despite working full-time, year-round jobs. This is well below the basic-needs budget for a family of four in the United States, which is estimated at $35,000, as calculated in An Atlas of Poverty in America . In a country where working women provide significantly to the average family's income, a woman bringing home such a small sum can be detrimental to the family's survival.

However, there are two sides to every story. The wage gap and promotion issues are often justified by the fact that men are more likely to accept higher-risk jobs than women, according to Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth Behind the Pay Gap And What Women Can Do About It by Warren Farrell. These jobs generally provide superior wages. The reason men are offered these jobs over women is due to the idea that women like to maintain a balance between their home and career lives, while men focus more on careers.

Whether that is true or not, a clear double standard exists when it comes to raising a family while having a full-time career. This isn't the 50s and women are no longer expected to exist solely as housewives in blue-checkered aprons. This is both good and bad because although a married woman can simultaneously work and raise a family, she is typically viewed as less stable when performing both roles. She's a briefcase-carrying worker bee by day and is often a babysitter, maid and cook by night. Her responsibilities seem endless. However, a man with a wife and children appears reliable and responsible, a perfect candidate for the newly opened higher-level position.

Even though women aren't CEO's of every major corporation just yet, it is undeniable that changes have occurred over time. Trudy Streuernagel, a Kent State University Political Science professor, explains, "One of the reasons Hillary Clinton is a viable candidate (for president) is that our society is in the process of changing its image of what a leader looks like."

She further explains, "Everything is relative. What counts as a glass ceiling today would have been viewed as a barrier-free environment when I was coming out of school." Despite these advances, women account for 46.5 percent of America's workforce, but still for less than 8 percent of its top managers, according to The Economist, a glossy newspaper that focuses on international politics and business news.

So, the question many college-aged women may be asking is: What can be done? In response to the difficulty of climbing the ranks in corporations, many women have taken matters into their own perfectly manicured hands. Terry DiRusso, a professor at the University of Connecticut, has conducted extensive research on the glass ceiling She says, "Many women looking at retirement in the not-so-distant future are starting businesses of their own. In other words: 'If you build it, she will come'"

A prime example is Margaret 'Meg' Whitman, CEO and president of leading ecommerce company eBay. Since 1998, Whitman has worked her brand-building magic and turned eBay into a matchless global enterprise. The hope is that if women own more companies, women in turn will work for these companies, causing a healthy cycle of promotion and equal pay.

But starting her own company is obviously not an option for every woman, especially those fresh out of college who are living paycheck to paycheck to pay off student loans. Lucky for the college-educated woman, education is the key to unlock the doors to higher-paying careers. Women who complete a degree are already ahead of the game as soon as they fire off that first resume. A woman with a two-year associate's degree earns 28 percent more than one with a high school education and a woman with a bachelor's degree earns 75 percent more than one with a high school education, according to Women Employed. But a college degree doesn't always guarantee a high-paying job. There are other issues women need to address. "Learning more about the power of money and negotiation skills would be a start," DiRusso explains. "Women need to know how to navigate the waters."

Part of navigating those waters is educating women about careers that offer an opportunity to advance. Women still continue to dominate low-paying, low status, traditionally female occupations, such as secretarial work, waitressing, cosmetology and maid services, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. As opposed to "white" and "blue collar", these jobs have been deemed "pink collar". Women are stereotypically domestic by nature, so occupations like these attract women because they feel naturally suited to them. Women, in turn, accept these jobs and reinforce the stereotypes. However, in recent years, second-wave feminism has given way to a new type of workplace, where the lines between jobs traditionally for men and those traditionally for women have been blurred. Now, women can explore many options not previously available to them, if they decide to.

Some argue the responsibility not only rests with women workers and their decisions, but that some obligation should be placed in the hands of companies who employ women. If more companies were pressured to provide family-oriented services, such as on-site daycare, women might be able to achieve equilibrium between family and career life. This equilibrium could be exactly what is needed to smash the glass ceiling.

The "glass ceiling" is a controversial subject that's constantly in hot pursuit. There are many statistics and theories that come into play; so many, in fact, that people may find it difficult to reach a solid conclusion. Does the glass ceiling really exist, or is it all a matter of how the facts are skewed either for or against it?

After all the statistics are stripped away, though, one naked truth persists: Women are just as capable as men. "Great ideas have no gender, race, ethnic background or age," DiRusso says. Women may have to work a little harder to reach the top, but it can and does happen. In the not-so-distant future, with a little extra effort on everyone's part, more women could be buttoning up their suits and heading into that corner office.