SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

PROF.DEEPTI PATHAK ASHIMA BHATIA

AKHILESH KUMAR

JAYA GAUTAM

RACHIT ORHI
 SANDEEP YADAV

GALGOTIAS BUSINESS SCHOOL, GREATER NOIDA

INTRODUCTION

The term glass ceiling refers to situations where the advancements of a qualified person within
the hierarchy of an organization is stopped at a lower level because of some form of
discrimination ,most commonly sexism or racism .In the research paper on glass ceiling we
would be dealing with women who are the key victims of this phenomenon.

Women face different challenges and may require different skills to be successful in the work
place than their male counterparts. The causes and impact of these differences vary depending
upon the size of the organization, level of management, and requisite job duties.

The proportion of women in the work place has increased 5% since 1980 whereas the number of
women in management positions has increased 19% in the same period (powell & graves, 2003).
Although these numbers are encouraging, research indicates that there is still a gap between
women and men regarding compensation for producing similar work.

So we would put a light on the facts and figures related to it in our study.

ARTICLE AUTHOR
1. No Glass Ceiling For Women Hema Malini
2. Women Shatter The Glass Ceiling At Indian Bpos. Nivruti Rai
3. Shattering The Glass Ceiling Russel Madden
4. The Glass Ceiling : What You Debra Pestrak
Don’t Know Won’t Hurt You
5. Are Women Politicians In India Really Shreyasi Singh
Shattering The Glass Ceiling?

6. The Glass Ceiling: Myth Or Reality? Sunday Times

7. The glass ceiling: domestic and international
Perspective Nancy Lockwood
8.Women and Glass Ceiling Moshavi
 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Discrimination against women manifests itself in various forms, including: job segregation;

wage gap; sexual harassment; denial of career development opportunities, including mentoring;

poor performance evaluations; and lack of promotion opportunities. Glass ceiling prevails

somewhat because most of the people think that women do not have great decision making

abilities, which are required at the higher echelons. Besides that women have to face role conflict

and role juggling between home and jobs responsibility.

But in modern times,Women are seen as transformers of the world. Women are known to be

team players, transformational role models and mentors. They have an innate nurturing ability

and managerial skills. The winds of globalization and outsourcing in India have ushered in

changes not just for the economy but have also thrown open numerous opportunities for women.

The current crop of successful women is sure to catalyze the women in IT movement, drawing

even more talent into the fray.In politics too ,India now has an unprecedented 59 women

members of parliament. That’s a record 11% representation . Appointment of leaders such as Ms.

Sonia Gandhi ,Ms. Pratibha Patil etc have changed the scenario. But still we lack opportunities

for many women who are waiting to come out of the boundaries of their houses. The power

structure remains intact, and firmly in the control of men, even if there are more women

representatives. Only if women can dent power structures can change be tangible. Till then,

empowerment remains a distant dream.

So to solve this problem women must support themselves and be supported by the organizations

to change the world .There still remains a hope to see a new picture of women controlling the nations.
 OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH

• To explores workplace challenges that women face and recommends strategies to address
them through research.

• To focuses on women in business and review the literature on gender disparities in

employment, compensation, and promotion.

• To determine the extent to which the glass ceiling continues to exist and prevent women
from gaining access to organizational resources.
 METHODOLOGY

Data was collected from secondary resources such as published data, magazines ,newspapers and
article by various Authors . Organizational analysis was done from data collected by ILO and
other organizations.
 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS

• The glass ceiling was installed by males in patriarchal societies who regard their lofty
positions as sacrosanct and inviolable by women .
• It was found that gender discrimination is a central factor to the prevalence of glass
ceiling in organizations.
• Women face different challenges and may require different skills to be successful in the
work place than their male counterparts. The causes and impact of these differences vary
depending upon the size of the organization, level of management, and requisite job
duties.
• The proportion of women in the work place has increased 5% since 1980 whereas the
number of women in management positions has increased 19% in the same period
(Powell & Graves, 2003). Although these numbers are encouraging, research indicates
that there is still a gap between women and men regarding compensation for producing
similar work.
• The causes of this phenomenon are attributed to:
i. Perception of gender roles
ii.Gender Stereotypes (Prejudices)
iii.Hiring practices
iv.Role expectation ,Role ambiguity ,Role juggling,Role conflict
v.Less emotional stability of women
vi.Sexual harassment at workplace
vii.Uneven work force composition
WAYS TO OVERCOME GLASS CEILING

• Diversity management programs should be followed in organizations.

• Organizations should operate on Affirmative action plans.
• Cross cultural training as well as Executive Training Program should be planned.
• Right person should be appointed at right position irrespective of stereotype effect.
• Skill Based Diversity Training should be provided to women so that they can compete
within the organization.
• Awareness Based Diversity programs should be provided so that workforce can
understand each other and work cordially.
• Managerial support should be provided as per need.
• Recruitment process should be given a thought.

Indra Nooyi, was the architect of the soft drink and snack company’s acquisition of quaker oats
a few years ago. Nooyi began her career in india, spent some time with Motorola inc., and most
recently served as both president and cfo at pepsico. The fact is: she is a woman who shattered
glass ceiling.

Our view points:

➢ Glass ceiling exists in our mind only.

➢ If a company chooses to continue to exclude qualified women from top management
positions it is most probable that they will find themselves unable to compete in an
increasingly diversified marketplace and will lose an extraordinary amount of talent,
creativity and productivity.
➢ Women are forming new businesses at double the rate of men.
➢ After a biased approach like “glass ceiling” both organizations and women to re-examine
the obstacles that prevent females from advancing and from being valued in the
workplace.
➢ Due to problems like glass ceiling, women today are leaving the corporate sector in vast
numbers-twice the rate of men.

FINDINGS
 Over the past 25 years, the percentage of women and minorities participating in the work
force has increased. However, this increase has been confined to entry level positions, while the
middle and senior level management positions still reflect a shortfall of women and minorities.
The data collected by the dol, during the reviews of 94 fortune 1000 companies, reflected this
trend. From the 147,149 employees in the sample, the participation of women and minorities was
such that:
• Of all the employees 37.2% were women and 15% were minorities.
• Women represented only 16.9% of all the managers while minorities represented only 6%.
• At the executive level of management women made up 6.6% and minorities 2.6% of all
positions.
Women hold just 10.6 percent of board seats and executive positions, down from 10.9 percent
in 2008. Little has changed from 2005, when the figure was 10.2 percent.
• Nearly a third of the companies studied, 118 out of 400, have no women directors on
their boards and no female executive officers. No company in the top 400 was without
men in top management positions.
• Fifteen of the 400 companies have a woman serving as chief executive officer, up from
13 in 2008
• Last year, the federal glass ceiling commission released a report stating that only 7%-9%
of senior managers at fortune 1000 firms are women
• 81% of well-qualified women face barriers spawning from stereotypes or preconceptions.
• 49% of employers feel an aversion to taking a risk by hiring a female.
(diversity training group)
Nasscom study, the men- women ratio in the Indian software industry stands at 76:24This
ratio is expected to be 65:35 (men: women) by 2007.
However, the percentage of women employed in the Ites/Bpo space is far more-around
69 percent.

• In the US, women workforce in it has declined by 18.5 percent since 1996.

RECOMMENDATIONS
As per , Kiran Mazumdar Shaw , CEO of Biocon Ltd Extending additional subsidy for
new industrial enterprises that employ more than says, 30 per cent women in their workforce;
offering special financial incentives for women entrepreneurs, particularly those from
economically poorer sections of society; and offering subsidized vocational training for women
from disadvantaged sections seeking self-employment is a way to overcome glass ceiling.

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS:

• Management must learn to recognize and appreciate gender differences as positive

qualities which can serve as assets for the organization. They must lose their
preoccupation with old male-oriented procedures.
• Employers should realize that they need the input of women and minorities in their
businesses to better address the changing consumer markets, workplace demographics
and competition in today's economy.
• Activities should be carried within organizations that make women more adaptable and
responding to emotional situations .They should be made more Emotionally Intellegent.
• Organizational composition or demography should be evenly distributed.
• Examine organizational design, staffing and performance reward systems.
• Incorporate mentoring programs for women and minorities and hold managers acceptable
for initiatives by rewarding only those who successfully meet the goals of the program.
• Companies should provides flexibility in working hours, and hence is friendly to women
employees, who need to juggle with career aspirations and home.
• Every employee should be taught that they are important to the organization.
• Develop strong relationships with others in the company, focusing on those individuals
with high authority. Ask these people for feedback on their performance and then make it
a point to act on their recommendations.

REFERENCES

1. www.google.com

2. www.managementarticles.info
3. www.docstoc.com

4. www.findarticles.com

5. www.timesofindia.com

6. www.hrmagazines.com