The Glass Ceiling: What happens once one breaks through it?

      Women in the workplace and the term "glass ceiling" are closely affiliated with each other when it comes to the line of hierarchy in an organization.  The term "glass ceiling" refers to an imaginary boundary that cannot be passed by certain members of an organization.  What happens when a person from a minority group, women in this study, were to pass the ceiling?  How does this affect the employee when it comes to performing their job?
      This study will explore why women leave positions of high authority in their organization.  A historical overview will help lay the foundations for previous and present research for the reader followed by a discussion section.  This review focuses on research and why some women have taken the steps they have.
Historical Overview
     In history, women have primarily been housewives or stay-at-home moms,while men were the financial supporters; in the last few decades this has changed.  Many women have risen to the level of their male equivalents by investing in themselves through education (Dean et. al., 2009).  Research has shown that over the last 20 years, a larger number of women have enrolled in undergraduate and graduate business programs (Giscombe & Mattis, 2003).  The traditional roles of women, defined by the past, have encouraged the creation of the glass ceiling in today's organizations.

     The phrase glass ceiling was coined in 1986 in the Wall Street Journal and has been a rising issue since then.  It applies to women to describe that which keeps them from advancing in the workplace solely on the premise that they are women (Baxter & Wright, 2000).  Barriers may also arise for men when it comes to promotions, but the idea here is that for women, each step is significantly harder.  The glass ceiling focuses on higher positions of management, as opposed to a generic manager.
Discussion
     The heart of these findings deals with the glass cliff and how it relates to women leaving an organization.  Haslam and Ryan (2008) described the term glass cliff as, "an allusion to the fact that their leadership positions are relatively risky or precarious since they are more likely to involve management or organizational units that are in a crisis."  An example of this might be giving a lawyer a client who is obviously guilty, or sending out a promotions person to a musical event that is not going to be as popular.  Appointing a women to a glass cliff position causes stress and pressure.  If the women appointed continues to fail during these challenges, one might conclude that there is a correlation between the two (Barreto, Ryan, & Schmitt, 2009)
     Finally having made it to a high position in the company, many women feel burned out and experience withdrawal (Barreto, Ryan, & Schmitt, 2009).  Another consequence of women in glass cliff situations is their perceived lack of support.

     Research has integrated the feelings of what one feels during this process into the gender-stress-disidentification model.  The following is the process: 1) break the glass ceiling, 2) attain a glass cliff position, 3) stress, 4) reduced organizational identification, and 5) organizational exit.  If these women continue to give and give to an organization, along with risky jobs that are most likely not rewarded, a leave from the company is very probable.  Keep in mind, when women leave organizations, they do not necessarily essentially leave the workforce all together.  The majority of women continue their careers with other companies.  To some, this may come across as lack of ambition and commitment, however, the research reveals that it is their surroundings that lead to many women to exit this organization.
     The purpose of this research was not to overcompensate for the women that choose to leave the workplace owing to family reasons.  Rather the focus of this research was to analyze the environment of women in high authority.
References/For more information:
Baxter,J., Writer, E. (2000). The glass ceiling hypothesis: A comparative study of U.S, Sweden, and Australia.  Gender & Society, 14 (2) 275-294.
Dean, A. Strachan, Y., Roberts, A., Carraher, S., Cash, R. (2009). Women and minorities in corporate America: An empirical examination. Proceedings of the Academy of Organizational Culture, Communication and Conflict, 14 (1).
Giscombe, K., Mattis, M. (2003). Women in corporate management at the new millennium: Taking stock of where we are. Diversity Factor, 11 (1) 5-10.
Haslam, S. Ryan, M. (2008). The road to the glass cliff: Differences in the perceived suitability of men and women for leadership positions in succeeding and failing organizations. The Leadership Quarterly.
 Ryan, M., Haslam, S., Hersby, M., Kulich, C., Kovac, D. (2009).  The glass ceiling in the 21st century: Understanding barriers to gender equality. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.