Theoretical Lens

Theoretical Lens

The concepts that framed the gender imbalance discourse originated from critical theories that guided organizational processes in the past. However, these ideas evolved into practices, which appear to now constitute limitations to and threaten women’s career progress and firm output (Higgs, 2003). Scholars have researched into why some organizations continued to rely on the critical theories that framed policy direction on gender issues despite its impact on top management diversity and organizational performance (Davies, 2011). Empirical research on the subject of women's advancement indicated that firms could benefit more if managers adopted a different approach to policy formation on gender-related issues outside those enunciated

When narrowed down, gender diversity encapsulates the representation of men and women within a group that have a potential to improve the organization by their diverse ideas (Erhardt et al., 2003, p. 103). Nielsen (2009) explained diversity as separation, variety, and disparity. Diversity as separation implies positional and ideological differences within a firm’s unit; diversity as variety means differences in members’ “display of information, knowledge or experience” (p. 18). Diversity as disparity infers a variation in the composition of resources and social assets, such as the pay, position, and benefits earned by unit members (Nielsen, 2009). In corporations, gender diversity implies the distribution of males and females in any workgroup and their representation across sectors, departments, and industry

Arfken, Bellar, and Helms (2004) described the evidence of glass ceilings as “blocks” and restrictions that are reflected by various forms of gender equality breaches to females such as denial of promotion, due rewards, and equal opportunities as well as limited training, development, and promotional opportunities to TMTs. Similarly, scholars including Bryant (1985), Cox and Smolinski (1994), and Cotter et al. (2001) found that a glass ceiling stifled the career growth of women leaders irrespective of their skills, experience, and aspirational goals, thus, impeding their advancement to TMTs. The authors found evidence of restrictions that limited women’s entry into top jobs to analyze the impact of gender-based barriers to women’s careers. These authors observed that a glass ceiling functioned in a way that affected not only its victims, but also a firm's productivity. In the case of a firm, the glass ceiling imposes a negative impact when its victims become complacent, or refuse to complete their assigned work due to a belief that a firm’s management has not met their career