Gender Barriers In The Workplace

Women make up half of the population, and play a large role in society. The role of women has continuously evolved from strictly taking care of their families, to holding high level jobs, but some would say that women still face many barriers on the journey to reaching leadership positions. All of these invisible barriers grouped together are known as the glass ceiling, which can be defined by anything and everything preventing women from reaching high level jobs in the workplace. Throughout the years women have struggled to reach the top levels in all employment sectors (private, public, and education), although studies show that in the U.S there is a higher amount of women with an advanced university degree than there are men, proving that

In the workplace, women are faced with many stereotypes, ranging from being their families number one caretaker, being the best with “soft skills”, and being inferior to men in the workplace (Feloni). Women are considered by many to be nurturing and gentle, and are believed to struggle with the balance between these caring qualities and leadership qualities--which could make people unsure as to weather or not a woman can uphold the same duties as a man (Quast). Even though majority of people still believe these stereotypes are still much in affect, research has shown that women in leadership positions are rated just as high--if not higher-- as any men are (Study: Women Leaders). According to a Chron article, 68 percent of women feel that discrimination still exists in the workplace, and it has also been shown that when a person feels that they are being treated unfairly, they are less likely to effectively do their jobs (Gluck). This provides evidence that women may lose motivation and give up on their fight to reach the top of the ladder, because they feel that they are being treated as unequal and decide, there is no use, or that things aren’t going to change. Another factor that stands in the way of many women holding high level jobs is their life, and what goes on in their lives. Many business operators see women who have

The U.N Foundation headquarters states that women only account for 20 percent of these leadership positions, even though they makeup half of this work field (Weiner). An article by Anna Brown also states that in the United States, the Senate is composed of only 20 women out of the 100 total members, and only 83 out of the 435 in the House of Representatives, which although is a very small amount, is surprisingly “nine times higher than it was in 1965” (Brown). In Canada, the percentage of women as leaders in government is significantly larger than it is in the United States, with 26.4 percent on the House of Commons, 43 percent holding seats in the Senate, and an equal balance of men and women in the cabinet (Venessa). This is said to be the first time Canada has ever reached a gender balanced area in government, showing that although the changes may be slow, and grueling, they are