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Introduction

Glass ceiling is used in the field of economics to mean a situation where a person who is qualified in terms of education and experience cannot progress on an upward mobility in his/her place of work. This is usually caused by discrimination against him/her on basis of sex or race. When glass ceiling arises, it is normally at a very low level in the profession and therefore the victim may not have voice even to air his/her grievances. To day the term glass ceiling is also used to means discrimination against the deaf, disabled and those who are blind as well as those who are aged. It is therefore generally right to say that, majority of the victims of glass ceiling are usually the minority in the society because of the perceived weakness by the rest members of the society and especially the top people in the managerial positions. Mostly the advancement is awarded in terms of whether one gives in the conditions such as sexual advancement for thee case of ladies. At other times, because of the social set up and the culture instilled in the mind of a certain community at large, most key people in the management have the stereotype that, thy should always favor those who are from their race every time there is an opportunity for a higher position in the job place. The issue of the problems cause by existence of glass ceiling is of great concern because as the name suggest, this kind of obstacle in the job place in not visible and is not formal and everyone knows of its unethical nature. Mostly the problem affects the women in the society as well as the minority especially if it is a case of black among white. The obstacle is transparent and there are no official polices clarifying that, a particular position cannot be held by the minority. It is therefore possible to distinguish a glass ceiling from formal obstacles because the latter are written down policies and include things such as academic qualification and the amount of experience one has in particular field as well as the quality of service in his/her specialization which include on whether the person delivers or not all which are viable to those who have interest with the position and even those who do not have interest. (Fernandez, 1999)

Research has shown that, glass ceiling has been affecting women that any other category of victims making them not to hold the most prestigious positions in their job places which also happen to be among the best paying. If this situation exists for along time in a certain region, the women and the minority being discriminated develop an attitude that, they can never have enough capacity to manage these positions and tend to pass the same culture of feeling to the next generation. Those who are enlightened and happen to be aspiring for these positions may also think that their seniors are not serious with the outcome of their performance in the job place and therefore do not look at them as potential candidates. (Smith, 2004)

Research has revealed that, regarding the history of glass ceiling, discrimination on the basis of sex was made illegal in the United States when civil right act was enacted in 1964. This was done with a goal in mind to ensure women have equal access as men in following upward mobility in any place of work if their academic qualification as well as experience met the requirements. Initially, this term only referred to invisible obstacles limiting women from progressing upward with their careers regarding promotions in work force. However, at glance, there appeared as though the path to promotions was obvious but research could tell that, women could only advance with their careers to a certain level beyond which they could not proceed and stagnated for rest of their working life until retirement. Studies have indicted that, the minorities begin experiencing glass ceiling earlier than it was ever thought. (Crook, 2002)

Importance of the study

The study will enhance the understanding of various forms of barriers encountered through glass ceiling in different types such as varying pay packages even when the employees are performing the same type of task under the same conditions and even after having served the same period of time. The victim will be denied promotion even when he/she has better performance in delivering duties assigned. Another form of glass ceiling is observed through sexual harassment in the job place or discrimination on ethnic and racial lines and sometimes even on religious affiliations. Absence of family polices that are friendly to the entire working team is also classified as another form of glass ceiling. (Jensen, 2001)

Definition of terms

Glass ceiling- I is a state of stagnation experienced in a workforce where a qualified individual cannot progress in his/her position of work.
Victim of glass ceiling- this are the individual who are mostly negatively affected by the obstacles that prevent upward mobility. There are usually the minority in the community such as women, the blind and the physically disabled as well as those who do not belong to a particular race.
Sexism- it is the attitude the community has on the ability of an individual depending on his her sex associated with the role the society expect to be accomplished by a particular sex. The society uses this attitude to determine who deserves a certain promotion and which job fit a particular individual regardless of the academic qualification.
The minority in the society- these are the less represented in a given community and therefore their voice is not usually heard even when they have what it takes to be awarded a particular recognition. They include the weaker sex; the females, the disabled and the deaf as well as the blind.
Wage gap- this is the average difference in allowances and pay packages between individuals who have the same qualification and performing same type of work in a work force.
Right and freedoms in a job place- these are the privileges that human being should naturally enjoy regardless of his race, disability and sex as long as they thy meet qualifications.

Summary

The quality of job promotions and upward mobility in general should be made of appropriate managerial responsibilities to all the employees. Parameters used in ensuring every employee climbs the ladder should satisfy all those who are interested with the position by equally considering they qualification based of academic excellence as well as their experience. The major contributor in the introduction of glass ceiling in any organization is the attitude the community has on the role of women in the society as belonging to home chores and the perceived weakness in people with various disabilities. Women on one hand have also been blamed for making initiatives in prioritizing their careers that are more flexible to fit their attendance of their families as they work. However, most countries are reviewing their legal frameworks that define different punishments for those who discriminate the minority by putting up the invisible obstacles liming them from upward mobility. (Jensen, 2001)

Effects of glass ceiling on sexism

Research has found one of the key indicators that are reliable in explaining how glass ceiling has impacted on the gender and this is the difference in the amount of wages as well as earning awarded to male and females. Studies have revealed that, even when a woman has the same experience and academic qualification as her male counterpart, she tend to earn less in terms of wags and other earning in form of allowances. Even when there is a comparison in all these determinants, there has been an assumption that, women tend to earn 75.3% on dollar compared to men and this has even been put on statistics at global level. This trend is assumed to be taking effect in all job places in united state of America throughout the year. (Powell, 2006)

The reason why this statistic are ironical to be relied on is that, after World War II, there was a general trend for increased participation of women in labor force. It is only in areas when women have received more education and exposure to the external world where they have been able to fight for their rights and have their salaries increased in comparison to that of men performing the same task. Another factor that has contributed to women starting to earn more than before is their reduced fertility for the last few years that has caused the ration on women to men to go down in job places. As the number of women decline in the job places, men have also been reducing in number as result of most of them declining available job opportunities so as to go and look for greener pasture especially in the manufacturing industries. If conclusion can be dawn from statistics on the tend of pay increase of women compared to that of men since 1990, then it is evident that, the pay has been increasing on the scale for women since it has increased by 9% between 1990-2003 while that of men has only gone up by 4.9%. The substantial gain made by women do not however men that, glass ceiling has been broken for them as research indicate a lot of discrepancies in their work places and therefore they still have a long journey to win the battle in breaking the ceiling. According to statistic collected in the year 2000, the average pay for a woman was recorded as $28,820 compared to $ 39,020 earned by men witho0ut even considering the differences in levels of ability in performing different tasks. Studies have shown that, wage based on gender is still enduring. (Powell, 2006)

Statistics of existence of glass ceiling at national levels

(Eyring, 2004) found that, figures at gloss national level have continued to indicate that, the highest paying jobs are still being held by men and some of these jobs are also the most prestigious which are considered as most powerful in the structure of most occupation. It is this kind of preservation of such jobs for men that has caused the difference in the pay structure leaving most women behind. The phenomenon of occupational segregation is characterized by men holding most top positions that deal with supervision and management, chief executive officers as well as operations in areas of production. Analysis reveals that, women normally concentrate on low ranks professions where they are paid lowly for the work done. Most of the professions that show overrepresentation of females include secretariats, teaching, selling, nursing as well as providing service for child care of children belonging to higher classes. His has lead to a culture where most work has been classified as belonging to males or ladies in specific. The stereotype makes these jobs perceived as belonging to men to be paying far much well than those perceived as belonging to women. The segregation consequently limit the women from receiving promotions since as they tend to follow upward mobility, there is always the distinction line that defines the segregation and this is what bring about glass ceiling and the power of the minority over others is thus far much limited. when the minority in the community experience occupational segregation, they are not able to access facilities such as insurance and other benefits as well as pensions and this trend comes and repeat itself with an aim of ensuring women are always put down whenever they dare to raise. If a woman holds a managerial position, she is more likely to be in the personnel than marketing and what makes most women become contented is that fact that, the difference even in their salaries is perceived as being as a result of inferences in their gender but very few of them thinks the disparity could have been caused by differences in their perceived low ability. (Eyring, 2004)

Contribution of women preference on glass ceiling

When research was done on the medical field, the outcome revealed that, areas that require family practices as well as pediatric are care are concentrated by women as opposed to areas like surgeons and other are that require a lot specialization will be more occupied by men. Wage gap based on gender has been found to exist in all areas of workforce dealing with blue collar jobs and managerial as well as professions. In America, research has shown that, positions in the top executive among the corporations that are classified as the largest, only 16% of them are managed by women. The average income for a working woman is also calculated at about 70% compared to that of an average working man. Studies have also shown that, the statistic is a typical representation of what happens in all sectors of work. The imbalance based on gender in most occupations has come as result of the fact that, women are the more likely to be adventurers of new fields; a act that makes them not to have the primacy as well as enjoy the extra pay that would be expected for a person who has become more senior. Inequality based on gender is often found in the social hierarchy and it manipulates how women and other people who represent the minority are perceived by the rest of the society members regarding leadership roles. There are various traits ascribed to women n comparison to men which influence selection process basing it on bias that has no foundation. The issue makes women and the minority to be viewed negatively in case they have extra trait beyond what they are expected to have. Research done in 2004 revealed that, if female is an expert in a certain field, the rest members of the society tend to feel and show her that, she has less influence in order to make her feel down. On the other hand, if a man is an expert in a particular field, everyone else tends to feel that, the expertise makes the man feel influential and therefore it is considered as positive. Such studies have therefore led to the conclusion that, there are other reasons that make women and the minority in the society in general to be discriminated regarding upward mobility in their places of work. It is not because they have fewer skills compared to men performing the same task. (Evetts, 2003)

Another research done in 2006 by Lynes indicated that, it is hard form females to be promoted in leadership roles but if they received the promotions, they would give better results than they male counterparts. However, women were found to perform better only after they were promoted and therefore their improved performance was strongly associated with promotion. The study revealed that, according to the perception of the majority in the society, for females to be awarded managerial advancements, they needed to prove that they are highly impressive. This unseen qualification was not applying for men in the same positions and aiming to receive the same kind of promotions. Studies have also shown that, another factor that could be self limiting for females in acquiring upward mobility in various work forces is that, they tend to rely much on other factors when choosing a profession other than just pay an this is not the case with men who have the same academic qualification as the females. An example of this kind of preference is well illustrated in the field of healthcare where most women prefer to work because the nature of the work can make it possible for the female worker to continue with the work and at the same tie concentrates on the primary care for her children whenever they need her. They become more attached to this kind of jobs with such flexibility and research has shown that, it is or the same reason that make such a filed to be dominated by women or the minority among the poor who feel that, they are better placed to offer such services. A larger group of such minorities therefore do nit desire to hold positions which are involving in terms of travel or frequent job transfers as well as jobs that are potentially hazardous. Research has shown that, female employees are more likely to take frequent offs in their jobs and the total number of hours worked in day aso tends to be fewer as a result of other commitment. These extra roes are brought by the fact that, the structure of the society has brought unequal sharing of labor as far as child care is concerned. Domestic labor is also unequally distributed in addition to medical needs that are specific to females. There are also other issues in the family considered as the responsibility of a woman per every role assigned to a particular gender in a given society. Consequently, the total wages of a working woman tends to be low because of the extra responsibilities regarding their home as well as their children. Generally, high demands in the family cause a downward trend on the total income of women and this effect is spread throughout their working life. The greatest difference in term of wages between women and men is felt at the age of mid-thirties but the greatest impact of the difference is felt at the age of fifties.

Gender wage gap is also seen through another perspective based on the study that was done in 2008 where the relationship between role orientation regarding gender and gender itself as well as earnings in the labor markets. In the study, gender gap was not specifically looked at but more focus was made on the consequences that would arise from the interaction between the role orientation that was largely shaped by believes regarding occupation. The focus is on which occupation are mot suitable and more appropriate for both type of gender as well as the effect that gender impacts on the amount of earning especially on the side of women. (Evetts, 2003)

Influence of community culture on glass ceiling

(Finley, 2002) argues that, most of researchers who have working on the issue of gender and how it relate on the amount of wage earned by women and the minority are now in agreement that, economic factors may not be in a full capacity to explain the gap in terms of wage that result from gender related issue. Their argument is that, wage gap may also have been attributed to psychological components as well as attitude that has been held in various societies and which research has proved to be hard to break. One f the findings of the research was that, there was a positive connection between roles of various gender based on the traditions and the expected earnings by a person belonging to a particular gender. This relationship was greatly predicted by gender regarding the amount as well as the direction concerning how much should be paid to a particular gender in a given occupation. According to traditions based on gender roles, for example, men were given higher earnings than women as the orientation had a positive relation with males and higher earnings. By then, traditional gender role was oriented in such a way that, it had a slightly negative association between females and their earrings which was considered as weak. (Stroh, 2006)

The above consideration explains why glass ceiling exist especially for females because the attitude derived by the traditions tends to have men being rewarded with higher advancements as this is seen as a way of maintain social order. On the other hand, females workers are lowly rewarded even though they are not punished either. Generally, a conclusion drawn from the study is, in the modern times there is a major decrease on the beliefs based on the traditions regarding gender and promotions in the work places as well as the amount of wages the respective genders should be earning. However, wage gap has still continued to be felt as a result of the traditional orientation based on the gender role.

History of economic oppression among women and the glass ceiling

According to (Stroh, 2006), Daily lives of moist Americans have been affected by a great deal of advancement especially in the scientific field. This has partly been caused by landing of mayflower causing a shift of the Americans society fabric. While research has indicated some form of satisfaction brought by these changes because of the associated comfort the human being is deriving, studies have sho0wn that, there are still aspects in the societies of Americans where progress has not been felt. The existence of divine rights enjoyed by the kings is a concept that was denounced by age of reason and in place there was introduction of human rights and the individuality concept. It is from these ideologies that led to the todays United States of America gain its independence in 1776 from Brittan. This desire for Americans to be autonomous was characterized by more freedom but research has revealed that, it is quite unfortunate because this increased freedom was only felt by just a certain class of individuals. Data from historical records have continued revealing that, in America, men have continued to enjoy a bigger share of power as well as influence in most places of workforce. Even though there has been a shift in terms of the status quo, there is a greater tendency in the America social structure that has been found to focus in favoring men to dominate the general society. The consequence of this kind of structure in the American society is that, the second class citizen has existed and its representatives are and have continued being women. Women have been found to be restricted both in physical as well as in the intellectual world of freedom in comparison to their men counterparts. Research indicates that, it is not [possible for person to deny that, men are psychologically different from women but that truth has been misused to interpret that, it is justifiable for women to be treated unequally as men on issues that touch human interaction. Female gender has been shown as having been sidelined even in the legal system in American legal system through the reflected attitude that results to treatments that are not equal between men and women. The existing historical attitude American men have towards women may easily convince anyone that, psychological difference women have from men is basis of their choices of career and a basis in determining intellectual maturity they have reached at a certain age of their working lifespan. It also used to determine their credibility and their capacity in being effective contributors towards the progress of the society at large. These are used as a basis why women should receive different treatment in comparison to their men counterparts holding the same positions in their job places. The attitude has therefore consequently resulted to the attitude that, women are weak and their roe is therefore majorly on maintenance of home as well as taking care of the health of. On the other hand, men have been perceived as the major provider food as well as security in the homes especially protecting the weaker sex. This perception has up to today continued to put invisible barriers regarding the roles of women in comparison to men in the society. When research discovered the existence of this kind of spirit, a protective registration was enacted for women through Muller v Oregon which was enacted in 1905. This case was about a Laundromat owner who was made to pay a fine of $10.00 because of making a female employee exceed ten hours while working. He made an appeal against the fine but the court gave a ruling against him on the basis that, the physical structure of woman as well as discharge of maternal functions deserved justification in order t protect her from mens greed. However, studies have revealed that, the same laws that are supposed to be protecting women against such abuse appear to be friendlier to men than to women. Other researches have argued that, it would still cause great harm if men did not have laws enacted and meant for their protection to safeguard their health. The argument was that, lack of such protective laws for men could have been cause of more windows being recorded in comparison to widowers. (Cotter, 2007)

How politics have shaped the existence of glass ceiling

Research has also shown that, politics in the field of economics have a lot of influence on the extent of how females enjoy or fail to enjoy their rights and freedoms. If a career proofs to be hard for a woman where she cannot pursue it, or if she cannot afford enough finance to sustain her needs, she would tend to rely on the husband. Government agencies also extend support to unable women and the same has not been done for men. Statistics show that, in 1985-1986, one among four women in the US earned an average of $10,000 per annum and this was found to be less than the required wage for sustenance for that mothers who are singles and for those who are divorced and ha[pen to be having custodial children. Research has also indicated that, even for the learned women who have managed to acquire at least the first degree, the academic achievement does not offer them an added advantage in their career when they join the job market. On average, such women obtain an income just slightly more than a man holding a corresponding position and with the same type of academic qualification. (Cotter, 2007)

In American society, men are taken to be superior to women and the issues that concerns women are not addressed by the legal system because men are the ones who make decisions. There are women who are educated and graduate from school of law but they can not be employed in the legal system even if they are more experienced than me. The supreme court of justice has only one female representative and the rest are men. Forty women within the thirty states are the only ones who serve in the highest court and federal judges consist of 5.4 per cent women. This is because, in the legal profession, influential women are the minority making it difficult to raise an issue that can shape federal or state statutes in order to lift personal and social life of women. The few number of women representative in the higher offices makes them lack legal profession and fail to be powerful. Women stereotypes have been denounced even though they have not been empathized with which shows how they are being ignored and male victimize them because, movements that support women deals with human right for the benefit of both sexes instead of being a movement of women to fight against oppression by men. Public sentiment shape law in America but legal reform is important to make movements of women beneficial. When law does not consider women seriously, contribution of women would not be considered having value that men can abide by. There is an argument that, legal reforms do not help to end discrimination against women because, peoples way of thinking can not be changed by law but the laws can reduce discriminatory practices since it is difficult to evade concrete laws and theories about the right s of women. (Davidson, 2004)

Constitutions have failed to declare equality between men and women. Men are favored by constitutions which make them be more powerful than women who has direct link with matrimonial bond due to its ramifications and social definition. Men are taken to be the head of family and wife to obey him but wife is considered separately by the law in getting protection or benefits. The supreme court of Ohio gives definition of a wife as chattel with no property or personality and her feelings and rights could not be recognized. Women are taken to be individuals who have special need even if marriage is supposed to join men and women to become one. This means that it is not demonstrated practically that men and women are equal because, joining them to become one is only applicable in theory. A woman has life only inside her home and has no say outside all the basic needs are offered by the husband.

According to (Davidson, 2004), Restrictions have been put on women to restrict men due to the job opportunities that are referred to as feminine or awarding mothers with custody higher than the fathers even if the father is capable of bringing up the children. The laws requires man to provide financial support to his wife and children but the society does not consider giving men well paying jobs and their employment may even be terminated at any time without considering the role they play in the family. The society does not offer job opportunities such as secretary, teacher of elementary school or typist to men which make men who are qualified in such areas lack employment opportunities that can assist them in earning a living. Gender should not be used to determine how we can be productive but out abilities should be used to determine how productive a person can be in his or her work. Therefore, changes should be made on the law because, self respect and dignity help people to live independently and make decisions about how their life would be. When a wife depends on husband to be given financial support, hers individuals free will is deprived since marriage requires equal partnership where both parties make unilateral decisions without having negative effects on each other.

Sometimes, men encounter the same problems as women but women are affected directly by discrimination than men. The problems faced by women affect their social structure while the problems of men have no direct effect but are aberrations in the norm. Women become vulnerable in marriage bounds than men due t the little support she offers to the family while man contributes higher in terms of financial support. There are situations where family requires both husband and wife to work and earn income but the woman suffers because, she is denied employment opportunity even if she is experienced due to the belief that woman is supposed to engage in her conjugal duties. In many states, the law requires man and woman to have similar legal residence which explains the way a women gets married in another state where her registration as a vote is lost and eligibility to be elected in the state of her origin. Many women suffer a lot because, they fail to get employment opportunities or promotion if she is already employed if the employer believes that, once the husband moves, the wife will also move and terminate her employment. Married women have financial ramifications in states owned by the community. The husband has all the power over property of the community and can sell assets such as bonds and real estate without permission from the wife or without informing the wife. Before enactment of opportunity act of equal credit in 1974, women who were married could not use their own name in credit card without permission from the husband. Today, over twenty per cent of Express cards in America are owned by women and eighty per cent by men.

Women were not only mistreated by men in marriage but also when they wanted to dissolve marriage through divorce. In America, divorce affected women so much that, the were given the first priority by the child custody a woman can wok for nine days to earn what a man can earn in five days. American women liberation support single parents who are in need where statistics show that, in 1982 census, forty one per cent of the custodial mothers have children who are not supported financially while their ex-husbands use those payments to ensure their car payments are made on time. There are many factors that aim at reducing effective income of women making their earnings to reduce by seventy per cent immediately after divorce. Women are required to be good mothers and participate actively in bringing up their children. Alternatively, forces from outside expect them work hard and provide those children with basic needs and wants. The view that men are the only ones who can provide for basic needs has exception because; it requires one to have self respect and dignity in order to have a meaningful life irrespective of gender.(Weisshaar, 2006)

In the United States of America, legal history shows that, constitution shows that everyone is considered equally by being all inclusive but the reality is different because, those words do not bide legally. Constitutions do not fight against discrimination of women and women still experience psychological domination in the modern society. Privileges and immunities in the f

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