Does a Glass Ceiling Really Exist in Corporate America
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- Category: English
- Date Submitted: 05/04/2012 04:43 AM
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Does a Glass Ceiling Really Exist In Corporate America?
Once upon a time, there was a very real glass ceiling for women in the working world. Getting a job was hard enough for a woman, getting a promotion was almost impossible. The majority of top male executives did once actively campaign and scheme to preserve their patriarchal reign over the business world. That was over eighty years ago and many changes have occurred in the decades that have passed. One thing that has changed little in all that time is that women still make up a small minority of Fortune 500 senior executives. Many women would claim that this is proof that they are still being actively discriminated against, but the facts do not support “discrimination” by men as being a valid reason. The reality is that after 80 years, the mindset of men has changed much, while the mindset of women has changed little. The new glass ceiling is imposed by the women themselves and the choices they make.
In the eighty years between women first entering the workforce in measurable numbers and the present, a plethora of laws have been passed to ensure that if a woman was not treated equally in the workplace she had legal remedies for her predicament. Some of the legislation passed includes:
a) Equal Pay Act of 1963 made it illegal to pay men and women different wage rates for equal work on jobs that require equal skill, effort, and responsibility and are performed under similar working conditions.
b) Civil Rights Act of 1964 addressed gender and racial discrimination in a variety of areas including the workplace.
c) Women's Educational Equity Act (WEAA) of 1974 outlines federal protections against the gender discrimination of women in education. Addressing gender disparity in education led to more women continuing their education and becoming eligible for more high paying positions.
These laws and others have made the penalties for gender bias very expensive not only in the workplace, but in schools at all...
Once upon a time, there was a very real glass ceiling for women in the working world. Getting a job was hard enough for a woman, getting a promotion was almost impossible. The majority of top male executives did once actively campaign and scheme to preserve their patriarchal reign over the business world. That was over eighty years ago and many changes have occurred in the decades that have passed. One thing that has changed little in all that time is that women still make up a small minority of Fortune 500 senior executives. Many women would claim that this is proof that they are still being actively discriminated against, but the facts do not support “discrimination” by men as being a valid reason. The reality is that after 80 years, the mindset of men has changed much, while the mindset of women has changed little. The new glass ceiling is imposed by the women themselves and the choices they make.
In the eighty years between women first entering the workforce in measurable numbers and the present, a plethora of laws have been passed to ensure that if a woman was not treated equally in the workplace she had legal remedies for her predicament. Some of the legislation passed includes:
a) Equal Pay Act of 1963 made it illegal to pay men and women different wage rates for equal work on jobs that require equal skill, effort, and responsibility and are performed under similar working conditions.
b) Civil Rights Act of 1964 addressed gender and racial discrimination in a variety of areas including the workplace.
c) Women's Educational Equity Act (WEAA) of 1974 outlines federal protections against the gender discrimination of women in education. Addressing gender disparity in education led to more women continuing their education and becoming eligible for more high paying positions.
These laws and others have made the penalties for gender bias very expensive not only in the workplace, but in schools at all...