Do You Believe in a Glass Ceiling?

I am not sure one exists. I do know that there is a shortage of female C level executives. We recently hosted an IFRS update luncheon for CFOs and sent an invitation to every CFO of a publicly traded company in the Boston area and I only came up with 1 female CFO out of 70.

Is it a “glass ceiling” or something else?

I believe it is something else or maybe a combination of these 2 observations...

1) Women tend to approach the professional workforce differently than men. Women are usually more lone fighters in a battle field as where men tend to create alliances through building relationships and networking. Many women tend to view that sort of thing as a waste of time when there is so much to be done. I have seen the “alliance” strategy to be more long term beneficial to a career path. The most successful women that I have interviewed have credited networking and relationships built over time as a large part of their success.

2) So many women are way too insecure about being a woman in the workforce and try to over compensate by being abrasive with their assertiveness. To me the ultimate example of a woman with a demeanor that is assertive, firm, intelligent without being abrasive or arrogant is Invanka Trump. (More on Ivanka's attitude on success.)

Yes, I do watch The Apprentice and there are vivid examples of the good, the bad and the ugly.

Maybe I just see what I want to see but I think women can be their own worst enemy.

Am I wrong?

Posted by:
Saundra Lee
President
Dubin & Lee

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Comment by Sylvia Dahlby on January 18, 2011 at 3:57pm: YES, I do believe there is a glass ceiling. It’s still a man’s world. Deal with it. The glass ceiling in the U.S. and many industrialized countries has cracks in it, yet women still have a long way to go towards employment equity. Things are changing in places like China, India and Brazil, but the revolution is far from over. American women have it easier than women around the world, we need to do more to help each other -- which speaks to your first point that yes we are different. I also think women can be there own worst enemies since they are often less inclined to mentor/coach and help other women, or seek a male mentor/coach for themselves. The truth is that men did not create the glass ceiling by themselves, although women & minorities (funny how half the world is still a minority in the workplace) are the ones that need to tear down the barriers to their own career aspirations. With regards to the second point about not being assertive, a lot of women over-compensate and that's why they seem abrasive or arrogant - ironic how the same behavior in a man is more acceptable.