The Glass Ceiling

Hossam Elhowary

Professor Anthony Teri, MBA, MA

Psychology of Women

Union County College

The Glass Ceiling

Inequality primarily refers to when different groups are deprived their choice of rights. It has been pronounced in the current society at diverse levels and in a variety of parts. The most common features are in relation to gender, age, social class, geographical background among other features. In adverse situations, discriminatory acts have often resulted into conflicts in the society therefore an array of devastating consequences. In addition, equitable development in most societies has often been compromised by cases of inequalities at different levels. Central in the discriminatory acts is cases of inequality exercised towards the feminine gender. Over the years, the women have been treated as the weaker gender therefore subject to unequal opportunities in the society. The glass ceiling well explains it, a term often used in political arenas to explain certain barriers to prevent women from attaining certain opportunities in the society. The year 2014 is not an isolation of cases of women equality. Numerous cases of actions depriving the women of equal participation in different sectors. More precisely, cases of gender inequality in the corporate sector have raised much concern due to the rapid increasing rates. Initially, both the two genders are often subjected to the same nature of scrutiny during the recruitment procedures. The qualifications demanded are in most cases at par. Furthermore, after securing placement in these companie, both women and men in same ranks in the society are tasked with an equal volume of tasks to accomplish. However, surprisingly, the remuneration plans are not often equally offered despite the same qualifications and tasks performed. Women employees are in most cases paid low wages in relation to those paid to their male counterparts. The trend is witnessed in both the public and the private sector. In response to these, many affirmative actions have been initiated by humanitarian’s companies in a number of countries in a bid to ensure equality at work areas. Therefore, this paper will attempt to articulate attempt to the a range of causes of gender inequality and the effects on the progressive development of the women. This will be achieved through the reflection on the inequality cases in a variety of sectors and countries. At the end of this paper, the effects of these gender inequalities will be clearly stipulated besides the possible measures that can be adopted so as to curb these resulting devastating results.

A number of debates have been brought forth for the disparity in the income levels between women and men at work areas. One of the critical discussions is that regarding the responsibilities vested upon the two genders. Some personalities argue that most duties in the societal set up are vested upon the men. They further argue that the responsibility comes with power that in this case is better wages at work places. However, these sentiments have faced strong critic who opines that the magnitude of responsibility should form the center in the discussions for wages at work areas. Therefore, this articulate that individual’s qualifications should be the basis of discussions relating to employees remuneration. (Ferbe & Nelson, 2003, p. 200). Cases of women being offered low wages are rampant in a number of sectors in a number of countries. In Australia, statistics released early this year shows that a larger percentage of women in the country would prefer to remain in their personal business than to get placed in a range of reemployment agencies. The decision is mainly due to the low wages that they subjected to. Australia is reportedly one of the countries that experience challenges in equity in the employment plans. It has resulted into a number of devastating consequences to the economic growth of the country. The situation in the United States is pronounced where it reportedly said that women receive payments of 77 percent of their general expected income levels. (Madden, 2000, p. 100). It has been a major reason for a low number of female counterparts in the public sector in the U.S. In reaction to these, female elites in the country have strived in order to restore equality in the work environment. Female members in the house of the representatives in the US have in most attempts table most gender bills seeking to ensure equality at work places. In bid to eliminate cases of inequality in the corporate sector as in the country in general, the Obama’s administration has introduced different plans. The government has initiated educational programs that aim at equipping the women with the skills demanded in various sectors. Sensitization programs by the government are put in place so as to encourage women to adopt the spirit of seeking for responsibilities. This is basically to allow women competitive advantage in the recruitment plans in the public administration. Promotional opportunities are incorporated by managers in the association in order to achieve motivation with the entities. For the effectiveness of the plan, it should be done on the basis of the performance level of the respective employees. Inequality in these promotional activities in most of the public association is witnessed where the gender of the employees has been used as a basis of thee plans. Male counterparts hold most of senior positions in the organizations. More adverse results are that these inequality in the promotional plans has greatly demoralized the women employees I these organizations for this reason low performance. (Goldin & Katz, 2008, p. 563). These practices are intensified by the perception of most individuals in the society that the feminine gender is ineffective in the delivery of most of the public services. China is one of the countries that have witnessed a number of inequalities in the employment sector. Job descriptions that specify men as the preferred candidates openly illustrates this inequality. In certain gross occasions the adverts for the job opportunity openly declares that, ‘women are not wanted.’ It primarily shows the extent to which gender inequality is pronounced in the country. In a bid to curb these gender discriminatory cases, the court system of the country has attempted to charge persons involved in these inequality cases. On February 2014, one of the courts in China ruled in favor of a 23 year old lady who had been discriminated in the process of seeking an employment opportunity.

Statistical discrimination has also been a major contributor to the instances of wage rate disparity among the two genders. Recent statistics conducted in diverse European countries shows that the probability of women employees leaving their duties is high in comparison to that of their male counterparts. These statics data have seen women not preferred in most of the employment plans. It is because the management of these firms would want to avoid the risks of individuals quitting their responsibilities before the expiry of their stipulated contracts. In the event they are considered, the management will subject them to low remunerations owing to the risks in the event they quit their obligations. Due to the numerous private obligations, women are viewed not to be at a position to deliver effectively their roles. Cultural and societal values of individuals are strongly rooted therefore, being a ladder to the broad range and portions of inequalities. Initially, the national set up of most of the cultures and religions teaches that a man is the head of the family. (Ferber & Nelson, 2003, p. 87). This has from time to time created a sense of inferiority complex among the women making most of them shun from a number of opportunities. It clearly achieved due to the wide range of national demands that women have to play. More ironically, despite the many domestic responsibilities that women have at the family level, these cultures still view that man is the bread winner of the family thus should have a higher income level. The status of the feminine gender in these domestic set ups has been replicated in the corporate environment hence resulting into a number of wage inequalities.

In addition, the status of women in the society has contributed to a number of key features in the development plans of the feminine gender. Inequality in the education sector in most countries has also to certain extent contributed to the wage inequality issues in the society. For a long period, there are certain careers that have been preserved only for the male personalities. This is due to the nature of the tasks and the commitment levels demanded. The learning environment in most of the developing countries is not conducive for the learning of the female candidates. (Brady, 2009, p. 209). At adolescent stage it is stated that young girls are prone to cases of mistreatment that in some cases entails sexual harassment. Besides, due to their body morphological structure they are susceptible to a number of constraints that complicate their training programs. This situation was majorly illustrated in Northern America. These types of molestations if not controlled results into poor performance by the female counterparts due to cases of depression.

Statistics conducted in North America manifests particular issues in the education programs worth noting. In the higher education in Canada, it is recorded that a higher percentage of those perusing higher education are women. This percentage is represented by 57 per cent. The conditions are not very different in the U.S where 51 per cent of PhDs awarded yearly a specifically for women. However, despite these attempts by women to fit in the education sector, it is said that only a few colleges. This openly manifests the heights of these discriminatory acts in the employment opportunities.

Due to globalization and industrialization in many countries in the world, great steps have been made towards the realization of the persons’ rights and efficacy in most of the operations. Democracy demands that every person is offered a fair opportunity irrespective of his or her gender, culture, religion, race, amongst other key facets. Democratic condition should allow individuals to participate in elective positions irrespective of the existing differences. In the early stages of the year, a number of Muslim states began to adopt democratic leadership in their countries. However, this has not barred a number of cases of inequality in leadership structures among some countries. This is also one of the ways through which the women have been are barred from rising to equal levels as their male counterparts in the society. A number of countries have conducted their general elections this year in which gender discriminatory cases were pronounced. As a result of this strong belief of the place of the women in the society, most women candidates vying for respective positions were openly outdone despite some with viable agendas and effective leadership skills. Elimination from these elective positions is primarily a major genesis for an array of inequality features including wage inequalities. (Goldin & Katz, 2008, p. 90). Owing to the lack of women involvement in most of the leadership roles, they are not also considered on the policy formulations for their countries. This can be attributed to democratic governance that demands representation of persons through which the laws of the countries are formulated. As a result, most of the representative bodies have adopted regulations that are not favorable to the progressive development of the women. These inequalities in the representation of persons are manifested in the United States for over a long period. This has seen the adoption of certain regulations by the house of the representatives that demands for a two –third women representation in the public positions. (Ferber & Nelson, 2003, p. 367). These developments are also considered by a number of countries in the bid to eliminate the causes of inequality. Most countries in Africa have integrated this provision in their dispensation so as to realize a long term solution to more than a few cases of inequality in the public sector.

In my personal view, the causes of gender inequality and more precisely in the wage rates offered should be eliminated at all costs. In fact, owing to the nature of the feminine sex, they should be guaranteed to a lot of favoritism at the expense of the male counterparts. This is mainly because of the extra responsibilities that women perform in the society. Apart from ensuring the attainment of their life goals, they have an array of national obligations to be fulfilled. In response to this, they should be entitled to high remunerations at work places. This should also be implemented in the desired qualifications for different positions in the enterprises. Due to the challenging situations that women face in attaining education programs, the qualifications demanded from them for numerous positions should be relaxed comparatively to those required for male characters.

Secondly, there are cases of women being disadvantaged in the wage plans at corporate level should be eliminated by the management of this institute for many reasons. Remuneration plans play a central role in improving the morale of employees in the undertaking of their roles. High salaries will serve as a motivation to employees at all levels; however, low payments` in relation to other employees will demoralize persons. As a result, this will greatly affect the performance levels of each individual. The overall effects will be poor performance and reduced effectiveness of the whole enterprise. Inequality in the payment plans will also give way to unscrupulous dealings within the company. Persons will resolve to embezzlement of the enterprise resources so as to fulfill their unsatisfied needs for financial resources. This will result into devastating effects as it risks terminating the operations of the firm. Promotional opportunities in the company should also be implemented equally in relation to the qualifications of persons and the level of performance. (Madden, 2000, p. 408).

Holistic developments in some sectors are achieved through equal offer of different opportunities. In the leadership structures, diversity of ideas will be realized when different persons are considered in the leadership structures with equality. Diversity in ideas will result into the adoption of new ideas that can result into improved rates of development. Economic empowerment of persons is also a very important in achieving the desired levels of economic growth. Through equal wage rates, the economic empowerment of women will be improved therefore this would empower them economically therefore economic development will be realized.

In conclusion therefore, becomes evident that gender equality is a general menace in the different countries. This is achieved in a number of ways that contribute to almost similar negative effects in the society. One of the most adverse effects of gender inequality is that prevents persons from exercising their expertise in diverse fields which will greatly compromise the development plans of a number of sectors. Owing to the assorted effects of gender inequality stipulated in the above discussion, there is the need for different concerned authorities to put in place appropriate measures in place that will help in eliminating these causes of inequalities. (Madden, 2000, p. 90). Firstly, regulations should be set to oversee the employment and the remuneration plans for several organizations. This will help in ensuring that equality is considered in all of these plans. In addition, in the event that these regulations are bypassed, effective and rapid measures should be put in place correct the situation. This can be achieved through legal actions that punish those who do not consider the stipulated procedures.

Secondly, emphasis should be placed on a variety of individuals’ rights and extensive sensitization to ensure that persons have a good mastery of their defined rights. This will eliminate instances of infringement as persons will often advocate for their rights at different levels. (Brady, 2009, p. 309). Equal opportunities will one of the fundamental rights to be considered. In addition, the line of action to be taken in the event that an person right is infringed should be well highlighted. The availability of these rights on equality will greatly assist to curb the cases of discrimination. This will be more fostered when emphasize is placed on the need to adhere to these demands by the responsible authorities. In order for countries like Australia to realize the desired economic levels in the public sector, there is the need for the government to adopt the principle of equality in the employment programs. Cultural values that advocate for inequality of the two sectors should be discouraged. More so those cultures that emphasize that women are not entitled to hold certain positions in the society should be discouraged through extensive sensitization that aim at changing the wrong cultural perception. Finally, the education programs should be offered irrespective of gender. This will allow for both women and men to equal opportunity for attaining qualifications required for quite a lot of job placements. Through all these measures, equality will be achieved in the society. Therefore, this will result into a number of positive outcomes in the society, among them, holistic growth.

References

Brady, D. (2009). Rich democracies, poor people: How politics explain poverty. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ferber, M. A., & Nelson, J. A. (2003). Feminist economics today: Beyond economic man. Chicago, Ill. [u.a.: Univ. of Chicago Press.
Goldin, C. D., & Katz, L. F. (2008). The race between education and technology. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Madden, J. F. (2000). Changes in income inequality within U.S. metropolitan areas. Kalamazoo, Mich: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.