Page 51 - Management Digest Udyama Vol 1 Isuue 2
P. 51

The case of ‘glass-ceiling’ for   When education, experience,   Chancellors and Deans than
            women managers                  skills, and talents held by female   women.
                                            managers are not properly
            ‘Would things have been different   utilized, corporations lose, and, by  Women managers, unite!
            in 2008 if instead of Lehman    extension, so do societies at large.
            Brothers we had been dealing    This brings to mind the widely   Viewing reality from a Weberian
            with Lehman Sisters?’ The       researched subject of  “tacit   perspective, we can see that in the
            obviously well intended ironic   knowledge” left unused.       21st century private and public
            question, heard widely in World                                enterprises and organizations,
            Mass Media, is not completely   The ‘glass ceiling’:           on a global scale, continue to
            irrelevant. The comment, caustic   a widespread practice       operate under a patriarchal type of
            but succinct, brought forth a                                  authority structure.
            reality facing talented women   Two decades ago, Cotter et al
            in education, corporate life and   (2001) found that the ‘glass   I will close this short glimpse at
            politics.                       ceiling’ phenomenon in the USA   the detrimental ‘glass ceiling’
                                            continues to exist not only despite   phenomenon doing injustice to
            While women outnumber men in    the introduction and enforcement   talented women and creating large
            college and university enrolment,   of the historic “Civil Rights Act   financial and socio-psychological
            percentage-wise, they are by    of 1964’, which aimed at banning   costs, wondering how much more
            far outnumbered by their male   all forms of discrimination, but   time we need until the day a
            colleagues.                     also despite the Title II of the   woman manager will paraphrase
                                            Civil Rights Act of 1991 which   another historically significant
                                            established the ‘Glass Ceiling   maxim, that of Marx and Engels,
             Making excuses                 Commission’.                   calling women managers to unite,
                                                                           “as they will have nothing to lose
            A stereotype is that women      A February 2011, a survey by   but a lot to gain by smashing the
            prefer family life to career, and   the “Institute of Leadership   glass ceiling which keeps them
            will sooner or later abstain from   and Management” reported by   trapped in the middle rungs of
            full-time employment as marriage   the BBC, suggested that things   corporations and organizations’.
            and motherhood prevent them     are not much better for British
            from devoting the same amounts   women managers. The BBC
            of energy and effort in advancing   reported that 3/4 of the women
            their careers compared to their   taking part in this survey are still
            male counterparts.              facing barriers to promotion to
                                            higher corporate positions.
            This being said, women who are
            willing to refrain from creating   Education: no exception
            a family are not promoted to
            the highest management ranks    The cards seem to be stacked
            despite the fact that they possess   against women managers in
            all the necessary training, skills,   corporate life but things do not
            experience and leadership talents,   appear to be better in academic
            often surpassing those of their   life. Statistics show that in
            male competitors.               many colleges and universities,
                                            women are enrolled in larger
                                            numbers than men but looking
            How corporations and            at the staff rosters of teaching   Prof. Georgios Piperopoulos
            societies are losing out        and research personnel, it is     Honorary Professor in
                                            a reality that men outnumber
            Preventing women from their     women. Even a superficial glance   Management & Marketing
            right to rise to the highest levels   of top executives in educational   at Durham University
            of management is a fact that can   institutions will reveal that     Business School
            cost dearly although it may not   there are more men holding the     United Kingdom
            be reflected in corporate annual   positions of Rectors and Vice
            balance sheets.                 rectors, Chancellors and Vice




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