Women in Management

Since the rise of capitalism and large corporations, traditionally, the vast majority of top positions throughout the world have been held by males rather than females. Yet, since the 1970s, women have made a substantial stride in becoming part of the labour force. There are an increasing number of women who enter the workforce and an increasing number of managerial positions filled by women. Furthermore, companies have been taking huge strides in promoting and recruiting women in all levels of management and have introduced benefits such as parental leaves, part-time policies, and travel-reducing technologies to help them stay in the company (Barsh and Yee 2011). As well, corporations realize there benefits of working women within their company. For instance, in the United States of America, women have been a growing factor in the success of the country’s economy. Without women, the economy would be 25% smaller (Barsh and Yee 2011). Although there has been promising news in women’s advancement, the fact remains is women’s access to senior management positions remains limited. Since the three decades has passed of women entering male professional and managerial occupations, women’s persistent underrepresentation in senior managerial positions remains a puzzle. The proportion of women in middle and senior management positions had stagnated over the last 20 years. The gap between men’s and women’s representation in the senior management ranks narrowed very little during that 22-year span, and the proportion of women senior managers overall as a share of the female labour force was virtually unchanged during that period (The Conference Board of Canada 2013:3). The reason why women have yet made it through to higher organizational levels is related to the concept of the glass ceiling. The glass ceiling constitutes an invisible barrier for women and minority groups, preventing them from moving up the corporate ladder (Weyer 2007:483). One aspect of the glass ceiling