Glass Ceilings...

...they came up as a discussion point at our last get-together.  We wondered what did the term actually mean?

Then some of us wondered...was that what was happening when our male contemporaries got the more prestigious jobs? or when firms, apparently pro-women in terms of maternity rights and flexible time, still have all male management?

Women have been high profile in the media recently - Romney and Obama were battling for their votes in the American election and the news is good on the number of women moving onto the boards of FTSE100 companies. The government knows it has to keep women working if it is to recharge the economy but the cost of childcare is proving a disincentive to many (The Observer, 27th October 2012).  According to the Observer, "The problem of how to get more women into work is now seen by politicians of all parties as a key economic and social challenge – the way to increase social mobility and living standards, tackle poverty, boost the economy and reduce the benefits bill for taxpayers."

The question of glass ceilings is more about keeping women in work than getting them there in the first place.  More precisely, it is an unnervingly neutral metaphor for whatever it is that  keeps women out of influential, decision-making positions in their field.  (Why is it glass?  Isn't it just a ceiling?)


There are studies looking at the issues in our industry in particular - I will try to work out how to make the pdfs available via this blog -  but the advantage of a local group like CWiC is that we can get more personal than this.  These are my thoughts, my observations and my experiences.  I don't pretend to speak for anyone else but I would very much like to know others' thoughts and experiences because I think that is the only way to get a fair point of view.

I read recently that the number of women and men in positions of power is unbalanced because women think there's more to life, and that they are right.  I think there may be some truth to this but there’s condescension in it too: ahh Woman, see the depth of experience and joy of living you have from all your non-work activities, YOU are the truly wealthy one. I have only money, status and the respect of my colleagues. 

Does career progression mean the exclusion of “more to life” only because that’s the way men have always done it?  Let’s risk a generalization: men are competitive, women are cooperative.   Men have shaped the business world, the money making and the indicators of success. All these, in the west anyway, contain an element of competition. At a critical point in her career, if a woman chooses an inclusive approach, is she sabotaging her chances of promotion? 

I work closely with my male boss and over the years the boundaries of who does what have become blurred.  It can be a good partnership, I’m able to take decisions when he is away, we share ideas and he values my opinion.  We sit near each other and I find it natural to run decisions past him or double check a response before firing off an email.  Not every time, you understand. Sometimes I do it because saying something out loud helps firm things up in my own mind, sometimes because I want him to be aware of it (since he is ultimately responsible) and sometimes I do it simply to make him feel in the loop.  The trouble is, I am beginning to think this may be being misinterpreted as insecurity and/or lack of knowledge on my part.  Could it be a reason for not giving me more responsibility or a pay rise?  Then I find myself questioning whether I am, in fact, able to make those decisions on my own: the ‘internal glass ceiling’ shimmers into view.

Such insecurities and self doubts are not universally or exclusively female responses, but maybe this is where the ‘more to life’ bit kicks in: because my response is to look outwards, away from work, to get my confidence back.  I’m big on ‘reinvention’, not as big on it as Madonna is, but heading that way.  I reassess, take a course, go on a fitness binge, plan a trip, contact old friends, re-plan the house, flirt with the idea of turning my hobby into my work and have a haircut.  I take my foot off the pedal at work and tell myself I’m worth it (l’Oreal have got me sussed).  Listening to fellow CWiC members talking and introducing themselves I realised some degree of reinvention is a common theme to many women.  The most obvious one, I suppose, would be the role of mother but sometimes a relocation or a change in finances mean women trained in one line of work, turn to another. 

At our get-together we talked about how our strengths were strengthened through these changes.  There was an unspoken respect and understanding for this diversity of experience even if this meant a woman had spent less time doing one job and therefore not risen to the top of it.  Achievement wasn’t being measured by salary, influence and status but by survival, inventiveness and tenacity.  There wasn’t a ceiling because we were moving outwards not upwards. 

Can we translate those values into the wider business world? Or are we in a catch22 situation because we have to get through the glass ceiling to do it?  I really believe there are different ways of doing business and I know there are men exploring these as well as women.  Cooperation is a buzzword – Britain has a coalition government which, to everyone’s surprise, looks like it will go the distance.  In America the Republicans and Democrats have forced themselves to work together or face their ‘fiscal cliff’ and, whatever your view, the European Union keeps talking, keeps grappling with solutions for the good of the group, as well as the individual.  In the construction world there are our own examples with the move to the collaborative NEC contract and talks of B.I.M and 3D model sharing.  Fans of competition must just find it all too fuzzy and indistinct.  How can both sides claim victory?  What respect can you command for compromise?  Who’s best?   If we can get the answers to these into our business psyche then we will have new ways of judging, and valuing, success.   Then, if we keep working like that, maybe ceilings (glass or otherwise) will be irrelevant.