The world we live in today, unjust and unequal, is characterized by a society based on sexuality and racism, which is constituted by a social barrier that does not recognize, and indeed hinders, the advancement and success in the hierarchical ascent. This phenomenon, the so-called “glass ceiling”, especially affects women and minorities, regardless of their level of education, experience and skills: an invisible barrier that represents their vertical discrimination within companies, leading them to be in minority in decision-making positions and to perceive a differential treatment compared to men. This disparity, which concerns one of the main topics of discussion in business, is highlighted, for example, in the teams of most organizations, mostly made up of white men and characterized by a minimal presence of women.
In addition to this, it should be kept in mind that not all women have only a glass ceiling to break, but also a concrete roof to tear down, due to the still persistent racist ideas, at the level of ethnicity, sexual orientation and health. In fact, as the available data show, the possible privilege of working belongs more often to heterosexual, white and non-disabled women, while the loss of jobs affects women of different ethnic groups more.
In particular, there is a model, developed by Elacqua et. al., which helps to understand the reason for the presence of obstacles in the hierarchical ascension of women managers. According to this model, the differential treatment between men and women mediates the relationships between the organizational variables taken into consideration, which concern interpersonal and situational issues, and the perception of a glass ceiling.
As if that wasn’t enough, in the meantime another phenomenon closely related to the “glass ceiling” has developed, the so-called “glass cliff”: promoting women to positions of power during times of crisis, when failure is more likely.
Thus, in order to break these “ceilings” and “cliffs”, promoting gender equality and inclusion, both at socio-cultural and employment level, some countries have taken steps to guarantee women equal opportunities with men, through a series of initiatives. In Belgium, for example, gender quotas have been imposed on public organizations and a certain proportion of women on boards of directors.
For the moment, the first step is to recognize the existence of this problem, starting with the elimination of existing prejudices. The last step, on the other hand, is to be able to achieve a balance that allows everyone – men/women, young people/elders, foreigners, disabled – to have equal rights and opportunities in any area.
Silvia Versaci 5E
