Does the Glass Ceiling Really Exist?

chillibreeze writer — Charulatha C

We organized the Women’s Leadership Summit last month and it set the cog wheels of my brain in motion. I am aware that for people with profiles like mine, IT work experience, good education et al., there is no discrimination in pay or position at workplaces. But I would still not accept that the situation is rosy and completely equal for men and women all over the world.

It’s not about a conscious bias which is there in the corporate world; it is about the undercurrents that exist which people have taken for granted. For instance, the keynote speaker at the event mentioned in her address that her boss held meetings late at night and assumed that she will not attend them because its late, and that she will be okay with a meeting held without her. When she brought it out and discussed this with her boss, he seemed to be shocked that he had “unconsciously” discriminated against her and mended his ways. Situations like this arise for most people – late night discussions, the “sutta” break conversations, weekend tête-à-têtes and most women don’t even bat an eyelid. They seem to think that this is not discrimination, and that it is just their own fault or weakness that is stopping them from achieving greater things.

Women are still asked in interviews whether they are married and whether they will move with their husbands. Although organizations have become conscious about asking only women these questions, there is still a rampant belief that married women will move with their husbands and single women will move when they get married! I blame the society and its structure for embedding these beliefs within organizations. We all know that women need some time off to give birth, take care of the family at some point or the other and this is not going to change. What I want is that organizations become cognizant of this fact and incorporate changes which will make life simpler for them. It is not true that women are less intelligent and less indispensable and can be “let go” when “nature” demands, but that is just the way things have been going on for years and will continue to go on unless companies decide that it is time to transform. I hold organizations like the Tata Group in high esteem since they have started the second career internship program for women who take a break for delivery. It is important to recognize that a special program is needed for women to get back in track with all that they have missed out in those 3-6 months and this can surely not be looked down upon as a weakness!

Also, companies can offer flexible work hours, which I believe is going to be the nature of work in the future for both men and women. Daycare centers in companies will go a long way in ensuring that women are comfortable both as a mother and an efficient employee. Thus a glass ceiling and its undercurrents do exist which filters out only 5% women CEOs. And although I know many women who will accept that they have dropped out of the race, I want to tell them that they don’t have to. Organizations will step up soon and am sure we will see more and more women CEOs and women executives racing along with the other sex.

All said and done, I am neither a feminist nor an anti-feminist. I don’t look down upon women who choose their families over their careers. I just want them to have a choice whether to be forced to quit or run their families efficiently along with their work life.

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Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in June, 2010. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

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—About our writer:

Charulatha C, has an MBA in Marketing from ISB Hyderabad. She is also a techie at heart with a degree from IIT Kharagpur and worked as an R&D engineer in a hi-tech startup for 5 years before she felt that "Marketing" was her calling! She is an avid blogger and has a passion for writing and thus wishes to put her creative potential to use. She is currently based in Mumbai.

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