Editing Sexism (section)

=== Glass ceiling effect ===

{{Main|Glass ceiling}}

"The popular notion of glass ceiling effects implies that gender (or other) disadvantages are stronger at the top of the hierarchy than at lower levels and that these disadvantages become worse later in a person's career."<ref>{{cite journal |first1=David A. |last1=Cotter |first2=Joan M. |last2=Hermsen |first3=Seth |last3=Ovadia |first4=Reeve |last4=Vanneman |year=2001 |title=The Glass Ceiling Effect |journal=[[Social Forces]] |volume=80 |issue=2 |pages=655–681 |doi=10.1353/sof.2001.0091 |s2cid=145245044}}</ref>

In the United States, women account for 52% of the overall labor force, but make up only three percent of corporate CEOs and top executives.<ref name="Matsa 2011">{{cite journal |first1=David A. |last1=Matsa |first2=Amalia R. |last2=Miller |year=2011 |title=Chipping away at the Glass Ceiling: Gender Spillovers in Corporate Leadership |journal=[[American Economic Review]] |series=Papers and Proceedings |volume=101 |issue=3 |pages=635–639 |doi=10.1257/aer.101.3.635 |s2cid=154536609 |url=http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/working_papers/2011/RAND_WR842.pdf}}</ref> Some researchers see the root cause of this situation in the tacit discrimination based on gender, conducted by current top executives and corporate directors (primarily male), and "the historic absence of women in top positions", which "may lead to [[hysteresis]], preventing women from accessing powerful, male-dominated professional networks, or same-sex mentors".<ref name="Matsa 2011" /> The glass ceiling effect is noted as being especially persistent for women of color. According to a report, "women of colour perceive a 'concrete ceiling' and not simply a glass ceiling".<ref name="Matsa 2011" />

In the economics profession, it has been observed that women are more inclined than men to dedicate their time to teaching and service. Since continuous research work is crucial for promotion, "the cumulative effect of small, contemporaneous differences in research orientation could generate the observed significant gender difference in promotion".<ref>{{cite journal |first1=John M. |last1=McDowell |first2=Larry D. Jr. |last2=Singell |first3=James P. |last3=Ziliak |year=1999 |title=Cracks in the Glass Ceiling: Gender and Promotion in the Economics Profession |journal=American Economic Review |volume=89 |issue=2 |series=Papers and Proceedings |pages=392–396 |jstor=117142 |doi=10.1257/aer.89.2.392}}</ref> In the high-tech industry, research shows that, regardless of the intra-firm changes, "extra-organizational pressures will likely contribute to continued gender stratification as firms upgrade, leading to the potential masculinization of skilled high-tech work".<ref>{{cite journal |first=Steven C. |last=McKay |year=2006 |title=Hard Drives and Glass Ceilings: Gender Stratification in High-Tech Production |journal=[[Gender and Society]] |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=207–235 |doi=10.1177/0891243205285371 |s2cid=154793796}}</ref>

The United Nations asserts that "progress in bringing women into leadership and decision making positions around the world remains far too slow".<ref name="United Nations 2006">{{cite web |title=Women still struggle to break through glass ceiling in government, business, academia |publisher=United Nations |date=March 8, 2006 |url=https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw50/PressReleaseIWD8March.pdf |access-date=18 Feb 2024}}</ref>

==== Potential remedies ====

Research by David Matsa and Amalia Miller suggests that a remedy to the glass ceiling could be increasing the number of women on corporate boards, which could lead to increases in the number of women working in top management positions.<ref name="Matsa 2011"/> The same research suggests that this could also result in a "feedback cycle in which the presence of more female managers increases the qualified pool of potential female board members (for the companies they manage, as well as other companies), leading to greater female board membership and then further increases in female executives".<ref name="United Nations 2006" />