Why does the glass ceiling persist?
Women continue to face barriers when it comes to the best-paid corporate jobs. In an age when organizations are increasingly being called upon to end the gender pay gap, here’s what your company can do.
Researchers Roxana Barbulescu and Matthew Bidwell wanted to discover the reasons for the continuing pay gap between men and women. Was it because corporations were denying women the top jobs or paying them less money for these jobs? Or were women opting out of even applying? And if so, for what reasons?
They undertook the first research of its kind, to study the entire job process among equally qualified men and women job applicants. Indeed, they found that women often chose not to apply to high-salary finance and consulting jobs, seeing the environments as too masculine or not offering a good work-life balance. If they did apply, however, women had a comparable rate of job offers.
How, then, to get more women to apply? The remedy, unfortunately, is not simple. It requires companies to reevaluate the policies, communication style, and overall atmosphere of their organizations from to bottom. Reducing work-family conflicts, eliminating a “boys’ club” atmosphere, and opting for an inclusive communication style are good first steps.
By Sono Motoyama, Journalist
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