How Hot Can Glass Get Before It Breaks

xi MIN READ

Breaking the Drinking glass Ceiling

Overcoming Invisible Barriers to Success

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Don't let who you are allow others to limit your horizons.

Great strides take been made toward equality in the workplace. But, even today, many people discover that they're unfairly blocked from advancing their careers.

They may be ideal candidates for promotion, with relevant qualifications, experience, and "can-do" attitudes – but time and over again they see less competent co-workers overtake them, or are disregarded for senior positions.

They've hitting the glass ceiling. In this article, we explore what the glass ceiling is, and nosotros look at what individuals and organizations can practice to boom it!

What Is the Glass Ceiling?

The glass ceiling is a metaphor for the invisible bulwark that prevents some people from rising to senior positions.

It'south a subtle only damaging class of discrimination, where you cannot accept the opportunities you encounter in front end of yous – despite your suitability and your best efforts. Crucially, this "failure" is non the outcome of a lack of skills and experience, or considering you lot haven't tried hard enough.

The glass ceiling is most often associated with women at piece of work – research suggests that women are eighteen pct less likely to be promoted than their male co-workers.

The term is applied to minority groups, also, but it goes across issues of gender and ethnicity. It tin affect people from all walks of life for a range of reasons. Let's consider these examples:

• The knowledgeable and skilled female executive who is denied a promotion because of her gender, because men in her organization are traditionally viewed as more "suitable" leaders.
• The highly experienced software programmer who is rejected for a role by a start-upwards business concern because, at 52, he's far older than the by and large Millennial workforce, and bosses feel that he might not "fit in."
• The bright police graduate who is refused an internship at a prestigious law business firm considering she doesn't have the "right upbringing."

All seem to exist ideal candidates, just they are held back by long-standing traditions, biases, and beliefs nearly what the "right" candidate looks like – the glass ceiling.

Chances are, having their career progressions blocked like this could get out them feeling confused, disorientated, depressed, or isolated. They may feel mistrust, anger or resentment, and offset to doubtfulness themselves.

But glass ceilings negatively impact organizations, too. Studies have shown that diversity is often the key to innovation, growth and college revenue.

Notation:

Another phenomenon to be wary of is the "drinking glass cliff." This refers to how "non-traditional" leaders tend to be promoted to senior positions where there is a high likelihood of failure.

For example, research suggests that women and people from ethnic minorities are more than oft promoted to CEO positions in organizations that are in reject.

Why Do Glass Ceilings Exist?

Glass ceilings are oft the effect of unconscious bias – instinctive, underlying beliefs about ethnicity, gender, age, sexuality, social class, organized religion, and so on. This may be largely unintentional.

However, in some cases, glass ceilings accept go a systemic problem – an inherent part of company culture, but 1 that many organizations plough a blind centre to. Elsewhere, glass ceilings are intentional, showing upwardly as overt discrimination or bullying, as a form of "ability play."

In these instances, people "at the height" may deny that a glass ceiling exists, considering they oasis't experienced it themselves. Or, they fear that acknowledging it would threaten their positions. Either way, they'll probable desire to preserve the status quo.

Annotation:

The discriminatory nature of the glass ceiling is one of the reasons cited for women being more than likely than men to work in positions below their level of competence. This phenomenon has been dubbed "The Paula Principle" by researcher and author Tom Schuller.

Other contributing factors identified by Schuller include the claiming of Combining Parenthood and Work, and positive choices based effectually work-life balance.

Listen Tools Corporate users and Premium members of the Mind Tools Club tin listen to a detailed discussion with Schuller in our Skillful Interview.

Three Ways to Smash the Glass Ceiling!

The glass ceiling is a difficult problem to tackle, but it'southward not impossible. Here are iii strategies for doing so.

1. Recognize That It Exists

To suspension a drinking glass ceiling, you get-go accept to know that it's at that place. This can be difficult when it'due south likely disguised as culture or tradition. At that place are, still, signs to testify that one may be in your system:

• The phrase "that's just the way things are done here" is used to justify appointments or decisions.
• There'south little diversity at the top.
• Singular leaders model their behavior on that of "typical" leaders, altering their direction styles or taking up new activities to "fit in."
• Sexist, racist, or other prejudicial language is common across the organization, just people excuse it equally "barrack."
• There's resistance to innovation and change, especially over the long term.
• There are casuistic pay gaps between different groups of employees.
• Fast-track career programs are in place for minority groups, just few participants progress. (These programs are frequently a genuine endeavor to redress an imbalance, but some are intended to demonstrate equality, without creating information technology.)
• It'due south hard for employees to get senior leaders' time, and there are limited opportunities for mentoring from senior personnel.

2. What You Tin Do equally an Employee

The first affair to realize is that the glass ceiling is no reflection of your value every bit a person or every bit an employee. The very nature of glass ceilings means that fifty-fifty if you've positioned yourself to run into every demand of a part, you'll still be denied the opportunity.

So, nosotros assume here that you understand and have the fundamental competencies and cocky-confidence required for the upper levels of your organization, just that you are notwithstanding beingness denied advancement.

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Permit'due south explore some deportment that y'all tin take to achieve the top:

• Channel your frustration into purposeful action. Experiencing or witnessing the touch of a drinking glass ceiling can leave you feeling frustrated, depressed, or aroused at the injustice. Use this passion as a catalyst for action, just don't allow it to control your behavior.
• Develop your awareness of the issue. Learn more than about where glass ceilings exist in your business organization, who they impact and how. The better yous understand the outcome, the more opportunities you lot'll identify to promote alter.
• Raise your concerns. If you believe that there'southward a glass ceiling in your organization, but your managers don't realize it (or, worse, they deny it), speak up or tell them (appropriately) that they're in the wrong. This makes it harder for others to ignore the upshot, and you may detect important allies.
• Exist patient, but assertive. Dismantling a glass ceiling will take time, but check in regularly with your manager to see what progress is being fabricated. Don't allow those at the meridian to "park" or forget the result.
• Take responsibility for your own development. If you lot're not existence given the opportunities that you experience you deserve in your current situation, it might be time to seek them elsewhere.

3. Deportment Your Organization Tin Take

As a manager, your role in helping your organization to dismantle glass ceilings is critical. But without the input of senior leaders, change volition exist far harder.

Below, we explore some strategies for encouraging organizational modify.

First, you need to open up a dialogue about the upshot. This tin hateful having some difficult conversations, and it requires honest introspection from senior leaders. Accept they done anything, inadvertently or otherwise, that may accept sabotaged people'southward progression? Do they fear "losing out" themselves if the organization becomes more inclusive? Practice they worry that it will affect functioning?

Encourage open conversations about these issues, and see where they lead. In that location may be a backfire, but you can counter this by stressing that modify needn't be threatening. It should simply allow those who deserve opportunities to access them, regardless of gender, race, or any other gene.

Inquire your squad members for their views. Yous may observe important facts and suggestions for improvement by asking people about their experiences.

Next, encourage your organization to recognize and challenge bias. Yous tin can learn more than most this in our commodity, Avoiding Unconscious Bias at Work.

A key action is to review your recruitment and promotion practices. These are the areas where the glass ceiling is near commonly imposed. Bear a "deep dive" into your current practices and consider how they may be affecting different groups' chances of progression.

Support your teams to reach their goals. Yous tin do this through mentoring, skills assessments, encouraging innovation, helping people to find their allies (or to become one), and raising their profiles.

The overall focus should be on promoting diversity: diversity of ideas, diversity of perspectives, and diverseness of innovation.

Tip:

Heed Tools Lodge and Corporate users can listen to our Expert Interviews with Natalie Holder-Winfield, about her book, "Exclusion: Strategies for Improving Diverseness in Recruitment, Retentivity and Promotion," and with Sally Helgesen nearly her book "How Women Rise: Break the 12 Habits Holding Y'all Dorsum from Your Adjacent Raise, Promotion, or Job."

Cardinal Points

The term "glass ceiling" refers to the way that some groups of people are held back in their careers past traditions, biases and the status quo.

To break the glass ceiling, you first take to identify it. Look for alarm signs such as a lack of diversity in leadership roles, inappropriate comments, and a lack of innovation.

Individuals can tackle the problem by learning more most it, raising their concerns, and taking responsibility for their own development.

Organizations can have action by honestly exploring whether a drinking glass ceiling exists, request employees for their views, investing in unconscious bias training, and offering support to employees.

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Source: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCDV_71.htm

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