‘Break The Glass Ceiling’ by Kelly Fryer published in Great Health Guide (Sep 2016). What is a glass ceiling in the workplace? It is an unacknowledged barrier to advancement in a profession, especially affecting women and members of minorities. Would you like to find out how to break the glass ceiling and go past the barrier in your career? Read the rest of this article to find out how.
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IMPACT: Break The Glass Ceiling
written by Kelly Fryer
Glass Ceiling: – noun: an unacknowledged barrier to advancement in a profession, especially affecting women and members of minorities.
The first time I was asked to deliver an address
at a women’s network, it was on the topic of
Glass Ceilings and the issues I had faced throughout my career in competing with men. I explained that I had never encountered this issue but I could give my opinion on the differences between men and women when seeking a new role or a promotion from an HR perspective.
Typically, women will wait until they can do 100% of the role outlined in the job description, whereas men will typically apply if they can do 60% of the role. Men talk in interviews about ‘I’ and women focus on ‘we’.
Research has demonstrated that often throughout school females outperform males, we work hard and receive recognition through the grades we receive. When we enter the world of work, we assume that our efforts will continue to be rewarded in the same way. For some this is the case but for many, our efforts may go unnoticed because we aren’t promoting our successes and showcasing our talents in order to get the recognition we deserve.
From the definition above, we see the Glass Ceiling as an invisible barrier. I always believed I could achieve whatever I wanted to and so far I haven’t been proven wrong. However, there are still some organizations in the workplace where glass ceilings are a reality. You need to be in the ‘club’ in order to get promoted or recognized, but this is changing.
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Another concept is the ‘Glass Cliff’ and this refers to women who have made it to the top, but due to lack of time, support or resources are quickly pushed off, whereas males at the top appear to be given more time, with more money and additional resources to ‘fix the issue’. At this point, we see women jumping before they are pushed.
I have been lucky to have so many inspirational female role models in my life, at home, at school, in education and at work. I attend events with inspirational female speakers who have made it to the top and are succeeding in their roles. My network is filled with inspirational successful women. The great coaches and mentors who I have worked with have been inspirational successful women. No ceilings, just striving for and reaching success, although we all have different views on what success looks like.
In 2013 I was at a two-day development workshop where at the end of the first day there was a panel discussion. One panel member told an outstanding story. She worked in London and had just been made Partner in a large consultancy firm as the first woman to do so. She had worked hard, broken the ceiling and achieved what she wanted to achieve. She did speak about the ‘boys club’. In some of the nights out, she felt like an outcast because she wasn’t engaging in brandy and cigars although she had been recognised for her skills, talent and hard work.
In 2014 I attended an event with 300 women at the London Business School where there were a host of fantastic female speakers, all of whom were either CEO’s or members of Boards in International and Global Companies. The common theme they all spoke about was working hard to encourage more women into senior positions as they acted as role models to show it could be done.
Two speakers displayed their frustration at questions from the audience about juggling motherhood with a career. They both responded by asking if questions of fatherhood and a career would have been posed to male speakers.
Throughout my career I have strived to remove barriers and boxes from the workplace. Our own beliefs can hinder us as can psychometric testing that excuses our behaviour or limits our growth just because we are female.
I hold a strong belief that we each hold the answers and resources within us to achieve what we want to achieve. If we want to aim high, we should stop creating barriers, stop confining ourselves with labels and stereotypes and just be ourselves.
Top Tips for breaking the glass ceiling:
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act like there are no barriers, boxes, labels or limits
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believe in yourself and your own ability
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find an amazing coach or mentor to get you to the next level
Author of this article:
Kelly Fryer, Founder at Chrysalis Consulting, BSc in Psychology and is currently undertaking a PhD in Organisational Change and the Courage of Leaders. Kelly is a qualified and accredited Executive Coach and lives in the UK. Kelly can be contacted at Chrysalis consulting.
What I Told My Daughter
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