n the last two years, the number of women and minorities in management has grown somewhat rapidly in my organization. Although the number of women and minorities to the total management population still remains low.
The often-cited “glass ceiling” effect, refers to barriers causing an under representation of women in organizations with predominantly white males. It should be noted though, that under representation in itself does not necessarily signify less opportunity for advancement, since a variety of other factors could account for it. For example, some studies have found that women entered their organizations at significantly lower levels than men despite the fact that they had essentially identical education and years of experience. Moreover, the importance of entry level is underscored by the fact that entry level has been found to have a significant effect on later career success. (Cox, 1993).
Gender bias is as apparent in my organization as is in many of the professional fields. The field of medicine offers a good example. The medical and nursing professions remain segregated, with 84% of physicians being men and 97% of nurses being women. (Norton & Fox, 1997). This percentage breakdown somewhat describes the management population in my region, with 88% of general managers being men and the remainder being women. Our numbers in the assistant managers are about the same, with one great distinction. First, let me describe the management structure of our stores: one general manager, and two assistant managers – sales manager and operations manager. The majority of our sales managers are men and the majority of our operations managers are women.
This is my second time around with this organization. I left for a period of nine months, to help a friend start up a wholesale-distribution company. My first encountered with this gender gap in our management ranks, was attributed to the fact that the direction of the company was to maximize shareholder value. The strategies tend to be driven by the expectations of the marketplace. It is not surprising, therefore, that financial goals and programs to achieve them dominated the agenda. (Beer & Nohria, 2000).
The recruiting strategy – hiring people with years of experience to fill our general manager ranks; hire people into the sales manager ranks with sales experience. The hiring mobility of women has somewhat been limited by stereotypes that they were too emotional and unable to handle the fast pace of the business and its operations. Women in the assistant manager rank often lack the performance-based feedback that was given to their male counterparts, which served as an additional obstacle for further promotion.
In summary, corporate practices in the areas of hiring, career development and promotion have not as yet resulted in propelling large numbers of women into the ranks of general manager or assistant manager rank.
Behavioral double-binds, old boy networks, communication and leadership styles, and differing male and female attitudes toward power are other behavioral and cultural explanations.