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ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to find out which of the three indicators i.e.
social influence, domestic responsibility and personal aspiration, is the most
influential factor contributing to the phenomenon of the glass ceiling towards
women’s career advancement in local petrochemical companies and foreign
transportation companies. The study was a combination of quantitative and
qualitative data collection. An interview was conducted with four representatives of
female white collar workers who work in different levels; staff, supervisory, manager
and director, in two local petrochemical companies and two foreign transportation
companies located in the Sathorn area. A survey was conducted, based on the oneshot
contact with the study population. The questionnaire was distributed to one
hundred female white-collar workers currently working in these companies.
The interviewing results indicated that married female white-collar workers
believed that domestic responsibility is the main obstacle towards their career
advancement while single female white-collar workers viewed social influence as the
most influential factor towards their career progression. The survey results revealed
different findings from the interview i.e. female white-collar workers who work in
these companies did not weigh any of these factors as barriers for their career
advancement. They are in fact uncertain if these assumptions contribute to the glass
ceiling phenomenon. However, among the three, personal aspiration reflected the
highest mean at 3.04 followed by domestic responsibility at 2.22 and social influence
at 1.94.
When the results were broken down into industries, it was found that 30 per
cent of female white-collar workers in petrochemical companies agreed that domestic
responsibility is a barrier towards their career. The results in transportation
companies showed that there is no significance among these three factors. However,
the demographic background of the respondents in these companies is different.
Most of the female white-collar workers in local petrochemical companies are
married while a majority of female white-collar workers are new graduates and
single.