International Conference on Management Science and e-Business Engineering (ICMSBE 2011), Jeju Island, South Korea Women in workforce: The “Glass Ceiling”. Are they being discriminated? Rashad. Yazdanifard, PhD. Faculty of Information Technology and Computing, LimKokWing University Cyberjaya, Malaysia rashadyazdanifard@yahoo.com Zazarina Zainal Abidin Faculty of Information Technology and Computing, LimKokWing University, Cyberjaya, Malaysia zaza_feena@yahoo.com Abstract: Numerous studies an d research have bee n conducted in order to identify the scenario of “glass ceiling” in women‟s career and ways to encounter this situation. Throughout the years, the world witnessed the advancement of women in career building and penetration into job that was conventionally dominated by men, however, based on several research and studies, this progression is somehow still limite d an d hin de re d by some sort of gender discrimination, and women does not exactly progressing to a level that they deserved to be. The paper address this gender discrimination under the three main issues that have been found and frequently reviewed in previous research, studies in relation to „glass ceiling‟. There are gender wage gap, gender/job segregation and barrier in promotion process. Subsequently, this study will show that these three issues are directly related to each other. Keyword: Glass Ceiling, Glass Ceiling Effect, Women in Workforce, Gender Wage Gap, Gender Segregation, Barrier in Promotion. I. INTRODUCTION Today‟s world has witnessed the growth of women in the workforce and also the involvement of women in high-level corporate settings. Women have been given more opportunity in career advancement than their male counterparts as well as equal treatment. Money is no longer the main reason for women to work long hours, yet they are striving for recognition, success in career, personal empowerment, and so on. However, as they progress to the top, they will encounter a subtle barrier that prevents them from advancing upward to the top management level, which is called the “glass ceiling”. This barrier is somehow perceived by many as gender discrimination in the workplace. However, some women claim that they are not aware of the existence of this so- called ceiling in the development of their careers. This paper will focus on three issues that have been identified as the main factors that are directly associated with the glass ceiling. Furthermore, it will discuss ways to prevent this scenario from perpetuating as delineated by findings from empirical research, books, and literature reviews that were previously conducted by selected scholars, and governmental agencies in the US, Asia, and Europe. In order to examine the evolvement of the situation, the information presented is based on research conducted from the 80s until the present. This paper will also serve as a guide for women in strengthening themselves in the workforce, as well as a reference for further comprehensive research on the glass ceiling. II. THE CEILING The term “glass ceiling” was made famous 20 years ago by The Wall Street Journal to describe the situation, where women and minorities were prevented by apparent barriers, from reaching the top of the corporate hierarchy [8][13]. The glass ceiling is the analogy of the barriers faced by women in reaching the top level of their career ladder. Nevertheless, Martin defined the glass ceiling as “those artificial barriers based on attitudinal organizational bias that prevents qualified individuals from advancing upward in their organization into management-level positions” [4]. Regardless of all of the definitions, the glass ceiling, for purposes of this paper, can be understood and interpreted as the invisible barriers that prevent minorities and women, in this particular case, from advancing into the top levels in organizations. The glass ceiling effect is primarily experienced by women, when they are building their way up from the middle to the top level of management in both public and private organizations [13]. However, in most European countries, this scenario seems to be prevalent in private organizations compared to the public sector [3]. This paper will raise three main issues that have been associated closely to the existence of the glass ceiling, in other words, a form of discrimination on women that reduces their chances or possibilities of becoming successful at the same levels as their male colleagues:- 1. Gender wage gap, 2. Gender/job segregation 3. Barrier in promotion process