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In recent years, there has been increasing concern that gender bias has prevented women from advancing as rapidly and as frequently as men into management positions. Although the number of women managers has increased, they may experience difficulty moving into upper management positions. The purpose of our research was to study employee gender and the positions held in high technology companies. A number of variables were considered which were tested to uncover the perception of a glass ceiling which may affect female employees' opportunities for advancement. Using a sample of 318 full-time employees from seven different high-technology companies, the results indicated that position held was significantly different for male and female employees. The results also indicated that neither male nor female employees appeared to notice the apparent glass ceiling within their companies. Implications are discussed and recommendations provided.
Key Words: Gender Bias in Position, Glass Ceiling, High Technology Company
The Perception of the Glass Ceiling in High Technology Companies
In recent years, there has been increasing concern that gender bias has prevented women from advancing as rapidly and as frequently as men into management positions. Although the number of women managers has increased, they may experience difficulty moving into upper management positions (Hymnowitz & Schellhart, 1986). Since its beginnings in the early 1970s with the emergence of "women in management" (Henning & Jardim, 1977, p. 2), the study of women in management has become a well-recognized and important field. Institutional discourse of gender equality is commonly accepted, but men still continue to achieve positions with more authority and higher rewards (Jacobs, 1995). Even though they have higher academic qualifications and professional experience, women managers tend to earn less than their male colleagues. This is particularly true at higher levels (Jacobs, 1995; Wajcman, 1999).
Women are underrepresented in management positions in comparison to men all over the world (Schein, 2001) and the rate of upward movement is low for women within the managerial ranks (Powell, 1999). Estimates report that only around 10% of management positions are held by women (Deal & Stevenson, 1998), and 21.3% of technicians are women (Wu, 2000). An increased interest in promotion decision justice is illustrated by frequent discussion of the glass ceiling, the invisible barrier that prevents women and minorities...