This paper will be concerned with the lack of women in upper-level management positions. It will examine the professional, political, cultural and sexual causes of this deficiency. It will be seen that these causes include factors which pertain to male dominance in society, such as stereotyping, discrimination, managerial models, and myths. In addition, it will be seen that the causes include factors which relate to the culturally implanted values of women themselves, as seen in such things as fear, self-image, role conflict,, and motivation.
In recent decades, American women have made widespread gains in the workplace. The civil rights movement of the 1960's increased opportunities for women throughout the job market, including those in managerial positions. As a result of the civil rights movement, the U. S. Supreme Court passed a series of legislations which were designed to provide "affirmative action" in terms of overcoming racial and sexual discrimination in employment. These legislations, which included Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1972 Equal Employment Opportunity Act, "outlawed discrimination against women as well as minorities and ethnic and religious groups in recruiting, hiring and training."1 Because of these laws, and the women's movement in general, a variety of new management opportunities have opened up for women in the last two decades. However, despite the changes brought about by the civil rights movement, discrimination against women in management persists to the present day. The inequality of women in business is particularly noticeable in terms of wages. Thus, "while professional and corporate women have made some progress over the past 20-odd years, they haven't yet achieved financial parity with their male counterparts.2 This fact has been supported by the results of a study conducted by the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. This study compared the wage income of...