Obstacles Faced by Female Executives

Female executives face tremendous obstacles in their climb up the corporate ladder. Sexual discrimination and social stereotypes create a glass ceiling that hinders their upward mobility. Women executives who overcome these barriers enjoy unprecedented professional fulfillment, albeit not without significant personal sacrifice.

The existence of a glass ceiling has been confirmed by numerous studies, surveys, and Congressional hearings. As one member of Congress notes, "The glass ceiling has many levels, and for many minorities and women the glass ceiling is far lower than one could imagine" (U.S. Congress, 1993, p. 4). Women make up 45 percent of the labor force, but less than 3 percent are corporate senior executives (U.S. Congress, 1993, p. 46). Even when women attain upper-level management positions, their earnings lag behind their male counterparts. A 1990 study of the 4,000 highest paid officers and directors in Fortune 1,000 firms found that only 19 were women (Fagenson and Jackson, 1994, p. 391). Despite the consciousness-raising experience of the women's liberation movement, the gains made by women in top management have been minimal.

The majority of male executives do not acknowledge the existence of a glass ceiling. A 1990 study of the financial industry indicated that 73 percent of CEOs surveyed claimed that no glass ceiling for women and minorities existed. However, 71 percent of women polled from the same industry claimed that a glass ceiling did

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f the managerial labor force (Fagenson and Jackson, 1994, p. 388). This statistic belies the fact that sexual discrimination is manifest is a variety of subtle and obvious ways. For instance, most women managers are concentrated in female-oriented fields such as health care, personnel, and education. Others stagnate in low-level management positions. Some of the statistical increase in women's representation in management is misleading. An example is the banking industry: "While women have made real gains in bank management, some of their progress is more apparent than real" (Bird, 1990, p. 164). Bird (1990) contends that women were promoted to management positions in increasing numbers as banking became a less desirable industry for men. The nationwide trend toward larger banks and branch banks increased the number of lower-level management positions. As a result, middle managers have less authority and prestige than in the past. As one female executive complained, "Women managers tend to have the title but not the power that should go with it. Rarely are they at the top, where policy is made, where power is" (Bird, 1990, p. 153). Although more than 70 percent of the 2 million workers employed in the banking indus

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