“A 2011 McKinsey report noted that men are promoted based on potential, while women are promoted based on past accomplishments.”
― Sheryl Sandberg,
Being a woman is difficult. Not only in India but all around the world. Being treated as an equal in front of men is still a dream for many women. There is always a constant pressure on women to prove themselves in order to be appreciated for the work they do, as there is always an implied assumption that men do better quality work than women.
Although society has progressed significantly over the years and women have been appreciated for their work. They have been in positions of authority and pulled of that responsibility very well. Women have been part of all sectors of work. There is no sphere of work which a woman has not shined in.
Along with all the acceptance and appreciation there still lies a problem which women face even today,
Glass ceiling as “an artificial barrier in a women’s career which deters her from reaching senior positions or attaining high salary levels. This particular term was first coined by Hymowitz and Schellhardt in a 1986 Wall Street Journal Report on corporate women. While the word ceiling is used to indicate that the advancement of women in their careers is limited the term glass is used because the ceiling is not always visible. The barriers commonly include salary inequality for the same work, discrimination in promotions, sexual harassment in the workplace and lack of policies to maintain work-life balance.”
The concept of glass ceiling applies not to women but also minority groups, like women these groups also face discrimination and when it comes to work appreciation and promotion in the corporate world.
The Glass Ceiling can seem demotivating and as a hindrance to women, but there some women who have successfully broken the Glass Ceiling and earned themselves positions of power and authority in the male dominant areas of work.
Chennai-born Indra Nooyi not only broke the glass ceiling in corporate America when she was named CEO of global beverage giant PepsiCo in 2006 but, through her journey, inspired millions of young Indians who dream of and aspire to emulate the success the India-born woman achieved in America.
Sheryl Sandberg was the first woman elected to Facebook’s board of directors in 2012, after a four-year tenure as the social media company’s chief operating officer. Her book “Lean” In which explained how women could achieve success in male-dominated businesses became a best-seller the following year. Since that meteoric rise, Sandberg has dealt with blowback over her role overseeing a lobbying campaign to silence critics of Facebook users’ personal information being harvested by Cambridge Analytica. She was also called to Washington D.C. in September 2018 to testify about Facebook’s responsibility in Russia’s interference into the 2016 election.
Sub Lieutenant Shivangi became the first woman to fly a plane in India’s navy. The milestone came three years after the country’s air force recruited its first female pilots.
Gagandeep Kang is the first Indian woman scientist to be elected Royal Society Fellow in 360 years. As per media reports, the Royal Society of London has announced a list of 51 eminent scientists elected to its fellowship in the year 2019.
References,
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/glass-ceiling.asp
https://www.ndtv.com/people/indra-nooyi-she-broke-glass-ceiling-in-corporate-america-inspired-millions-1896143
Aishwarya Says:
I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.
If you are interested in participating in the same, do let me know.
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We also have a Facebook Group Restarter Moms for Mothers or Women who would like to rejoin their careers post a career break or women who are enterpreneurs.
We are also running a series Inspirational Women from January 2021 to March 31,2021, featuring around 1000 stories about Indian Women, who changed the world. #choosetochallenge