Discussion Questions

Discussion Question 1

According to Northouse (2013) "the invisible barrier preventing women from ascending into elite leadership positions was initially dubbed the glass ceiling, a term introduced into the American vernacular by two Wall Street Journal reporters in 1986. (p. 353). There has been a lot of talk in the last two years concerning the glass ceiling with the first viable female candidate running for President of the United States. In the case of the presidential election, it seemed that either choice for president was less than appealing. When considering Hillary Clinton, I believe that she fell into the same dilemma as John McCain eight years earlier. Mrs. Clinton was running on the idea that things were going well and we should stray too far from what had been happening for the last two presidential terms. John McCain did the same, when trying to follow George Bush nearly a decade ago. In both cases, the people of the United States sent a clear message that they were ready for a change, no matter what the politicians believed.

Concerning glass ceilings and my own personal experience, I am thankful that I have not been involved with an organization that has limited the growth of women within its ranks. The general manager of the department that I work for is a woman and she is a very capable and charismatic leader. The president of Mercedes-Benz USA is a man, however his boss at the Daimler corporation is also a woman. At my previous organization women filled management positions, despite being in the automotive industry, that is dominated by men.

Discussion Question 2

While we most naturally associate gender inequities with the concept of the glass ceiling, those impacted by it also extend to minorities. Essentially, the glass ceiling is that invisible cultural force preventing people from achieving their potential in an organization regardless of their qualifications or experience (DoL, 1995). This is often the case with companies whose management culture can be described as a ‘good old boys' club' (McGregor, 2013). While skeptics may scoff and declare that we are well along the 21st Century now, it is worth pointing out that there are fewer women running big companies than there are men named ‘John' running big companies (Wolfers, 2015).

As a white male, it would appear implausible to claim experience of a glass ceiling...but here goes anyway. Glass ceilings are about in-group/out-group opportunities and experiences (Northouse, 2013). As a newly-arrived English teacher in Spain, there were several layers of society to negotiate with native speakers, schools, locals, and companies. Teachers who paid no attention to the quieter rules found themselves sidelined. It was much the case when living in Frankfurt too. Over the course of five years it was possible to build lasting relationships but I would always be an Ausslander. When coming to the US, I had to live off savings before my work permit came and was down to nothing [again]. Seeing cultures from multiple perspectives has hopefully made some of the forces behind glass ceilings more apparent to me. As such, I'd like to think of myself as an advocate for those who might otherwise experience the effects of a glass ceiling.

Bibliography

DoL. (1995). Federal Glass Ceiling Commission. Solid Investments: Making Full Use of the Nation's Human Capital. U.S. Department of Labor , November , p. 13-15.

McGregor, J. (2013, September 25). The boardroom is still an old boy's club. Retrieved March 12, 2017, from Washington Post : https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2013/09/25/corporate-boardrooms-are-still-old-boys-clubs/?utm_term=.1148b35a37c0

Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Wolfers, J. (2015, March 3). Fewer Women Run Big Companies Than Men Named John. Retrieved March 12, 2017, from NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/03/upshot/fewer-women-run-big-companies-than-men-named-john.html?_r=0