There is no doubt that men and women have equal intellectual capacities, and so should be equally successful in business and equally represented in senior management and leadership positions. Despite this there are relatively few women in senior management positions and fewer still on the boards of directors. This phenomenon is often referred to as the Glass Ceiling. For example a report by the Irish Business and Employers' Confederation (IBEC), published in March 2002, concludes that the presence of a ‘glass ceiling' means that there is a low level of female representation in senior management positions in Ireland. This ‘glass ceiling', it is argued, is created by a number of structural and attitudinal barriers.

1. Do you think there is a glass ceiling operating in Irish organisations? If so, discuss the reasons why this happens and compare the situation with other countries.

2. Discuss the policies and strategies an organisation could introduce to address the issue.

3. Identify and discuss in some detail the actions women should take themselves to deal with any glass ceiling they encounter?

4. How do business organisations suffer as a consequence of the lack of women representation in senior management and board positions?

Additional information

The problem related to HR Management and it explains about the concept of glass ceiling or low level of women employees in Irish organizations.

Word limit: 2000