First Name:
Catherine
Last Name:
Wood
Major Department:
Management
Thesis Director:
Leigh Dunston
Date of Thesis:
May 2010
Over my past four years at Appalachian State University I have noticed the lack of women in upper-level business classes. I recall a statistics class I had in my sophomore year. Out of 50 people, only two were female; we sat on the second row as comrades.
From a young age I have always been told, "you can be anything you want to be," and told that I have a knack for mathematics, but I look around and see that being a woman in business is still a lonely road.
I wanted to explore the Glass Ceiling in American Society and see just how far women have come since the phrase was first recognized in the 1980s, but also how far we still have to go.
It is no secret that women are fewer in number when it comes to "traditionally male-dominated domains", which tend to have a large focus on math, but there is no reason for pay discrepancies. In 2009, women earned $.77 to a man's $1.00 and female CEOs earned only 86% of male CEO's pay; however, today six out of ten bachelor's degrees are earned by females.
I have not set out to create a great feminism cause for concern or encourage the female "bra burning" uprising. I seek only to point out the differences that exist within our society, how they are changing, and how to further advance equality.
The Glass Ceiling is cracked but not broken; change is coming from the ground up. Researchers estimate that it takes between 20-25 years for an individual company to become completely accepting in upper-level management after it begins conscious female recruitment. This change is beginning for corporations across the United States. More companies are actively seeking female employment following the 2008 Global Economic Crisis with the intention that women are traditionally more cautious in business decisions and more accepting of others' opinions (Foroohar & Greenberg, 2009).
This is, in its simplest form, an exploration of The Glass Ceiling in American society and its effects on women from early childhood through retirement.