Abstract of "A Report on the Glass-ceiling Initiative"
Author(s):
Lynn Martin
Introduction
This report is based on a continuing investigation by the
Department of Labor (DOL) on "the glass ceiling," that exists
against women and minorities, within corporate America. The
investigation had three major components:
- Establishing the fact that a glass ceiling exists.
- Determining the cause of this problem.
- Defining solutions.
Statement of the Problem
Over the past 25 years, the percentage of women and
minorities participating in the work force has increased.
However, this increase has been confined to entry level
positions, while the middle and senior level management
positions still reflect a shortfall of women and minorities.
The data collected by the DOL, during the reviews of 94 Fortune
1000 companies, reflected this trend. From the 147,149
employees in the sample, the participation of women and
minorities was such that:
- Of all the employees 37.2% were women and 15% were
minorities.
- Women represented only 16.9% of all the managers while
minorities represented only 6%.
- At the executive level of management women made up 6.6%
and minorities 2.6% of all positions.
Similar patterns were observed in a study done by the UCLA
Anderson Graduate School of Management and Korn/Kerry
International (1990). Data from this study showed that women
and minorities hold less than 5% of the managerial positions in
the 1000 largest companies in the US. This review also
indicated that minority women were absent from the upper rungs
of the corporate ladder. This idea was supported by another
study done by the Women's Bureau of the DOL, which indicated
that the problem was one of a "glass ceiling."
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Strategy of the Initiative
Based on the results of these studies, the DOL proceeded to
conduct research in the form of reviews of 9 different
corporations. This "Glass Ceiling Initiative" had four
sub-projects:
An Internal Educational Effort - Prior to the pilot company
reviews, senior members of the DOL met with leaders of several
organizations that represent women and minorities as well as
the leaders of business, trade and professional associations.
This established an arena for the discussion of issues related
to the "Glass Ceiling Initiative." During these discussions it
was decided that the commitment, of both groups, to the
creation of "anti-glass ceiling" policy would only be obtained
if the following criteria were met:
- The corporate information, necessary to conduct the
reviews, was kept confidential.
- The reviewing officials from the DOL were made fully
aware of the existing culture in the corporation under
review.
- Officials higher than the Equal Employment Opportunity
director were involved in the effort.
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Corporate Management Reviews
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)
conducted the investigation of the 9 companies. Special care
was taken to choose companies which were in different
geographical locations and which represented diverse products
and services.
The review took place in the following four stages;
- Determine whether artificial barriers exist to prevent or
slow the upward mobility of certain individuals.
- Determine whether these barriers were
discriminatory.
- If barriers existed, find out whether the companies had
initiated voluntary action to remove these obstacles.
- Develop a set of guidelines for conducting future
corporate compliance reviews.
Encourage Volunteer Efforts
The DOL encouraged companies to initiate their own efforts
to remove barriers. To achieve this objective the DOL did the
following:
- Initiated broad based public awareness efforts on the
"Glass Ceiling Initiative."
- Stressed to employers the importance of full utilization
of all its employees and potential employees in order to stay
competitive.
Public Recognition and Reward
This aspect of the initiative recognizes and rewards
companies that have effective programs to remove artificial
barriers against career advancement. Examples of such awards
include the OFCCP Exemplary Volunteer Efforts (EVE) awards and
the Secretary of the Labor Opportunity 2000 awards.
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Basic Findings
The DOL attempted to understand the corporate culture of the
different companies before conducting the review and before
making recommendations. This was important since each of the 9
companies had its own policies and procedures for the
development of middle and senior level management. The
following flaws were found within many corporations:
If Not A Glass Ceiling, A Plateau
All of the companies under review had a point beyond which
few women and minorities had advanced or been recruited. The
highest placed women were generally at a higher reporting level
to the CEO than the highest placed minority. The author
stressed that levels could be misleading and should not be the
only criteria used. This is because employees may be a few
reporting levels away from the CEO and but may have little or
no interaction with the senior level executives.
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Lack of Corporate Ownership of Equal Opportunity
Principles
Most companies in the pilot study had established systems
for the development of potential managers to ensure continuity
in their management staff. The companies, however, did not
maintain records on internal and external training as well as
development and participation of employees. Some companies had
to be reminded of their obligation to ensure equal access and
participation to all qualified individuals.
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Absence of Monitoring of Appraisal and
Compensation Systems by Corporate Management
All of the companies studied had systems in place that
determined salaries and bonuses for employees. However, none of
the companies reviewed their compensation package to ensure
that there was no discrimination. This is particularly
important since independent studies have shown that raters
evaluate job performance of blacks less favorably than the job
performance of whites.
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Placement Patterns Consistent with
Research
Statistics show that women and minorities are less likely to
obtain management positions in departments that lead to rapid
promotion to the executive positions e.g. sales and production.
It was found that women and minorities were more likely to be
in positions in human resources and public relations, fields in
which promotion to the top of the corporation are less
likely.
General Lack of Understanding That EEO is Not
One Person's Responsibility
The review revealed that many EEO directors were not
involved in the recruitment process for middle and senior level
management. Senior level managers were not held responsible for
equal opportunity and equal access. The DOL has attempted to
develop an integrated system in which EEO is not the only
person responsible for equal employment and access.
Conclusion
The DOL's review showed that many companies have initiated
aggressive, voluntary efforts to obtain equal employment and
access. However there are companies that persist with
discriminatory practices. It is with this in mind that the DOL
is continuing similar reviews that will ensure that minorities
and women have equal opportunities.
abstract by Rae Lewis
Lynn Martin
, U.S. Department of Labor,
(1991):