You've Come a Long Way Baby, Maybe:

From The Simple-Minded Manager, Cutting Through Your Work-Life Chaos

I have worked with organizations dedicated to women's health issues, so I am naturally interested in women's workplace experiences. I therefore asked several colleagues, most of them women, to join me over a lunch of pizza and Coke to discuss this Glass Ceiling. The women who joined in our discussion were from most functional areas and various levels of the company. They described the Glass Ceiling to me through very personal perspectives.

One woman said, "We can get to some point in organizations but can't get higher." Another noted, "Women can see opportunities, but they are not accessible." Most agreed with one who said, "Women don't get equal pay for equal work." Clearly, in the last generation, women had to break down barriers just to get into the doors of our institutions. Clearly, progress has been made, and women are now playing greater roles. Today, many women occupy visible leadership positions, but the barriers that remain hurt us all, women and men alike.

We talked about causes of the Glass Ceiling, and it seems that "subtle things keep women from moving up" within organizational structures. Some of these relate to the idea that "organizations are built on male models" of career behavior. "You have to act like a man to get ahead." "Women manage differently from men," "Men don't like women as supervisors" were three explanations. However, another set of issues centered on the value that is placed on families -- "organizations are not receptive to the needs of women and families." One said, "Only women have to choose between career and family." Another said that often "Women self-select less demanding career paths," because of family responsibilities. A third stated, "You have to give up everything else to succeed." Another noted that "It is usually the woman who has to leave her job to follow the man in a career move."

Most agreed that "80% of the housework and family responsibilities is done by women," and that "housework is undervalued" by society. They also recognized very pragmatic factors that influence women's access to top organizational slots. "In the context of a very competitive economic environment, people are afraid of losing whatever job they have." "Women (and men) are working 80 hours a week to succeed." They also stressed that this phenomenon does not only affect white collar women in upper level positions, but applies to all women such as factory workers who can't get beyond a certain level. Women who are marginalized, such as those in minority groups, are especially affected. They described the Glass Ceiling as whatever keeps women from attaining the achievements to which they aspire.

I wanted their insights on ways that I (and other men) might address some of these issues. I would like to share this insight. Men, in roles as leaders, colleagues, husbands, partners and fathers can act every day to break the Glass Ceiling.

As a leader

• Examine organizational policies and practices for their impact on women and families. Make sure that women and men have equal opportunities for growth within the organization. Look at workloads, schedules, equal pay for equal work, attendance at conferences and management courses, job sharing, telecommuting, childcare, children at the workplace, dress codes. Regardless of your level in the organization, ask whether there is an egalitarian environment. If you are in a position to change policies and practices -- change them.

   

• Model family-friendly behaviors. Are you an icon of workaholism or do you project a more holistic image that reflects the importance of family and community? Take parent leave. Bring your children to work from time to time. Take them to the doctor's appointment. Go to the school meeting.

   

• Place women in leadership positions. Seek women for Boards of Directors and all levels of management and government. Establish women role models for other women in the workplace.

   

• Place men in support positions. Seek and hire men to fill entry positions and for jobs traditionally held by women. Guide them in valuing women as leaders.

   

• Don't tolerate negative male or female stereotypes. Go beyond condemning sexual harassment. Foster women's assertiveness. Facilitate positive professional behaviors in both women and men. Select neutral topics (not just sports) for casual conversations between meetings that put men and women on equal footing

   

• Involve women in decision-making. Acknowledge that women have different views and management styles. Value women's perspectives. Delegate responsibility and authority to women.

   

• Develop leadership skills in women. Use language that is supportive and encouraging to women seeking professional growth. Mentor women and monitor their progress. Actively help them build credentials.

   

• Turn your "Good Ol' Boy Club" into a "Good People Network." Broaden your circle of advisors and colleagues to include more women. Encourage women to network with one another and with men. Make it easier for women to network with you as an organizational leader. Use your network to develop women's contacts, confidence and expertise.

As a colleague

• Examine your territory Ask yourself -- do I really work as a team member?

   

• Be willing to follow as well as lead. Do your part to foster an equal environment for men and women. Contribute to the success of women who assume leadership positions

   

• Share in the housework of the workplace. Pay your dues with the telephone answering, coffee making and cleaning up after meetings.

As a husband, partner and father

• Don't be threatened by your partner's accomplishments. Her success doesn't diminish yours. Enjoy the benefits.

   

• Support your partner's goals and work. Give her time and encouragement. Expect her to succeed.

   

• Value domestic work. Acknowledge the contribution that it makes to your overall lifestyle.

   

• Share in household responsibilities. Don't have inflexible job designations.

   

• Examine your attitudes about girl's and boy's roles. Forget about "boy things" and "girls play with dolls". Play ball with both.

   

• Make parenting your personal priority. Understand fatherhood as job one. Actively involve yourself in lunch preparation, bedtime, taxi duty, etc.

   

• Develop your daughters and nurture your sons. Guide girls to grow into strong women and boys to become gentle men.

   

• Have high expectations for both. Help girls and boys develop positive goals for becoming adults. Be a positive example of responsible adulthood.

   

• Get a life. Don't hide behind your "workload" or the "Channel Surfer". Grow with your family and do it for yourself.

I gained many potent insights that day, but I especially want to pass on a note that one young woman brought to me after our lunch discussion. She is a professional, a wife and a mother. She framed the Glass Ceiling in better perspective than I could ever do:

"To bring about a change of this magnitude would require a social change that needs to start at home and be continued and emphasized through the education system. Parents (both father and mother) must raise their children to learn to respect and support women, and to understand the importance of each member of the family in sharing responsibilities regardless of sex. I say children and not only boys, because women are, in many instances, raised to accept the way society views and demands their roles to be. If this change happened, the product would be men and women competing at an equal level in life, having greater respect for each other, and making greater contributions in all aspects of their private and work lives."

I can only add that each of us, but especially men, are empowered to act as agents of such change. So I call on each man to take actions every day to break the Glass Ceiling. Each man has the power to positively influence his organization, his coworkers, his wife or partner, and his daughters and sons, so that women can have greater opportunity to grow, achieve and contribute. I believe that every man who will take such actions will vastly improve his own career, health, and lifestyle. Obviously, to take the above actions men will have to better integrate all of their relationships in the workplace, family and community. I firmly believe that each man who invests in a more holistic role will earn great dividends.

1. Based on a presentation to the Bull City Toastmasters Club, Durham, NC.

2. I am indebted to my colleagues for their perspectives. I especially appreciate the guidance of my wife and daughter.

3. Walsh, Elsa. "Glass Ceiling Breakthrough. " The Washington Post Magazine, July 23, 1995.

4. A Report on the Glass Ceiling. Pipelines of Progress: A Status Report on the Glass Ceiling. Washington DC: US Department of Labor: 1994. Good for Business: Making Full Use of the Nation's Human Capital. Washington, DC: The Federal Glass Ceiling Commission: 1995. A.M. Morrison and K.F. Price. A Glass Ceiling Survey: Benchmarking Barriers and Practices. Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, NC: 1995. Tannen, D. Talking from 9 to 5. Avon Books, New York: 1994.

    

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