From Glass Ceiling to Glass Cliff: Women in Senior Executive Service

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Sabharwal, Meghna
• 署名单位: University of Texas System; University of Texas Dallas
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION RESEARCH AND THEORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1053-1858
• DOI: 10.1093/jopart/mut030
• 发表日期: 2015
• 页码: 399-426
• 关键词: REQUISITE MANAGEMENT CHARACTERISTICS; SEX-ROLE STEREOTYPES; work-family balance; ORGANIZATIONAL JUSTICE; turnover intention; job-satisfaction; federal-government; occupational segregation; gendered institutions; state bureaucracies

摘要

The dominant paradigm that frames the challenges women face in attaining upward mobility has been the glass ceiling metaphor. However, over the last decades women have made steady progress and are moving to positions of leadership. Women in leadership positions continue to face an uphill battle; they often are placed in precarious positions setting them up for failure and pushing them over the edge-a phenomenon recently termed as glass cliff. Using data from the 2010 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, this research examines the challenges women face in Senior Executive Service (SES) in various US federal government agencies (distributive, redistributive, regulatory, and constituent policy). The study is based on three widely discussed theories in the field of social psychology-think-managerthink-male, social role theory, and role incongruity theory. The study findings indicate that SES women in distributive and constituent policy agencies are most likely to face glass cliffs. The odds of women falling off the cliff are less when women have influence over policy-making decisions, perceive empowerment, and experience organizational equities.