Formal Equality and Informal Obstacles to Professional Promotion: Women and the Effect of the "Glass Ceiling"

In this article the authors analyze the often 'hidden' impediments which contribute to keep women in the lower positions of the social hierarchy (known as the 'glass ceiling' effect). The asymmetry between men's & women's professional profiles is questioned from an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSocial Science Information/Information sur les Sciences Sociales Vol. 44; no. 1; pp. 141 - 173
Main Authors Sanchez-Mazas, Margarita, Casini, Annalisa
Format Journal Article
LanguageFrench
Published 01.03.2005
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Summary:In this article the authors analyze the often 'hidden' impediments which contribute to keep women in the lower positions of the social hierarchy (known as the 'glass ceiling' effect). The asymmetry between men's & women's professional profiles is questioned from an historical & psychosocial perspective. Empirical evidence attesting to the impact of the prevailing organizational norms on the propensity to upward social mobility are presented & discussed on the basis of the notions of 'social identity' (Social Identity Theory, Tajfel et Turner, 1979), 'dominant & dominated groups' (Lorenzi-Cioldi, 1988), & 'normative conflict', as well as the historical analysis of the dichotomies between feminine & masculine (Heritier, 1996, 2002) & public & private spheres of life (Scott, 1998). 1 Figure, 76 References. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Ltd., copyright 2005.]
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ISSN:0539-0184
DOI:10.1177/0539018405050464