Businesswomen Still Hit the Glass Ceiling

Women in the business world may still find their ambitions being obstructed by the glass ceiling even as the great gender discrimination debate continues.

Women in business. The rhetoric around gender discrimination and the gender wage gap in the workforce could just be that in some cases, but data continues to reinforce the fact that women are consistently paid less than men. According to QS TopMBA research, women with the MBA qualification expect to be paid, on average, 30% less than men.What's interesting is that research shows women to be just as ambitious as men. 10-year goals hardly differ between the men and women surveyed.17% of women compared to 20% of men aim to be a Senior Manager or Director of a small company within 10 years of completing their MBA. Women expect to earn less yet aim for the same achievement as men. This definitely suggests women believe workplace discrimination and the "glass ceiling" are firmly ingrained in the business world.

The controversial bit is that they may not really be paid less; they may opt to specialize in lower-paying sectors like Marketing, or work fewer hours than men. In fact, a much greater proportion of women with MBAs aim to work in traditionally lower paying fields. 38% of women compared to 27% of men aim to work in the Retail, Consumer Products and Media sector, and 22% of women choose the Non-Profit and Public Sector, compared to 14% of men. Conversely, a much lower proportion of women than men choose Industry & Engineering, Consulting, or Financial Services - traditionally high paying sectors of business.

So does the glass ceiling exist or not? Justine Jay Tang, a current MBA student, believes women actually have an advantage over men in the business world: "I actually find there are more opportunities nowadays for women to reach senior management positions, as many corporations are encouraging a good mix of diversity in the workplace. I believe if a professional working mother can maintain a good work-life balance, she enjoys an even greater advantage because companies value the emotional growth that a mother can bring to the business setting." But is this really realistic?

Taking time out to raise a family invariably affects a woman's career development. Accordingly, if a woman has kids, regardless of whether or not she holds an MBA, she will find it close to impossible to reach the same career platform as men, even if she is employed within the higher paying sectors like Consulting. It's not discrimination; it's not really a cultural structure like the "glass ceiling". The bottom line is that until men start having babies, the wage gap is likely to persist.

Source: QS TopMBA Career Guide