Is the Glass Ceiling a Unique Form of Inequality?

Abstract

A recent paper by Cotter, Hermsen, Ovadia, and Vanneman explicates four criteria for distinguishing the glass ceiling as a unique form of inequality. First, a glass ceiling exists when artificial barriers impede the advancement of women and minorities, and second, these barriers are more severe at higher occupational levels. Third, the glass ceiling must be investigated with longitudinal data, and fourth, a glass ceiling is manifested in increasing inequality over the life course. This paper extended these criteria by conducting a longitudinal analysis of managerial attainment (satisfying the second and third criteria). The presence of artificial barriers was assessed by estimating the salience of race and gender to the process of managerial attainment. Additional estimations showed that the gap in managerial attainment between White men and other groups grew over the life course. Thus, findings from this study do satisfy the Cotter et al. criteria regarding the existence and uniqueness of the glass ceiling. The paper concludes with a call for additional research.

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