Argumentative essay
Educational Institution
Glass Ceiling
According to Merriam-Webster the term “Glass Ceiling” is defined as an unfair system or behaviours that prevent women or minorities from taking high positions (merriam-webster.com, 2014). People that support the glass ceiling for women truly exist in the developed world, even in developed countries such as UK and U.S. I totally agree with the statement saying that glass ceiling still exists, although we are in the 21st century, and it is a fact that there are some incidences, where women are discriminated and they are treated as 2nd class citizen in many places in the world. Similarly, women continue to be discriminated when corporations appoint men for most of the positions that women are capable of taking. For example, in the United States, women make up less than 16% of corporate officers, and less than 15% of members of boards of directors within Fortune 500 companies (Write, 2013). Even Canada, the freest country in the world has gender differences in the workplace. In 2008, a survey was conducted that indicated16 % of the Canadian top management positions being held by women.
The study's results showed only 31 women occupying such top officer jobs as CEO and CFO in Canada's 100 largest publicly traded companies. That's a dismal 5.8% of the high-ranking workforce. Last year, there were 37 women in those positions, or 6.9% (Government of Canada, 2014).
Moreover, glass ceiling exists in many ways all around the world. Women are paid less and there not given equal opportunities to participate in the workforce. They acquire less salary although they are more competent with higher degrees than men. Women acquire one of five seats of the Boards in Britain of the biggest companies in the UK (Government of Canada, 2014). In the FTSE 100 Companies which is FTSE 100 (Index "footsie" is a share index of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with the highest market capitalization) (Wikipedia, 2014). FTSE 100 Index is one of the most commonly used stock indicators of business prosperity for business regulated by UK company law (Wikipedia, 2014).
On the contrary to the glass ceiling presence, some people believe that the concept of glass ceiling does not exist anymore in the 21st century. These people argue that since 28 February, 1909 when the first national woman’s day took place in the US, women’s position has been improving since then in every society (Women Watch, 2014).
According to The Hamilton Spectator Canada is considered to be the fourth best country in the world for working women. Also, according to The Economist's glass-ceiling index release Canada takes the 4th position from 26 countries (OWEN, 2014). The findings from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development find that around 8.1 million women were employed in Canada in 2009, which is more than double the number in 1976. In 2012, the employment rate for women with children under six years old was 67.8%, up from 31.4% in 1976, and 79.0% for women with children from 6 to 15 years old, up from 46.4% in 1976.
(Government of Canada, 2014)
People arguing for glass ceiling state that women have been granted equal rights like men, and that there are equal, and even more opportunities for women, than men have. Women are getting in positions that were only available to men before. For example, in Finland most of the ministerial appointments are held by women, and a great icon is Tarja Halonen, who acts as the 11th President of the Republic of Finland, and who is Finland’s first female head of state from 2000 to 2012 (Presidenthalonen.fi, 2014).
Another example is Hilary Clinton, who surveyed as Secretary of State and run for presidency but did not win. This means that women are capable, and actually have the opportunity to practice their lives without any hindrance. The fact that men earn more money than women in the workplace is justified, because men accept more risky jobs than women do, according to “Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth Behind the Pay Gap, And What Women Can Do About It" by Warren Farrell. These jobs generally provide superior wages because men tend to concentrate more on work, therefore, spending more hours at work. However, women tend to spend less time at work, because of their housework responsibilities.
Conclusion
Despite numerous researches, and publications some of the public believes that glass ceiling still exists and that it is affecting women up to this date, by not making it possible for women to work, and have top positions, which encourages men to get higher positions. While others argue that glass ceiling is not present anymore, and women from 1909 have been taking actions, engaging in the society word, and now they are having equal rights as men do. Females are becoming presidents, ministers, and are getting into high managerial positions, having equal opportunities just like their peers. I believe that the overall position of women is improving daily, and it is a fact that women enjoy freedom more than previously; however, there are still many things to be done to maintain equally rightful societies in all of the developed nations.
References
Government Of Canada, S. M. A. R. 2014. Work - Employment Rate / Indicators of Well-being in Canada. [online] Available at: http://www4.hrsdc.gc.ca/?iid=13 [Accessed: 5 Apr 2014].
Merriam-webster.com. 2014. Glass ceiling - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. [online] Available at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glass%20ceiling [Accessed: 5 Apr 2014].
OWEN, J. 2014. The glass ceiling: Women on boards? We have a long way to go [online] 23rd March 2014. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/the-glass-ceiling-women-on-boards-we-have-a-long-way-to-go-9210255.html [Accessed: 5 Apr 2014].
Presidenthalonen.fi. 2014. President Tarja Halonen. [online] Available at: http://www.presidenthalonen.fi/en/ [Accessed: 5 Apr 2014].
Wikipedia. 2014. FTSE 100 Index. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTSE_100_Index [Accessed: 5 Apr 2014].
Write, R. 2013. Gender Equality in the Workplace: Do women still have a long way to go?. HubPages, [blog] March 23, 2013, Available at: http://robwrite.hubpages.com/hub/Gender-Equality-in-the-Workplace [Accessed: 5 Apr 2014].
