Four out of five women say “glass ceiling” still exists in the workplace, survey finds

More than a third believe being female has impacted negatively on their career.

A major survey of Irish female professionals has revealed that four out of five women believe that the glass ceiling still exists in the workplace.

The results, collected in February 2019 by Network Ireland, show that while there are some women who feel being female has not held them back in the workplace, many feel that it has been a definitive issue.

Specifically, more than one-third of women surveyed believe that being female has had a negative impact on their career progression.

The results indicate that much of this revolves around family. For example, one in four women didn’t go for a promotion due to family commitments. Additionally, more than 50 percent of working mothers said that they got no support or less support from an employer when they returned to work after maternity leave. Even women who own their own business cited ‘family commitments’ as the second highest reason, after costs, for not expanding.

The research also found that some women feel uncomfortable exhibiting authority at work. One-third of women have an issue with speaking up at meetings and more than a third of females have never asked for a pay increase. Just 5 percent of respondents have applied to join a board, while one in four said they would like to join one, but don’t know where to start. A third of respondents believe that, gender aside, women need to step up more and may just require more mentoring and confidence in order to do so.

Helen Wycherley, President of Network Ireland, notes that regardless of whether women feel their gender has had an impact,

Many women are achieving more.