This Section focuses on an analysis of various aspects of the Glass Ceiling as understood by the three individuals interviewed for this Program.  

Jennie George was elected as the first woman on the ACTU executive and became the first female full-time officer in 1991, as the assistant secretary. She broke the cultural stereotype that union work was men's work.  When President, she worked on improving female representation and advocated for family friendly workplaces, parental leave, and the elimination of sexual harassment.

Associate Professor Wendy Weeks broke the glass ceiling when she became Head of Department in  1982.  She has been active in feminist organisations since 1970, and during the 1990s convened a women’s studies research unit at the University of Melbourne, which has fostered a lot of women’s higher degrees and research. An author of books relating to women and social policy, she is also a member of various community committees including the Victorian Community Council Against Violence and the Committee of Management of WHIN (Women’s Health in the North). 

Professor Erik Olin Wright's interest in the Glass Ceiling grew out of his broader interest in problem of class structure and class inequality.  His research on the glass ceiling with Australian Dr Janeen Baxter was concerned with "one very specific issue: is the metaphor of a “glass ceiling” the best way of understanding the presence of systematic obstacles faced by women in managerial hierarchies." In 1995 Professor Wright co-authored a Study with Dr Janeen Baxter from Queensland University, The Glass Ceiling Hypothesis - A Comparative Study of the United States, Sweden and Australia.  Currently, Vilas professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, his most recent books are Reconstructing Marxism: essays on Explanation and the Theory of History, Interrogating Inequality and Class Counts: Comparative Studies in Class Analysis. He is also Director of the Real Utopias Project.

 

Associate Professor Wendy Weeks and Jennie George's responses reflect their experience of having broken through the Glass Ceiling as well as their ongoing endeavours to improve women's representation and leadership. Both women are sharply aware of the existence of this barrier and why it exists.  In terms of the way forward, Jennie George states, " The main issue is to get women involved, active and participating. Once their confidence grows their potential is limitless."  While Wendy Weeks asks:

• " women to remember the history of women’s struggles, and honour this tradition and history," 

• that " an accurate and gendered history taught in our schools which told the truth about women’s lives, experiences and abilities." 

• that " senior women and men really acknowledge those who do the work, and acknowledge women’s social contribution- not only as leaders."  

• that " senior women continue to demand that adequate and affordable child care services are available (even after their own children are grown); and to demand family friendly working hours and arrangements, rather than feel they have to conform to existing practices in order to be to be taken seriously."  

• that " women supporting women leaders, rather than cutting them down as ‘tall poppies’. Women leaders would then feel and be stronger."  

• and "rather than ask more of women in senior positions, we all need to be supporting them, and campaigning for the conditions which make gender friendly workplaces and organisations more of a reality for all of us."

Professor Wright proposes the need for enforceable rights against discrimination, and beyond that,  reorganising work for people who seek a balance between worklife and family life.  

However, he points out that, "Given the continuing gendered character of childrearing and domestic responsibilities, the problem of work demands constrains the work life of women more than men, and thus becomes a problem of gender disadvantage rather than simply generic disadvantage for people who give weight to family life.  There seem to be two choices here:  a)      policies can be introduced which may encourage, however haltingly, that men become equally involved in domestic labor and childrearing, and thus erode the gendered character of the career disadvantages of people engaged with children...b)     workplaces can be modified in ways that reduce the trade-off between careerism and family concerns...The policies under (b) are likely to be of very limited effectiveness in most high-powered career settings simply because of the broader competitive environment of the capitalist economy would penalize firms which managed to eliminate the advantages of excessive work pressure. Therefore, policies to eliminate differential advantages of men over women that cannot be dealt with through antidiscrimination rights probably have to focus on broader societal changes in gender roles and expectations." 

 

 

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