Policy Perspective

Running Through a Labyrinth—not into a Glass Ceiling

by Alice Eagly

Winter 2008 , Volume 30, Number 1

For many years, the image of a glass ceiling has served as a very visual representation of what supposedly has kept women leaders out of the seats at the very top. Let us discard this timeworn metaphor. There are women leaders who have managed to make it because they have successfully navigated a complex labyrinth of challenges in the often winding paths toward leadership.

In my new book with Linda Carli, we argue that a labyrinth is a better symbol of why only 3 percent of CEOs in the Fortune 500 are women, for example. There isn’t one absolute barrier stopping progress at a high level but rather a progressive falling away of women at every level, not just at the top.

Our study draws upon a broad range of research from economics, political science, psychology, and anthropology to offer a rich picture of how far women have come in recent decades—and how far they have to go to achieve equality.

In today’s Western world, women are better educated, enrolling in higher education and attaining degrees at higher rates than men.  Almost as many women as men are now part of the labor force. Women also earn more than they used to earn relative to men: In the United States, full-time working women now earn 81 cents for every dollar that men earn—up from 63 cents in 1979.  And when all U.S. organizations are taken into account, women occupy 23 percent of chief executive posts.

Despite the progress, gender equality has not been achieved. Most obviously, there are still relatively few women occupying the top rungs of leadership. Even at lower managerial levels, women are not proportionally represented.

Research shows that women do not have nearly as much power and authority as men do. Even when male and female managers are in comparable jobs, women tend to wield less authority over others than men. The jobs women hold generally confer less power to make decisions and to determine others’ wages.

Our research also shows that for equally qualified men and women, the women do not rise as fast as men. Wage and promotion gaps are only partially explained by women’s less consistent labor force participation. Despite laws to the contrary, discrimination is alive and well—and found at every job level from entry level to top management jobs.

Stereotypes about men and women provide a window into why the inequity persists. Stereotypes depict women as warm, nice, and considerate, and men as directive, competent, and competitive. Because people’s stereotypes about leaders are more similar to their stereotypes about men than those about women, people assume that women are less qualified than men for leadership, especially in male-dominated roles. Thus women have to prove themselves by performing beyond expectations if they want to rise to higher positions.

However, women face a double bind in their quest for advancement. The research shows that when a woman is assertive and takes charge, people often react negatively, but if she fulfills the prescribed stereotype of a kind and gentle woman, she might be regarded as a poor leader.

It’s not easy to find an appropriate and effective leadership style to overcome the double bind, but many women succeed. Part of their success stems from displaying a style that is more democratic and participative to men’s more autocratic, command-and-control style. In managing subordinates, women also lead more by example, encourage creativity and development, and rely more on rewards and less on punishment to motivate them.

Fortunately, these leadership styles are generally consistent with well-regarded managerial practices and are, in fact, correlated with effectiveness. They also help solve some of the conflict created by the double bind because they are relatively neutral and combine assertive competence with supportive mentoring and warmth.

But the picture for women remains mixed. On the positive side, women have gained access to most lower- and middle-level positions, including in medical and health services (68 percent) and education (64 percent). On the negative side, women still face some discrimination in wages and promotions and skepticism about their leadership abilities. Most telling, more people say they prefer to have a male boss.

For women who aspire to leadership, routes exist but present twists and turns, both expected and unexpected. But labyrinths do have a route to the center, showing that goals are attainable. Women no longer face absolute barriers but impediments that can often be resolved through thoughtful problem-solving and careful negotiation.

Through the Labyrinth: The Truth About How Women Become Leaders by Alice Eagly, James Padilla Professor in Arts and Sciences at Northwestern and an IPR faculty fellow, and Linda Carli of Wellesley College (Harvard Business School Press, 2007).