Thread by @WomenAfrica35

Good evening to you all. Our cherished followers, as you already know talking about glass ceiling tonight is meant to inform us of invincible barriers that exists in our work places. More importantly how GC affects women. You are all welcome to share your thoughts.

The term glass ceiling is a metaphorically used to represent invisible or unidentified barriers that keeps or prevent people for example minorities( women etc)from advancing beyond highly esteemed levels in a hierarchy.

Everyone can experience GC at the workplace, at any point in time however, since the term was coined by feminists with regards to the barriers encountered by women with high achieving spirits or goals, most people tend to believe that GC is a feminist concept.

Nonetheless since women are more likely to encounter such invisible barriers that prevents them from moving to high levels, GC has been recognized as a "feminist term".

Example of GC occurences among women are being denied Salary increment, being rejected for promotions several times although you have the necessary qualifications
not being able enter certain places or attend certain meetings as a woman and less political participation amongwome

Scholars have also identified that GC may emanate from
Individuals factors such as lack of self determination
Organizational factors-a male domineering field, or male oriented field,
Family factors- child care and influence from spouse
Cultural factors- gender beliefs roles,

According to the glass ceiling index 2017, by the economist, glass ceiling among women has become slow but stable for the past years. Below in the table shows the glass ceiling index in some developed and developing countries.

The GC index in 2017, slow but steady in developed and developing countries

In Ghana and Nigeria, GC is still prevalent likewise other African countries. For Instance, the BBC reported there about 5 countries in Africa who have a lot of women in the cabinet.

Thus the representation of women politics or decision making Is very low in Africa with just a few countries who have quite a large representation of women in politics.

In this graph as purported by BBC, the following African Countries have quiet a large number of women in the cabinet.

Although GC is an invincible barrier, its social and economic impacts on women are enormous as well as on the nation.

Some of the Impacts of GC on women's social and economic development are:
-It thwarts and suppresses opinions, initiative, and interest in organizational leadership
-It fosters and creates an inferiority complex in women.

• it denies women to express their potentials, and makes them limited and confined to only lower or
“dead-end levels” within the institutions and further reducing possibilities for advancement.
• Leads to lack of high profile women role models for subordinates.

• Increases labour turnover or decreased labour retention and loss of productivity since women are suppressed in giving out their best
• it is also worth noting that GC may lead to instability in families and can cause disharmony.

Due to these adverse impacts, of GC policies have been implemented to curb GC. examples of such policies in Ghana and Nigeria are
Ghana: National Gender and Children Policy(2004) which was implemented to promote the welfare and development of women in all aspect.

In Nigeria, a Gender Equality bill was proposed recently which is yet to be passed and the National Gender policy has also not implemented.

However, we will only address the symptoms of Glass Ceiling if we rely on policy measures to curb the situation. It is very evident that tackling GC with policy measures has not been sufficient in solving the problem.