What is a Glass Ceiling?
In my opinion, some folks take the whole feminism thing too far at times.
Imagine this: Oscar Award nominee complained that her male counterparts earn more than she does per movie. Someone should have asked: “What male counterpart are you referring to?” I’ll tell you this: no matter what industry you belong to, there will always be favouritism. Somebody will always prefer one person to another. We often prefer one colleague to another, one boss to another, one partner to another. To me, that is not glass ceiling.
I don’t get the fuss. It’s really nothing to get angry about. It’s the way of the world. What annoys me, however, is when these preferences are tied down to sex. In fact, if we dig deep and make deep analysis, females are more favoured in a lot more industries than their male counterparts!
See Also: Resources you need to grow your business.
Don’t believe me?
Take the banking sector, for example. The typical marketing team has one man and two women in there simply because of the impression that women close more deals than men. They believe women relate easily to both women and men; whereas the man to man method can sometimes be a hard sell.
In my industry, the creative one, it’s more a case of what you can do as opposed to who you are or what you look like. No offense, but no one is going to hire a Whoopi Goldberg for client services. And I LOVE Whoopi.
I have seen women, time and time again rise to the top of so-called male-dominated industries. Banking. Politics. Medicine. Even in Nollywood. Compare the stats of four leading men to those of four leading women – you can choose any four you want.
You can find another perspective of glass ceiling here.
Compare and contrast.
The ‘glass ceiling’ myth, as far as business is concerned, is just that – a myth. A saying goes: “A bad workman complains of his tools.” Yes, women may claim they might be cheated on in the past due to their sex but if you look deeper, there may be deeper reasons for such infractions. Personally, I have no problem working with ANYONE, male or female, as long as you know what you’re doing. I have worked under at least three women in official capacities, and I can tell you off the cuff that those experiences represent some of the best of my career life. My present boss is a woman – and I can say I’m yet to have an issue with her.
I do not like the idea of hiding behind some social construct, blaming it instead of personal inadequacies and whatnots. Women are constantly challenging the status quo, making people understand why they deserve a seat at whatever table they desire to sit at. Abike Dabiri did not ask anyone’s permission to get to her destination. It was sheer hard work, determination and the zeal to succeed that saw her through. Dr. Stella Adadevoh (God keep her soul) surely did not ask any man’s permission to be so good at her job and give her life protecting her country and its citizens.
See Also: How to start a successful logistics business.
I ask again: what is a glass ceiling?
Before we start to talk about sexism and segregation and other “concepts” in the business space, let us ask ourselves: “What are we bringing to the table?” I see women being favored in business organisations over their male counterparts.
I do not deny that some men are unruly to their female superiors. A certain Nigerian celebrity who did a small stint with a popular Abuja radio station was reportedly fired because he called his immediate boss a b*tch and threatened to choke her with a hanger. But for the most part, men are respectful, if slightly condescending to their female colleagues and counterparts.
And really, if indeed there is such a thing as a glass ceiling, I think whoever is encouraging such ridiculousness is doing themselves and their organisation a huge disservice. To deny anyone their due for a reason as flimsy as gender is not only ridiculous, but childish and stupid.
People should focus on being as productive as they can be and not bother their heads with ridiculous ideologies and theories for not getting what they think they deserve. A bad workman always complains about his tools.
Remember that.
Note: Women, if you ever experience glass ceiling, here are 10 smart ways to shatter the glass.
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