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The glass ceiling is not what prevents most women from rising beyond certain levels in organizations. Most women are leaving their organizations voluntarily long before hitting the ceiling. A "leaky pipeline" is a more accurate description of what is occurring.
Professional women are entering the workforce at the same rates as men, yet something happens along the way resuhing in disproportionate Josses of women in managerial positions. Although they make up nearly half of the workforce, only 3 to 5 percent of the top executives among Fortune 500 firms are women . Yet while many women are opting out of companies, they are not opting out of careers (Cabrera, 2007). Instead, they are forging their own career paths, making choices that allow them to combine work and life on their own terms.
As a result, organizations are losing out. They are losing talented employees in whom they have made substantial investments in training and who have established relationships with clients. In today's competitive environment, attracting and retaining talent is crucial. International competition and shifting age demographics put a premium on experienced managerial and leadership talent. With this reality, companies will no longer be able to afford to lose half of their talent pools. The business case for fixing the leaky pipeline by keeping women on track is increasingly convincing - especially because companies with more women on their top management teams have been found to outperform companies with fewer women managers (Catalyst, 2004). Organizations that want to understand and better respond to their female clients and customers need more female leaders.
Workforce/Workplace Misalignment
So why are women leaving? Women are leaving companies because the world of work has not kept up with the changing workforce Mainiero and Sullivan 2006). Today's workers are very different from the traditional ideal worker: usually a man who is able to dedicate himself completely to his j ob because he has a wife at home taking care of the children and the household. In 1950, 63 percent
of the households in the United States were made up of a male breadwinner who worked outside the home and a female caregiver who stayed home with the children. Today only 17 percent of households follow this traditional model (Benko and Weisberg,...