The Opaque Glass Ceiling: Five Forces Affecting the Progress of Professional Female Workers in the U.S.

Abstract

This paper summarizes five forces limiting the advancement of U.S. female careers through secondary data analyses of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Current Population Survey (CPS), the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), and business, trade and academic presses. Taking an interdisciplinary approach from Management, Health Care and Economics, this paper examines how paid parental leave, promotion prospects, on-the-job training, pay inequality and health care disproportionately disadvantage U.S. women’s careers. This paper theorizes that all of the five forces must be simultaneously addressed to eliminate the inherent disadvantages U.S. women face in the development of their professional careers.