Advancing Beyond the Ceiling:

The Gender Barrier Effect on Women’S Advancement in Fortune 500 (F500) Firms

For too long the subject of a glass ceiling on womens careers has dominated corporate sector debates and engaged practitioners attention. Scholars ascribe the many travails of females aspiring to top level roles to invisible barriers and hurdles that senior leaders failed to acknowledge, yet corporations have been known to suffer dire financial consequences for shutting women out of the corner office. Interactions with supervisors and juniors indicate that there are recurring limitations that could negate the core ethics of the workplace. While stakeholders in the public and private sectors continue to propose solutions and advocate for palliative and remedial steps to address the visible and invisible ceilings on female career progress, the number of female CEOs remain significantly unchanged.

The question is why are only a few corporations pushing an agenda that seems to be the panacea to firm performance and sustainability? And why have the early warning signals of gender inequality remained in corporate corridors 40 years after the glass ceiling was identified? Advancing Beyond the Ceiling deviates from the traditional approach of limiting the gender barrier dilemma to societal, natural, and organizational practices. The book researches into other imposed limitations, including issues of self-esteem, character traits, and male dominance that could stall womens advancement. The author proposes reasons for females to spearhead their advancement through scholarship, partnership, mentorship, and sponsorship, amongst other practices in their quest to break the glass ceiling.

As a C-level executive in the banking sector till 2010, and now the Founder of an investment firm post-2010, the author explores the struggles, setbacks, and stockades that limit senior to middle female officers in their career trajectory