Vocabulary notes

Harris poll – опрос, проведённый службой Хэррис

notion – идея, точка зрения, взгляд

switch – менять, переходить

overhead expenses – накладные расходы

cut into profits – снижать, сокращать прибыли

be contingent on smth – (зд) зависеть от чего-л.

volunteer for cause – вызываться добровольно сделать что-либо по

какому-то поводу (делу)

upgrade facilities – качественно усовершенствовать технические средства (производственные помещения)

reward – вознаграждать, денежно компенсировать

juggling act – (зд) очень сложный процесс; проблема, для разрешения

которой требуется большое искусство

TEXT 17

THE GLASS CEILING

Although men do face some sexual discrimination in the workplace, women are more likely than men to feel the effects of sexism, discrimination on the basis of gender. In recent years, women have made significant strides toward overcoming sexism on the job, thanks to a combination of changing societal attitudes and company commitments to workplace diversity. Women now account for 35 percent of all MBAs awarded, and 43 percent of U.S. managers are women. However, only 10 percent of the top managerial positions at the nation’s 500 largest companies are held by women. At levels of vice president or higher, the figure is only 2.4 percent. Of course, it takes time to develop qualified female and minority candidates for top-level management positions, and only in the past few decades have large numbers of both groups begun the slow climb up the corporate ladder, acquiring the necessary skills and experience to be a vice president, president, or CEO. Nevertheless, many managers feel they have the skills but are being held back by the glass ceiling.

The glass ceilingis an invisible barrier that keeps women and minorities from reaching the highest-level positions. One theory about the glass ceiling suggests that top management has long been dominated by white males who tend to hire and promote employees who look, act, and think like them. Another theory states that stereotyping by male middle managers leads them to believe that family life will interfere with a woman’s work. As a result, women are relegated to less visible assignments in the company, so their work goes unnoticed by top executives and their careers stagnate.

Nevertheless, diversity initiatives are helping shatter the glass ceiling. Such initiatives include long-term commitments to hiring more women, company-sponsored networking and career planning for women, diversity training and workshops, and mentoring programs designed to help female employees move more quickly through the ranks. Thus, Mattel recently named Jill Elikann Barad to be the company’s president and chief operating officer. And Patagonia boasts that women hold more than half of the company’s top-paying jobs and almost 60 percent of managerial jobs.

As women move into higher-paying occupations, the gap between their earnings and men’s earnings continues to narrow. Today women earn about 75 percent of what men earn, up from 64 percent in 1980. Despite their progress, however, women continue to earn significantly less than men, even when they compete in the same occupations.

The gap between women’s and men’s wages is wide throughout the world and is getting even wider in some countries. Women also have fewer opportunities than men worldwide. However, in many countries the belief in male superiority over women is much more deeply rooted than in the United States, so it is likely to take a long time before the situation is reversed.