Imagine a World with No Glass Ceiling
(3 min read)
Yesterday I was reading an article in the Economist. Not the first one addressing the world’s current challenges and most likely will not be the last one. And I started to reflect on this chart. (https://www.economist.com/business/2020/03/07/go-north-young-woman)
I was so lucky to grow up in a family that continued to encourage me in my early childhood and later in life. I never felt that I should be any different from my brother. I was invited to speak up, tell my opinions, and fight for my rights. I learned how to drive a bike, use a boat, and drive a car. And I never felt that I should be any different because I am a girl. I went to a high school both girls and boys were encouraged to attend extracurricular activities. All students were treated the same, and we never felt that there was another world out there.
I worked for a multinational company for 20 years. I was fortunate that I had the same opportunity to approach higher positions throughout my career. I was always encouraged to get full support from my husband at home. And when I was the decision-maker for who should be appointed to what role, in my mind, I never thought that women and men were any different.
Even if there was any stereotype that women and men are equal, either I was too naive to realize it or was never conditioned to accept it.
Until the time, I read Sheryl Sandberg’s book on “Lean In” until the time. Then I started to have open conversations with both men and women. I started chairing Lean in circles. I started talking about it with many friends and peers from other companies and faced reality.
Most likely, only a few women and men live in a world that is not the norm.
And on the other hand, many women are influenced by peer pressure, duties at home, social expectations, stereotypes, and biases. That there is a glass ceiling in almost all countries. This glass ceiling starts in childhood in the early years of the habitat and continues to access education. In many aspects of life, equal opportunity for career progression, positions in senior leadership roles, parenting, board seats, equal pay, etc.
My first naive thought was, “Wow, we live in the 21st century, and look at what we are discussing still”. Then it is not about the time, and yet it is about the mindset that we need to help to change. It is how we educate our children, both men, and women, to continue to educate society for the future.
One inspirational paragraph from Sheryl Sandberg’s book: “Lean In”: “This book makes the case for leaning in, for being ambitious in any pursuit. And while I believe that increasing the number of women in positions of power is a necessary element of true equality, I do not believe that there is one definition of success or happiness. Not all women want careers. Not all women want children. Not all women want both. I would never advocate that we should all have the same objectives. Many people are not interested in acquiring power, not because they lack ambition, but because they are living their lives as they desire. Some of the most important contributions to our world are made by caring for one person at a time. We each have to chart our own unique course and define which goals fit our lives, values, and dreams.”
We should not measure success based on % of who gets to where. Instead, it should provide an equal chance for all women and men to live the life they want and have a fair chance to access their dreams. I imagine a world where people reach their full potential based on their goals and what they want in life, rather than the social stereotypes of what their gender should tell them what to do and not do. And the glass ceiling concept will disappear.
We may have a long way to go, yet all change starts with a small step, here and now.