Is There a ‘Glass Ceiling’ for Female Managers in Singapore Organizations?

This study presents an overview of glass-ceiling type barriers inorganizations based on the perceptions of a sample of Singaporemid-level women managers. Previous studies indicated the existenceof a glass ceiling in organizations and presented strategicrecommendations with regard to what corporations could do toremove or reduce the glass ceiling. This study investigates howwomen in middle management perceive their career advancementopportunities and what they consider their organizations tobe doing to support their advancement. Glass ceiling and informalstructures in the organizations will be analyzed from the aspectsof corporate climate, corporate practices, and corporate culture.The relevant questions are derived from the model developed byBergman and Hallberg (2002). This study aims to answer whetherthere is a glass ceiling present in Singapore companies. The studybegins with an introduction of the concept of a glass ceiling thatprevents women from advancing, and then continues with previousstudies on corporate climate, corporate practices and corporateculture, and data analysis of samples from Singapore organizations.The findings show that women middle managers inSingapore organizations face a glass ceiling in their working environmentwhich, for example, inhibits the promotion of femalemanagers, and entails a barrier to the career development opportunitiesof women presents that women do not have enough organizationalsupport, including networking, mentoring, and familyfriendly initiatives.