Glass Ceiling Among Female Managers and Its Impact on Well-Being at Work

Abstract

Despite governmental attempts in years to significantly encourage and support legislation aimed at gender diversities in the workplace, women have continued to be notably underrepresented in leadership roles. Women have typically held lower-level leadership positions than men, and there is little supporting evidence that women are appropriately executed in decision-making positions. Such a phenomenon is commonly called the 'glass ceiling', highlighting that achieving fair representation in management boards remains challenging for women. While the glass ceiling has become a popular research topic, only some theoretical models have tried to comprehend this social phenomenon and its implications for social change. Therefore, this study aims to provide a further understanding of the glass ceiling and its consequences. Drawing on the theory of conservation of resources, this study investigates sequencing relationships among glass ceiling, work-to-family conflict, and well-being at work. The mass survey was distributed among female managers at Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. There were 275 valid cases for descriptive and inferential analysis with partial least square structural equation modelling. It reveals three main findings, including significant sequencing relationships among glass ceiling, work-to-family conflict, and intention to quit with positive impacts; a significantly positive causal relationship between the glass ceiling and intention to quit; and work-to-family conflicts as a significant mediator intervening causal relationship between glass ceiling and intention to quit. This study may bring theoretical and practical implications on the glass ceiling among female managers at work.