According to a survey conducted by financial services firm Edward Jones, nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of Americans believe women in the workforce today face a barrier to career advancement.
The survey of 1,010 Americans underscored that women represent an attractive applicant pool with 67 percent of respondents – men and women alike – citing that women are the more ambitious of the two sexes when it comes to acquiring leadership positions in the workplace. When asked the top factor impeding these ambitious women from advancing, a male-dominated environment was cited by 83 percent of respondents.
Other factors contributing to the glass ceiling include:
- The juggle of family and corporate responsibilities (73 percent)
- Inadequate policies for women in the workplace, such as stringent maternity leave policies (62 percent)
- Lack of adequate mentoring or a defined career path in reaching the executive board level (56 percent)
When asked which part of a career is most important to them beyond compensation, nearly half (49 percent) of women cited an entrepreneurial work environment.
Methodology: These results are based on a national probability sample of 1,010 telephone interviews conducted among adults 18 years of age or older (503 males and 507 females) living in private households in the continental United States, conducted from May 2-5, 2013. The margin of error for data based on total sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points. The survey was conducted by CARAVAN®, an omnibus service of ORC International for Edward Jones.
John Agno: When Doing It All Won't Do: A Self-Coaching Guide for Career Women
Sheryl Sandberg: Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
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