Gendered beliefs about glass ceiling in Egypt

Abstract

Purpose

This paper explores gendered beliefs about the Glass Ceiling (GC) using a new measure, the “Career Pathway Survey” CPS, in an under-researched country, Egypt.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 438 employees in Egypt. Participants completed the CPS and other demographic and work measures. The CPS tests four GC beliefs: denial, resilience, acceptance and resignation.

Findings

Factor analysis validated the configuration of the four factors of the CPS. Descriptive tests showed the female sample with resignation belief, whereas male sample views their females counterparts as resilient. The chi-squared test showed differences in beliefs with different age groups, education level, marital status, number of children, job contracts, job tenure and managerial levels. Moreover, there are evidences of more intensive GC barriers in male-dominant organizations.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to: re-validate the CPS measure, examine demographic and work factor roles and the CPS, test CPS on a male sample and analyse differences between male and female beliefs according to gender-dominated sectors.

Citation

Khedr, W. (2017), "Gendered beliefs about glass ceiling in Egypt", Gender in Management, Vol. 32 No. 6, pp. 404-419. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-01-2017-0002