Everyone knows that the first step to solving a problem is to formulate it and to realize that it is necessary to solve it. They say that if you admit the problem it means that you are on the way to its solution. This is why we have to admit openly that our company has a problem of “glass ceiling” and we have to analyze it and solve it as soon as possible. “Glass ceiling” is the problem that concerns women and minorities: racial, sexual, etc. If we manage to solve the problem, it will improve the work of all employees, it will increase the effectiveness of work and the profit, strengthening the reputation of our company on the market. This is why it is necessary to plan possible ways of “breaking the glass ceiling” that stifles the work of our employees.
First, I would create a healthy psychological state among the female employees and those employees who belong to minority groups with the help of group meetings and psychological training. This training will give advice for the members of disadvantaged groups. The meetings will teach the employees to learn the rule of the game inside the company in order to survive and become successful. Psychological training will teach how to take control of one’s own career, build confidence, to start to rely on colleagues. To shatter the glass ceiling one should develop credibility, support and should use every opportunity to succeed in work. I think that training and specialized meetings will ensure this for our employees.
Second, I would create a harmonious atmosphere among the employees with the help of team building. Let us organize special projects that will be aimed at the teamwork of diverse groups. I believe we should plan the membership of the groups so that they will be proportional, taking into account all disadvantaged groups that we have in our company. Teamwork should be supported with friendly personal relationships by means of a family-friendly atmosphere. We can achieve this with the help of cultural events. Thus, professional and personal interaction will help to solve the problems among the employees, especially if we take into account that a lot of representatives of disadvantaged groups are newcomers recently employed.
So, let us take into account this information: our employees from disadvantaged groups are mostly newcomers. This means that we should discover their talents. I think that we should organize special projects where newcomers will be the leaders; they will have the opportunity to show their skills and to present their professional ideas. These projects may be done on a competitive basis to strengthen their motivation. With the help of such a project, we will get the picture of the individual skills of our new employees, and later we may use them for their promotion.
The last strategy we suggest as the means of breaking “the glass ceiling” is affirmative action. It means that we will try to break “the glass ceiling” by means of positive action; let us adopt the race-conscious and gender-conscious policy. Affirmative action is the priority given to women and minorities among the candidates. Affirmative action will also improve the company’s reputation.
In conclusion, let me stress again that the problem of the “glass ceiling” is topical today and it needs immediate action. I suggest that we should try to improve the situation on all levels of the company but we should, certainly, start at the level of employees and then move to the level of employers. Thus, we should use a complex approach to the “glass ceiling” to create a suitable atmosphere inside the company and to increase the effectiveness of work.
Reference
Ph.D. Norma Carr-Ruffino. Managing Diversity People Skills For A Multicultural Workplace. Pearson Learning Solutions, 2011.