Chapter 13 Question: Why is there a "glass ceiling" for women, and what can be done about the problem? The "glass ceiling" is a colloquialism that describes the unseen obstacles that a woman encounters when attempting to transition into a leadership position, an elevated one in particular. One of the factors that Yukl and Gardner (2019) mention is the power of "stereotypes regarding gender roles and leadership competencies," which devalues women's work as less capable or less decisive, even when doing the same thing that men perform (p. 361). Something similar happened with myI was part of a student organization when a female team leader occasionally got chastised as "being aggressive" for speaking in the same manner as our male leader got complimented. Yukl and Gardner also explain how women find themselves with "less access to informal networks and mentors that enable them to get promoted" (p. 362). So much of the growth happens in relationships and behind-closed-doors sponsorship. To eliminate the problem, the executives simply need to adopt programs of mentorship, audit the promotion criteria for bias, and "enact family-friendly policies that reduce the career cost of caregiving" (p. 362). The aspiration is not for the women to change the way they lead, but to change the systems that judge and develop leadership