Is my professional future biased for gender perceptions? A study for the Spanish case with public policy proposals on education

Abstract

This article deals with the ‘glass ceiling’ phenomenon based on the fact that a disproportionately low number of women access managerial positions by analyzing gender differences in the ‘educational profile’ and ‘professional profile perceived’. The sample is conducted among 165 undergraduate economics students (54 males and 111 females) in the final year of college in Spain at the time they were planning their future professional career. The methodology used is based on two approaches. First, an analytic model using Structural Equations Model (SEM) that leads us to explore perceptual differences in favorite subjects, professional ambitions, values associated to the workplace and mobility. Second, a causal analysis following the System Dynamics methodology to describe the women’s behavior in explaining their self-exclusion from managerial positions. Findings confirm the existence of an educational system biased by gender and reveals that while men are more ambitious professionally and show greater capacity to geographical mobility, women require greater motivation at work. Moreover, we find that the factors explaining why women are still far from reaching senior management positions are both external (gender stereotypes or organizational policies) and internal ones (self-confidence, self-esteem). Finally, we propose a set of education measures as a starting point to implement public policies which could reduce women´s barriers to break their glass ceiling.