Beyond the Glass Ceiling: Exploring Persistent Gender Inequalities in Leadership across Cultural and National Contexts, with a Focus on the French Example

Professional inequalities between men and women remain at the heart of current social debates. My doctoral research explored the persistence of these inequalities beyond the hierarchical ‘glass ceiling’, revealing the existence of a ‘symbolic glass ceiling’ faced by female senior managers and executives. This persistent malaise, despite progress towards parity, can be explained by three interconnected dimensions: the socio-cultural context, women's bodily experiences, self-limitation. Together, these factors maintain a system of inequality, even in positions of high responsibility.

From a comparative perspective, for this presentation I will draw on empirical findings from my doctoral research and include other preliminary results from a project inspired by the issues raised in my thesis. The aim of the project in question is to highlight the persistent gender inequalities in leadership positions, despite the progress made by women in the professional world. The aim is to analyze the sexist mechanisms in positions of power, based on the experiences of female managers. This work is based on a qualitative method, with the analysis of a sample of female senior managers from the public and private sectors, initially in the Île-de-France region, then extended to the national level.

Through this analytical framework, we hope to reveal the similarities and differences in women's career paths across different national and cultural contexts. Finally, this contribution will feed into a wider reflection on successful practices and policies that can be shared and adapted to build a truly inclusive work environment for tomorrow's world.