From 'Glass Ceilings' to 'Firewalls' - Different metaphors for describing discrimination

Gender, Work and Organization

Volumn 17, Issue 5, 2010, Pages 612-634

  Bendl, Regine ^a   Schmidt, Angelika ^a  

^a Institute of Gender and Diversity in Organizations   (Austria)

Author keywords

Career; Gender; Heuristic value; Metaphor evaluation; Organizational paradigm

Indexed keywords

GENDER DISPARITY; GENDER ISSUE; HEURISTICS; ORGANIZATIONAL FRAMEWORK;

EID: 77955938183     PISSN: 09686673     EISSN: 14680432     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0432.2010.00520.x     Document Type: Article

References (92)

1. Adler N. An international perspective on the barriers to the advancement of women managers. Applied Psychology: An International Review 1993, 42(4):289-300.
2. Altman Y, Simpson R, Baruch Y, Burke RJ. Reframing the 'glass ceiling' debate. Supporting Women's Career Advancement: Challenges and Opportunities 2005, 58-81. Burke RJ, Mattis MC, eds., Cheltenham, Edward Elgar
3. Alvesson M. The play of metaphors in postmodernism and organization. Postmodernism and Organizations 1993, 114-31. Hassard JParker M. eds., London, Sage
4. Alvesson M, Billing YD. Understanding Gender and Organizations 1997, London, Sage
5. The Boundaryless Career. A New Employment for a New Organizational Era 1996, Arthur MBRousseau DB. eds, New York and Oxford, Oxford University Press
6. Bakken T, Hernes T. Organizing is both verb and noun: Weick meets Whitehead. 2005, Paper read at the First Organization Studies Summer Workshop on Theorizing Process in Organizational Research, 12-13 June, Santorini
7. Belle L, Edmondson J, Nkomo SM. Our Separate Ways: Black and White Women and the Struggle for Professional Identity 2001, Boston, MA, Harvard University Press
8. Bendl R, Schmidt A. Gender mainstreaming - can it really break down the 'firewall'? Exploring the Mosaic, developing the Discipline 2003, 18-19. Morley MJ, Gunnigle PHeraty NPearson JSheikh HTiernan S. eds, Proceedings of the 7 Conference on International Human Resource Management, Limerick., Dublin, Interesource Group Publishing
9. Bendl R, Schmidt A. 'Firewall': a new metaphor for the underrepresentation of women in management. 2004a, Proceedings of SAM/IFSAM World Congress Gothenburg, 5-7 July 2010
10. Bendl R, Schmidt A. Firewalls und gender mainstreaming. Durchbruch oder Ausschluss von Frauen in Führungspositionen? Wege aus der Frauenarmut 2004b, 137-70. Heitzmann K, Schmidt A. eds, Schriftenreihe Frauen, Forschung und Wirtschaft, Band 14m., Frankfurt, Peter Lang Verlag
11. Black M. Models and Metaphors 1962, Ithaca, NY, Cornell University Press
12. Black M. More about metaphor. Metaphor and Thought [1979](1993, 10-43. Ortony A. ed, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press
13. Bono JJ. Science, discourse and literature: the role/rule of metaphor in science. Literature and Science 1990, 59-89. Peterfreund S. ed., Boston, MA, Northeastern University Press
14. Brousseau KR, Driver MJ, Eneroth K, Larsson R. Career pandemonium: realigning organizations and individuals. The Academy of Management Executive 1996, 10(4):52-66.
15. http://www.dslreports.com/information/kb/firewall, BT Net E1 lines, n.d. Available online at Last accessed 28 May 2010
16. Cadin L, Bender A-F, de Saint Giniez V, Pringle J. Carrières nomades et contextes nationaux. Revue de Gestion des Ressources Humaines 2000, 37:76-96.
17. On the Line: Women's Career Advancement 1994, Catalyst, New York, Catalyst
18. Cracking the Glass Ceiling 2000, Catalyst, New York, Catalyst
19. Women in US Management 2009. 2009, http://www.catalyst.org/publication/206/women-in-us-management, Catalyst, New York, available online at Last accessed 30 May 2010
20. Chia R. The problem of reflexivity in organizational research: towards a postmodern science of organization. Organization 1996, 3(1):31-59.
21. Clegg SR. Postmodern management? Journal of Organizational Change 1992, 5(2):31-49.
22. Cornelissen JP. On the 'organizational identity' metaphor. British Journal of Management 2002, 13(3):259-68.
23. Cornelissen JP. What are we playing at? Theatre, organization, and the use of metaphor. Organization Studies 2004, 25(5):705-26.
24. Cornelissen JP. Beyond compare: metaphor in organization theory. Academy of Management Review 2005, 30(4):751-64.
25. Cornelissen JP. Metaphor in organization theory: progress and past. Academy of Management Review 2006a, 31(2):485-8.
26. Cornelissen JP. Metaphor and the dynamics of knowledge in organization theory: a case study of organizational identity metaphor. Journal of Management Studies 2006b, 43(4):683-709.
27. Cortina LM. Unseen injustice: incivility as modern discrimination in organizations. Academy of Management Review 2008, 33(1):55-75.
28. Cummings S. Back to the oracle: postmodern organization theory as a resurfacing of premodern wisdom. Organization 1996, 3(2):249-66.
29. Daft RL. Organization theory and design 2001, Ohio, South-Western College Publishing
30. Davidson D. What metaphor means. Critical Inquiry 1978, 5:31-48.
31. Davidson MJ, Bruke R. Women in management: current research issues. Women in Management 2000, 1-7. Davidson MJ, Burke R. eds, London, Paul Chapman
32. Davidson MJ, Cooper CL. Shattering the Glass Ceiling: The Women Manager 1992, London, Paul Chapman Publishing
33. Dreher GF. Breaking the glass ceiling: the effects of sex ratios and work-life programs on female leadership at the top. Human Relations 2003, 56(5):541-62.
34. Ellig J, Thatchenkery TJ. Subjectivism, discovery, and boundaryless careers: an Austrian perspective. The Boundaryless Career - A New Employment Principle for a New Organziational Era 1996, 171-86. Arthur MB, Rousseau DM. eds, New York, Oxford
35. Ellison L. Senior management in chartered surveying: where are the women? Women in Management Review 2001, 16(6):264-78.
36. Eyring A, Stead BA. Shattering the glass ceiling: some successful corporate practices. Journal of Buisness Ethics 1998, 17(3):245-51.
37. The glass ceiling. Workplace/Women's Place: an Antohology 1987, 226-33. Dunn D. Federal Glass Ceiling Commission, ed., Los Angeles, CA, Roxbury
38. Franke M, Simöl I. Teilzeit im Management von Organisationen. Firewalls für den Aufstieg von Frauen ins Top-Management. FREI-Räume und FREI-Zeiten: Raum-Nutzung und Zeit-Verwendung im Geschlechterverhältnis 2002, 165-78. Kramer C, ed., Heidelberg, Nomos
39. Frantzen M, Kerschbaum F, Schultz E, Fahmy S. A framework for understanding vulnerabilities in firewalls using a data model of firewall internals. Computer and Security 2001, 20(3):263-0.
40. Gabriel Y. Glass cages and glass palaces: images of organization in image-conscious times. Organization 2005, 12(1):9-27.
41. Gunz HP, Lichtenstein BMB, Long R. Self-organization in career systems: a view from complexity science. M@n@gement 2002, 5(1):63-88.
42. Hall DT. Protean careers of the 21st century. Academy of Management Executive 1996, 10(4):8-16.
43. Hall DT, Mirvis P. The new protean career: psychological success and the path with a heart. The Career is Dead - Long Live the Career 1996, 1-12. Hall DT, ed., San Francisco, CA, Jossey-Bass
44. Hammer M, Champy J. Re-engineering the Corporation 1993, New York, Harper Business
45. Hammer M, Stanton SA. The Reengineering Revolution. A Handbook 1994, New York, Harper Business
46. Harding S. The Science Question in Feminism 1986, Ithaca, NY and London, Cornell University Press
47. Harding S. Feminism and Methodology 1987, Bloomington, Indiana University Press
48. Hesse M. Models, metaphors and truth. From a Metaphorical Point of View: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Cognitive Content of Metaphor 1995, 351-72. Radman Z. ed., Berlin, De Gruyter
49. Hooker H, Neathey F, Casebourne J, Munro M. the third work-life balance employee survey: main findings. Employment Relations Research Series No. 58 2007, London, Department of Trade and Industry
50. Hunt SD, Menon A. Metaphors and competitive advantage: evaluating the use of metaphors in theories of competitive strategy. Journal of Business Research 1995, 33(2):81-90.
51. Iellatchitch A, Mayrhofer W, Meyer M. Career fields: a small step towards a grand career theory? International Journal of Human Resource Management 2003, 14(5):728-50.
52. Ince D. A Dictionary of the Internet. Oxford Reference Online 2001, http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html, Oxford and Vienna, Oxford University Press and Wirtschaftsuniversitat, available by subscription at last accessed 16 April 2004
53. Inkson K. Protean and boundaryless careers as metaphors. Journal of Vocational Behavior 2006, 69(1):48-61.
54. Inns D. Metaphor in the literature of organizational analysis: a preliminary taxanomy and a glimpse at a humanities-based perspective. Organization 2002, 9(2):305-30.
55. Insch GS, McIntyre N, Napier NK. The expatriate glass ceiling: the second layer of glass. Journal of Business Ethics 2008, 83(1):19-28.
56. Jackson JC. Women middle managers' perception of the glass ceiling. Women in Management Review 2001, 16(1):30-41.
57. Katz A. Psychological studies in metaphor processing: extensions to the placement of terms in semantic space. Poetics Today 1992, 13(4):607-32.
58. Knights D. Organization theory in the age of deconstruction: dualism, gender and postmodernism revisited. Organization Studies 1997, 18(1):1-19.
59. Lakoff G, Johnson M. Metaphors We Live by 1980, London, University of Chicago Press
60. Linstead A, Brewis J. Editorial: beyond boundaries: towards fluidity in theorizing and practice. Gender, Work & Organization 2004, 11(4):355-62.
61. Meyerson DE, Fletcher JK. A modest manifesto for shattering the glass ceiling. Harvard Business Review 2000, 78(1):127-36.
62. Montuschi E. What is wrong with talking of metaphors in science? From a Metaphorical Point of View: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Cognitive Content of Metaphor 1995, 309-27. Radman Z. ed., Berlin, De Gruyter
63. Morgan G. Pardigms, metaphors and puzzle solving in organizational theory. Administrative Science Quarterly 1980, 25(4):605-22.
64. Morgan G. Images of Organization 1996, Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage
65. Morrison AM, White RP, Van Velsor E. Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Can Women Reach the Top of America's Largest Corporations? 1987, Reading, MA, Addison-Wesley
66. Murrell AJ, Hayes James E. Gender and diversity in organizations: past, present, and future directions. Sex Roles 2001, 45(4-5):243-57.
67. New Oxford Dictionary 1998, Oxford, Oxford University Press
68. Nicholson N. Career systems in crisis: change and opportunity in the information age. Academy of Management Executive 1996, 10(4):40-51.
69. Ohlendieck L. Die Anatomie des Glashauses: Ein Beitrag zum Verständnis des Glass-Ceiling-Phänomens. Gender - from costs to benefits 2003, 183-93. Pasero U. ed., Wiesbaden, Westdeutscher Verlag
70. Osterloh M, Frost J. Prozessmanagement als Kernkompetenz: wie Sie Business Reenginieering strategisch nutzen können 1996, Wiesbaden, Gabler
71. Oswick C, Keenoy T, Grant D. Metaphor and analogical reasoning in organizational theory: beyond orthodoxy. Academy of Management Review 2002, 21(2):294-303.
72. New Oxford Dictionary 1998, Pearsall J. ed., Oxford, Oxford University Press
73. Peiperl M, Baruch Y. Back to square zero: the post-corporate career. Organizational Dynamics 1997, 25(4):6-22.
74. Peterson RA, Anand N. How chaotic careers create orderly fields. Creative Careers 2002, 257-89. Peiperl MA, Arthur MAnand N. eds, New York, Oxford University Press
75. Ruigrok W, Pettigrew A, Peck SI, Whittington R. Corporate restructuring and new forms of organizing: evidence from Europe. Management International Review 1999, 2(2):41-64. Special Issue
76. Ryan MK, Haslam SA. The glass cliff: evidence that women are over-represented in precarious leadership positions. British Journal of Management 2005, 16(2):81-90.
77. Ryan MK, Haslam SA. The glass cliff: exploring the dynamics surrounding the appointment of women to precarious leadership positions. Academy of Management Review 2007, 32(2):549-72.
78. Schein EH. The individual, the organization and the career: a conceptual scheme. Journal of Applied Behavior Science 1971, 7(4):401-26.
79. Schön DA. Displacement of Concepts 1965, London, Tavistock
80. Sennett R. The Corrosion of Characters 1998, New York, Norton
81. Shen Y. Metaphors and conceptual structure. Poetics 1997, 25(1):1-16.
82. Stroh LK, Langlands CL, Simpson PA. Shattering the glass ceiling in the new millennium. The Psychology and Management of Workplace Diversity 2004, 147-67. Stockdale MS, Crosby FJ, eds, Malden, MA, Blackwell
83. Sydow J. Management von Netzwerkorganisationen 1999, Wiesbaden, Gabler
84. Thanem T. Living on the edge: towards a monstrous organization theory. Organization 2006, 13(2):163-93.
85. Tourangeau R, Sternberg R. Aptness in metaphor. Cognitive Psychology 1981, 13(1):27-55.
86. Tsoukas H. The missing link: a transformational view of metaphors in organizational science. Academy of Management Review 1991, 16(3):566-85.
87. Tsoukas H. Analogical reasoning and knowledge generation in organization theory. Organization Studies 1993, 14(3):323-46.
88. Van Vianen AE, Fischer AH. Illuminating the glass ceiling: the role of organizational culture preferences. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 2002, 75(3):315-37.
89. Weick KE. Sensemaking in Organizations 1997, Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage
90. Willmott H. Strength is ignorance; slavery is freedom: managing culture in modern organizations. Journal of Management Studies 1993, 30(4):515-52.
91. Wilson FM. Management and the professions: how cracked it that glass ceiling? Public Money and Management 2002, 22(1):15-20.
92. Zaugg RJ. Organisation - quo vadis? Entwicklungstendenzen und Zukunftsperspektiven einer Disziplin im Spannungsfeld einer paradigmatischen Proliferation. Zeitschrift für Organisation 2003, 72(1):4-12.