“Glass ceilings” and other metaphors we work by:: An exploration of the impact of stereotype and metaphor on  women’s corporate leadership careers

Nancy Stimson

doi:10.59973/emjsr.224

Authors

Nancy Stimson University of Portsmouth, School of Education, Languages and Linguistics, Portsmouth, PO1 2UP, UK

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59973/emjsr.224

Keywords:

Glass Ceiling, Corporate Leadership, Women Leaders, Stereotype, Metaphor, Conceptual Metaphor Theory

Abstract

Workplace gender equality issues and, specifically, women’s corporate leadership careers have attracted significant attention and debate during the past fifty years [1]. Corporate leadership has a critical impact on the world we live in, both economically and socially, and, despite inconclusive research findings [2], the benefits of management and board diversity have been widely accepted [3]. Post et al. [4], amongst others, have highlighted the particular effectiveness of women’s leadership qualities during crises, and I would suggest that women corporate leaders are probably more important than ever at this time of political and economic uncertainty, and that the gap in corporate female representation at leadership level is therefore a continuing cause for concern [5]. I believe that one reason for this gap is the persuasive impact of stereotypes of corporate
leadership and of metaphors in reinforcing these stereotypes. This paper reviews how stereotype and metaphor may affect women’s progress towards corporate leadership parity, focusing on the “Think manager – think male” stereotype [6] [7] and the metaphors that support this stereotype, in particular the “glass ceiling”.

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