The relationship between career adaptation capabilities and glass ceiling perception: A study on academicians

As a result of globalization, industrialization, and rapid technological developments, women have started to play larger roles in work life, particularly in service industry. However, it is observed that women usually operate in inferior and low-wage positions as the equal gender representation is still a significant issue. This situation shows that women have to deal with a set of career obstacles, called "the glass ceiling" in literature, which hinders women's career advancement in superior positions regardless of their achievement and makes its presence implicitly felt. In such a work environment where competition remains a strong element the importance of recognizing career advancement opportunities, vigilance against threats, embracing change and progress, and having career adaptability increases. This study aims at investigating the relationship between women academicians' career adaptability and their perception of glass ceiling. The study was conducted as quantitative research since the data was collected through a questionnaire from a sampling of 210 women academicians working at state and private universities. The data was statistically analyzed by means of IBM SPSS and AMOS programs and tested through reliability and validity analysis, correlation and regression analysis, and hypothesis tests. The analyses show that there is a significant positive relationship between all sub-dimensions of career adaptability (concern, control, curiosity, confidence) and the resilience dimension of glass ceiling perception, while there is a significant negative relationship between the sub-dimensions of control and confidence and the sub-dimension of resignation. It is also observed that career adaptability is statistically insignificant in explaining the perception of glass ceiling. Finally, career adaptability differs significantly in terms of age and administrative positions whereas glass ceiling perception differs significantly in terms of parenthood.