The effect of gender perception glass ceiling syndrome: A study on private sector employees

The most crucial prerequisite for economic development is the optimal utilization of production factors. However, similar to other countries, in Turkey, the utilization of the workforce is biased against women regarding gender inequality. One of the significant reflections of this is the glass ceiling syndrome. The glass ceiling syndrome refers to the individual, organizational, and societal biases that hinder women from reaching managerial positions. Even in contemporary societies today, women face the central issue of being subjected to certain stereotypes in their professional lives due to their gender. Although female employees have been participating more actively in the workforce in recent years, the reason they are unable to advance to top management levels lies in gender-based inequalities, which serve as a barrier to their career progression. Therefore, understanding and examining the societal gender perception that contributes to the glass ceiling syndrome are of utmost importance, along with the significance of organizational culture, systematic discourse, and policies addressing gender issues. The purpose of the current study is to examine the significance of societal gender perception and investigate whether societal gender perception plays a role in the development of the glass ceiling syndrome, aiming to highlight the career barriers faced by women. Considering the private sector, the study utilizes a quantitative research method to understand the factors that create barriers in the promotion processes for women in their professional lives. Within the scope of quantitative research, data collected through surveys have been analyzed. The study also aimed to identify the differences in experiencing the glass ceiling syndrome based on gender discourse in organizations rooted in cultural and policy foundations, which serves as its hypothesis. To achieve this, the study utilized Duyan and Altınova's scale for societal gender and Karaca's scale for the glass ceiling syndrome. These scales were employed to measure and assess the impact of gender discourse on the occurrence of the glass ceiling syndrome in the selected organizations. In line with the purpose of the study, a quantitative research method was employed, and data was collected through voluntary surveys from white-collar employees in Istanbulbased businesses. As a result, it was determined that 387 survey forms were analyzable. The analysis was conducted using the SPSS 26.0 software. Within this scope, various analyses were performed, including frequency analysis, reliability analysis, ANOVA, Tukey's test, correlation analysis, and regression analysis, to examine the collected data. Keywords: Societal Gender, Gender Inequality, Glass Ceiling Syndrome.