The world may be becoming a more female-friendly place but corporate boardroom are not, with women holding under 3 percent of top management jobs in Western firms, according to a United Nations survey issued recently. The report entitled Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling: Women in Management, is published by the International Labor Organization (ILO). The report, subtitled as Progress and obstacles to women equal professional and managerial status, presents the most recent trends on the situation of women in professional and managerial jobs. It also highlights some of the institutional and attitudinal prejudices that continue to hamper (妨碍)women’s progress into top jobs, and it describes good practices in support of women managers. Women make up over 40 percent of the world’s workforce, but even when they make it through the “glass ceiling”—an invisible barrier of male-dominated prejudices and networks —they earn far less than men, the ILO report said.
“Almost universally, women have failed to reach leading position in major corporations and private sector organizations, irrespective of their responsibilities,” said author Linda Mirth. “The higher the position, the more glaring the gender gap.” The ILO said men traditionally rely on “old boy” networks to climb up the ladder. Women are more “invisible” in the corporate world because they are less keen on informal gatherings. They are also fighting a losing battle against sexual harassment.
A British study found that women in one company subjected to continuing sexual harassment and bullying failed to achieve promotion whatever strategy they used. “Protesting and complaining earned them the label of ‘feminist’ and whining（抱怨），while trying to be one of the men invited further harassment,” the ILO report said.
A survey of 300 companies in Britain last year found that just 3 percent of board members were women. In the F1SE top 10 companies listed in Britain, Women held just 4 percent of directors’ posts, while female managers earned just 71 percent of the salary of their male counterparts, the ILO report said.
British female managers as a whole earned 83 percent of the salaries of their male counterparts ——putting them ahead of their counterparts in most other countries.
The situation in Germany was no better. A survey of 70,000 largest companies found that women there held just 1 to 3 percent of the top executive and boardroom positions. The ILO also reported that the comparatively high proportion of women executives in large French companies ----13 percent —was now falling again from the 80s levels.
1. What does the report mean by the term “glass ceiling”？
2. According to the ILO report,（ ）.
3. The ILO report（ ）.
4. Which of the following strategies did women not use in their fight against sexual harassment?
