TITLE:
The Broken Rung vs. the Glass Ceiling: Assessing the Greater Barrier to Women’s Career Advancement
AUTHORS:
Vernette Grant, Robert E. Levasseur
KEYWORDS:
Broken Rung, Glass Ceiling, Women’s Advancement, Gender Equity, Leadership Barriers
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.13 No.5,
September
10,
2025
ABSTRACT: Despite significant attention to workplace gender equity, women remain underrepresented in management and executive roles. By integrating organizational data, cross-national case studies, and theoretical analysis, this article demonstrates that the “broken rung” contributes to early career attrition among women and compounds subsequent barriers to advancement. While the glass ceiling persists, its effects are intensified by earlier failures in promotion pipelines. This discussion critically engages with alternative explanations—including leadership self-selection and stereotype threat—and evaluates mixed evidence across various sectors. The article concludes with evidence-based recommendations for multilevel organizational and policy reform, and calls for empirical research to disentangle the complex, intersectional pathways affecting women’s career trajectories.