am a college student at Central Michigan University. I am doing a term paper for my Public Administration class on the effect of Glass Ceiling in administrative occupations. I need some information or web sites that could help.

Thank you,
Melissa

Dear Melissa,

I think that the glass ceiling primarily refers to executive positions and/or senior management. That's why it's a myth when we talk about women "breaking" the Glass Ceiling, because yes a few women have been able to attain senior positions (for instance, there are two female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies) and more and more women are being asked to join corporate boards.

However, we are only talking about a handful of women--and the majority of women--i.e. those who really make up the labor force and even middle-management jobs--are still stuck in under-paid jobs and are nowhere near "breaking the glass ceiling." Administrative jobs seem to fall somewhere in between these other two sectors. And yes, women have been able to succeed and have proved to be the exception to the rule--i.e. proving that women can in fact do this work -- but there still aren't enough women in those fields and so the climate hasn't changed.

You can learn more about this by visiting the following sites:

• 9to5: The National Association of Working Women
• The U.S Department of Labor Women's Bureau
• Catalyst.

I hope these suggestions help,
Amy