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The glass ceiling: some positivetrends from the Lebanese

banking sectorD. Jamali, A. Safieddine and M. Daouk

Suliman S. Olayan School of Business,American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the salience of glass ceiling type barriers in theLebanese banking sector, based on the perceptions of a sample of Lebanese top and middle levelwomen managers.

Design/methodology/approach Literature review and survey type questionnaire molded afterthe women workplace culture questionnaire developed by Bergman and Hallberg. The questionnairewas administered to a sample of 61 top and middle level women managers, drawn from the context of12 different banks in the Lebanese context.

Findings Thefindings suggest that the common preceptsof theglass ceiling theory arenot supportedin the context of Lebanese banks with overall positive inferences and perceptions reported by Lebanesewomen managers in relation to their work environment and daily work experiences. These findings areexplained by the progressive evolution of the Lebanese banking sector over the past few decades.

Originality/value The value added of this research is to revisit the salience of the glass ceiling in anon-traditional context, namely Lebanon. While the findings encountered in the banking sector cannotbe generalized to the entire Lebanese society, they nevertheless present an unexpected trend andpotentially interesting implications stemming from an Arab-Middle-Eastern context.

Keywords Women executives, Glass ceilings, Lebanon, Career satisfaction, Work barriers,Banking sector

Paper type Research paper

IntroductionThe dynamic and complex environmental factors of the new world economy have notonly affected the way companies operate, but have also changed the composition oftheir most valuable capital, namely their workforce. The proliferation of women in theworkforce is a global trend (Wentling, 2003). Important antecedents for thisphenomenon are economic, demographic, and social factors, and most notably in theLebanese context, changes in the attitudes towards women leaving their homes and

joining the labor force (Jamali et al., 2005). Yet despite the constellation of various

positive catalysts for increased female participation in the labor force, womensascendancy to top management positions continues to be curtailed.

Educational attainment has been characterized as the single most important factorthat has helped catalyze the increased participation of women in the workforce(McDonald, 2004). During the past few decades, women have attained soaring levels ofeducation in many parts of the world and comprise around 40 percent of workersworldwide (ILO, 2002). In many countries, women have higher rates of enrollment inschools and universities and they dominate certain economic sectors as in the

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

www.emeraldinsight.com/0964-9425.htm

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625

Received January 2006Revised May 2006

Accepted May 2006

Women in Management Review

Vol. 21 No. 8, 2006

pp. 625-642

q Emerald Group Publishing Limited

0964-9425

DOI 10.1108/09649420610712027

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educational and nursing fields. This phenomenon, however, has not been paralleled byequal access to work opportunities at higher levels of organizations or equal access tofair and equitable pay (Yim and Bond, 2002).

There is indeed a persisting world trend affecting women managers where their

development plateaux at middle management positions (Wentling, 2003). While thenumber of women qualified for management jobs continues to increase, significantdifferences persist in the numbers of men and women who achieve senior managementroles worldwide (Winn, 2004; Wentling, 2003; Wood, 2003; Burke and Nelson, 2002;Veale and Gold, 1998; Maclaran et al., 1997; Izraeli and Adler, 1994; Fernandez, 1993).Scholars generally agree that the vertical advancement of women continues to bedeterred in various contexts by a glass ceiling that is invisible, yet real and thatprevents women from getting into the higher echelons of management (Wentling, 2003;Powell and Butterfield, 2003; Yim and Bond, 2002).

Different facets of the glass ceiling have been identified/explored in the literature,including, employer biases, negative perceptions of womens professionalcapabilities/commitment, stereotypical attitudes, the exclusion of women from informal

networking processes, the lack of mentoring, the limited training and developmentopportunities, and the absence of family friendly programs and flexible working hours tohelp women better manage their dual roles (Metz, 2003; Cordano et al., 2002; Lahtinen andWilson, 1994; Adebowale, 1994). Family responsibilities have also been related albeitindirectly to negative perceptions about womens priorities, limiting their chances ofadvancement and resulting in a pay gap or the motherhood penalty (Weeden, 2005).

But while the salience of these different facets of the glass ceiling has been exploredin various Western and European contexts, few studies have attempted to examinewhether the experience of women managers in an Arab Middle Eastern context issimilar/consistent. To supplement the scant research available on the topic stemmingfrom a Middle Eastern milieu, this paper examines the perceptions of a sample ofLebanese women managers in the banking sector regarding the salience of two facetsof the glass ceiling, namely corporate culture and corporate practices on theiradvancement to top managerial positions.

The paper begins by fleshing out the main research hypotheses that have beenformulated and tested. Each hypothesis is presented in the context of the scholarlyliterature from which it has been derived. The research methodology is then presented,followed by the main research findings and conclusions. Given that the literaturesuggests that glass ceiling barriers fall under the broad categories of corporate cultureand corporate practices (Jackson, 2001) various hypotheses have been derived andtested pertaining to two general themes, namely:

(1) the impact of corporate culture on the advancement of women to top managerialpositions, and

(2) the impact of corporate practices on the advancement of women to topmanagerial positions.

Research hypotheses and literature overviewThe empirical study integrated five hypotheses, which have been formulated andtested. The five hypotheses tackled two general themes: organizational culture as abarrier to career advancement, and organizational practices as a barrier to careeradvancement. As illustrated in Table I each hypothesis was tested using a number of

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Corporate culture as a barrier to career advancementH1: Women cannot bethemselves at work

RQ1. Do you think it is more difficult for women than men to be

themselves at work?RQ2. Do you think you can be yourself at work?

H2: Organizational climateis a barrier to womensadvancement

RQ3. Do you think that women receive more unfair judgment oftheir work performance than men?RQ4. Do you think you have been unfairly judged?RQ5. Do negative perceptions and stereotypes about womensprofessional capabilities constitute barriers to womensadvancement?RQ6. Do negative perceptions and stereotypes about womenscommitment to their career constitute barriers to womensadvancement?

RQ7. Do you think working life is characterized by negativeattitudes towards women?RQ8. Do you believe the way you have been addressed at work bymanagement and superiors has been influenced by negativeattitudes towards you because you are a woman?RQ9. Do men fail to pay attention to what women say at meetings?RQ10. Do you feel you have to be extra well prepared for talkingprofessionally to men to make them pay attention to what you say?RQ11. Do you think women have to be more accomplished in theirwork than men in order to be promoted?RQ12. Do you think, as a woman, you must be more accomplishedand pushy to be promoted?

H3: Women work in the context ofcorporate cultures that fail tovalue diversity

RQ13. Does your organization value diversity?Corporate practices as a barrier tocareer advancementH4. Women do not receive thedevelopment opportunitiesnecessary for career advancement

RQ14. Do you think that women have fewer opportunities thanmen for professional development at work?RQ15. Do you think you receive fewer opportunities forprofessional development than you wish for?

H5: Women do not get enoughorganizational support

RQ16. If you experience a difficulty at work, do you havesomebody or somewhere to resort to?

RQ17. Do you think men receive more organizational support andtrust than women?RQ18. Would you have preferred to receive more support and trustat work?RQ19. Do you think women receive enough organizational supportin order to manage their professional work and their domesticresponsibilities?RQ20. Do you think you need more support than you currentlyreceive to manage your double role?

Table I.Research themes,

correspondinghypotheses and questions

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relevant questions, mostly derived from the women workplace culture questionnaire(WWC) (Bergman and Hallberg, 2002). While the research methodology details will bepresented in a later section, each hypothesis is fleshed out here within the context of thescholarly literature from which it has been derived.

Corporate culture as a barrier to career advancementThe first three hypotheses aim at evaluating the impact of corporate culture on theadvancement of women. Corporate culture refers to the values, beliefs, and normsshared by organizational members that govern how they behave towards each otherand outsiders (Robbins and Coulter, 2003). Organizational culture or the way we dothings around here influences what employees can do and how they conceptualize,define, analyze and address issues (Deal and Kennedy, 1982). In this study, threehypotheses were used to assess the perspectives of top and middle women managers inthe Lebanese banking sector regarding career barriers stemming from the corporateculture of their respective organizations.

H1. Women cannot be themselves at work.

The literature suggests that judgments about effective management continue to bebased on an adherence to a purely masculine gender stereotype (Powell and Butterfield,2003; Jackson, 2001; Schein and Mueller, 1992). Such stereotypes create an incongruitybetween the management role and gender role of women pursuing a career inmanagement. When women adopt the predominant male management style, they arecriticized for being too aggressive and bossy, and when they use a femininemanagement style, they are considered ineffective leaders (Cooper, 2001; Ragins et al.,1998). This mismatch in roles often leads to discrimination against women when itcomes to top management positions (Powell and Butterfield, 2003). This clash in rolescan also result in feelings of apprehension and discomfort that women managers often

report experiencing at work and hence H1 suggests that women cannot be themselvesat work.

H2. Organizational climate is a barrier to womens advancement.

The term organizational climate is commonly used in the literature to refer toprevailing corporate perceptions of womens professional capabilities andcommitment to their careers (Jackson, 2001). It also includes attitudes towardswomen that could result in unsupportive and discouraging work environments(Knuston and Schmidgall, 1999). In general, negative attitudes permeate theworkplace, questioning womens professional capabilities, inviting them in turn towork harder to prove their credibility and commitment (Ragins et al., 1998). As part

of the invisible woman syndrome their ideas are frequently discounted/ignoredand their actions highly scrutinized and seen as test cases for women in the future(Cooper, 2001). Given that women are reported in the literature to be often subject tonegative attitudes and stereotypes at work questioning their participation,contribution, commitment and capabilities (Jackson, 2001; Mott, 1998; Maclaranet al., 1997) H2 suggests that organizational climate is a barrier to womensadvancement.

H3. Women work in the context of corporate cultures that fail to value diversity.

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Corporate culture also influences and determines the orientation of the organization inrelation to diversity. Diversity is an asset that can translate when managed properlyinto an environment where all employees can use their full potential and grow. Limitedattention and tolerance of diversity translate on the other hand into inhospitable and

exclusionary environments for women. The literature suggests that few organizationsembrace diversity effectively and adopt a holistic approach to eliminate injustice anddiscrimination (Kundu, 2003; Jackson, 2001). Hence, H3 suggests that women work inthe context of corporate cultures that fail to value diversity.

Corporate practices as a barrier to career advancementThe second set of hypotheses pertains to the impact of corporate practices on theadvancement of women in the Lebanese banking sector. Corporate practices includetraining and development, networking and mentoring, flexible working hours, andother family friendly initiatives (Knuston and Schmidgall, 1999).

H4. Women do not receive the development opportunities necessary for career

advancement.

Training and development are organizationally directed experiences designed toimprove employee competency levels and enhance organizational performance (Mondyet al., 2002). The literature suggests that managerial advancement is positively relatedto human capital credentials. More specifically, womens advancement to topmanagement is directly related to their increased knowledge and skills andprofessional development opportunities made available to them throughout theircareers (Wentling, 2003). Womens career development prospects are also affected bythe variety of jobs or special rotational job assignments to which they are exposed,particularly in areas on the revenue producing side of business (Jackson, 2001). Feworganizations on the other hand make a systematic effort in assisting women by

keeping them informed about all training and career development programs availableand giving them access to these programs (Metz, 2003). Hence, H4 suggests thatwomen do not receive the development opportunities necessary for careeradvancement.

H5. Women do not get enough organizational support.

Various forms of organizational support have been identified in the literature,including networking, mentoring, and family friendly initiatives. Networking is asought after internal, mostly informal relationship that results in several benefitsincluding, valuable information exchange, career planning and strategizing,professional support, and increased visibility (Adebowale, 1994; Jackson, 2001).Mentoring relationships are also potentially valuable for womens advancement in

view of boosting emotional support and confidence and career satisfaction (Klenke,1996; Ragins and Cotton, 1996). However, women in male-dominated organizationsoften have limited networking and mentoring opportunities. Women also reportlimited access to family friendly initiatives (e.g. provision of nursery services and daycare centers, flex-time, family support services), which can be helpful in terms ofallowing the effective reconciliation of their multiple roles (Davidson and Cooper, 1992).The traditional limited access by women to different forms of organizational support(Kirchmeyer, 2002; Browne, 1997; Ohlott et al., 1 994; Anderson and

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Tomaskovic-Devey, 1995) leads to suggest H5namely those women do not get enoughorganizational support.

The five hypotheses will be tested based on the feedback/input obtained fromwomen top and middle managers working in the Lebanese banking sector. The next

section, however, provides brief background information about the status of femalelabor force participation in the Lebanese context. The details of the researchmethodology will then be presented, followed by the main research findings andrelevant practical implications.

Brief background information about working women in LebanonLebanon is an Arab country and a founding member of the Arab league. Females in thetraditional Arab culture have been viewed mostly in terms of their roles as mothersand caretakers of the home. The socio-political and economic changes impinging on theArab world over the past few decades, however, have affected this perception tovarying degrees in different Arab contexts. Lebanon is among the Arab countries that

have allowed women to assume functions outside the traditional mother-home roles.This is due to several reasons, many of which are peculiar to Lebanon (Sidani, 2002).First, Lebanon has traditionally been more open to the West compared to other Arabcountries. Its history and diverse constituencies have fostered tolerance as a necessaryingredient for coexistence. In addition, the heavy migration of males, in search of betterpay and work opportunities, to the Arab Gulf oil-producing countries in the 1970s and1980s and to Europe and North America in the 1980s and 1990s reflected in shortagesin the male working force and catalyzed an influx of women into non-traditional jobs.After the end of the civil war in 1990, economic changes necessitated that womenparticipate more aggressively in the countrys development. Worsening economicconditions in the late 1980s and 1990s implied that many homes could only survive ifsupported by dual-career couples. Hence, over the past few decades, significant

consideration has been accorded to the role of women in Lebanese society, resulting inpositive relative progress and an influx of women into new sectors.

Perceptions of Lebanon as a country where women have long enjoyed freedoms andrights that their counterparts in neighboring Arab countries have been striving for donot, however, reflect the complete picture. Statistics about womens participation in theeconomic, educational, and political spheres do not tell a story that is exceptionallybright. On the one hand, educational enrollment of women has steadily improved inschools and universities, with womens post-secondary educational enrollment nearing50 percent in both public and private educational sectors. For example, more than half ofall university students are women 53 percent in 2001 (World Bank, 2005). On the otherhand, the economic involvement of women did not fare as well. In the early 1970s,womens participation in the labor force was 17.5 percent mostly concentrated in

traditional sectors such as teaching, nursing, and low-level administrative work. Thisrate has increased but the economic activity rate of women has nevertheless remained at30.3 percent in 2002 (39 percent of the male rate Human Development Report, 2004).Similarly, the earned income (GDP per capita) for Lebanese women was estimated atUSD 2,552 in 2002 compared to USD 8,336 for males (Human Development Report, 2004).

Although women in Lebanon are increasingly recognized as full-fledged partners inthe family economy, decision-making positions in Lebanon continue to be monopolizedby men. According to the gender statistics released by the Economic and Social

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Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), the number of women enterprise owners inLebanon is significantly low, with women employers constituting only 1.5 percent ofthe female workforce in Lebanon (Eid, 2002). Most Lebanese women continue to clusterat lower managerial and supervisory levels where only 8.5 percent of employees in

higher administrative positions were found to be women in 1996 (Labaki, 1997).Women similarly comprise 41.5 percent of bank employees, but there are no femalebank CEOs in the nation (World Bank, 2005). The participation of women in public lifealso remains marginal. A meager four percent of the Lebanese parliament members arewomen and women lead only three out of more than 300 municipal councils. Statisticscited in the National Report about the Situation of Women in Lebanon for the Year2000 (Table II) illustrate womens limited participation in decision-making positions atdifferent levels (Sharani, 2004).

Research methodologySampleThe sample for this study comprised 61 women managers occupying middle andtop-level positions, drawn from 12 different banks operating in Lebanon. Theparticipation of the middle women managers was solicited either through personalcontacts or through the HR executives of the banks in which they worked. Names oftop women managers were identified through a phone directory, and their participationin the research was solicited by phone. Questionnaire administration took place duringthe months of April-May 2005. Half of the study participants filled the questionnaireface-to-face in the presence of the researcher who scheduled an appointment andvisited them during normal working hours. The remaining 50 percent of therespondents preferred to fill and return the questionnaires through e-mail or throughthe HR department.

As illustrated in Table III, the women who participated in this study spanned

different age groups, educational levels, and management positions. The majority ofthe women who participated in this study were middle-aged (40-49 years), occupying

Members of parliament Three women out of 128 members of parliament(Now five women after 2005 new parliamentaryelections)

Ambassadors Two women out of 53 ambassadorsDirector general Three women out of 22 directors generalDean in the Lebanese university One woman out of 13 deansMembers of municipal council One hundred and thirty nine women out of 8,461

municipal council membersHead of municipal council Two women out of 736 municipal council headsThe teachers union One woman out of 12 board members

The secondary teachers union Two women out of 18 board membersThe engineers union No woman on the unions boardThe physicians order No woman on the unions boardThe pharmacists order One woman was twice elected as its presidentThe dentists order One woman was once elected as its president

Judge in the state consultative council Six women out of 365 judgesJudge in the judicial court 18 percent of the 365 judges

Source: Sharani (2004)

Table II.Female public sphere

participation in Lebanon

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middle level management positions (55.7 percent), married (67.2 percent), and holdingbachelors (36.7 percent) and Masters degrees (51.7 percent). The majority alsoreported ten or more years of work experience. Although the sample comprised 61women managers, it can be considered representative in view of the scarce availabilityof women in managerial positions in the context of Lebanese banks.

Measures and procedureQuestions used in this survey were mostly derived from the WWC developed by

Bergman and Hallberg (2002), and further validated by Bergman (2003). The firstsection of the questionnaire was designed to collect relevant demographic information(e.g. information relating to educational level, tenure at the organization, workexperience, managerial level, and job title). The second section, drawing on the WWC(Bergman and Hallberg, 2002), tackled the perceptions of the women who participatedregarding the culture of their organization and its impact on career advancement, whilethe third section addressed womens perspective on professional developmentopportunities and organizational support within their organizations.

Variable Frequency N 61 Percentage Top managementMiddle

management

Age

30-39 21 35.0 23.1 44.140-49 30 50.0 53.8 47.150-59 8 13.3 19.2 8.860 1 1.7 3.8 0

Marital statusSingle 16 26.2 11.1 38.2Married 41 67.2 81.5 55.9Divorced 4 6.6 7.4 5.9

Number of children ,170 30 49.2 40.7 55.91 6 9.8 18.5 2.92 22 36.1 37.0 35.33 3 4.9 3.7 5.9

Educational levelBaccalaureate 3 5.0 3.7 6.1Bachelor 22 36.7 29.6 42.4Masters 31 51.7 55.6 48.5PhD 4 6.7 11.1 6.7CertificatesYes 13 21.3 11.1 29.4No 48 78.7 88.9 70.6

Level of managementTop level 27 44.3Middle level 34 55.7Total years of work experience#10 10 16.4 11.1 20.610-20 23 37.7 33.3 41.2

20-30 24 39.3 44.4 35.330-40 4 6.6 11.1 2.9

Table III.Sample description

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Two point (yes or no) and three point (yes, sometimes, and no) scales were used. Thedata obtained was analyzed using SPSS 13.0 software program. A one-way x2-testwith a 95 percent confidence interval was used in order to test the significance of thefrequencies and the percentages obtained from the responses of the entire sample.

Cross tabulation of frequencies was also used to analyze responses by level ofmanagement. The significance test used was x2-test or alternatively a Fisher exact testwhen the frequencies in the cells were relatively smaller.

Research findingsOrganizational culture hypothesesH1. Women cannot be themselves at work. The results for RQ1 and RQ2 are shown inTable IV. These results suggest that the women respondents do not find it moredifficult for women to be themselves at work, and 85 percent of the women whoparticipated in this study feel that they can be themselves most of the time. An analysisby level of management further reveals that top-level women managers were more

self-confident as they all reported having no difficulty being themselves at work, while23.5 percent of middle managers felt that it was sometimes more difficult for them tobe themselves at work. This finding is generally on the positive side and necessitatesthe rejection of the first hypothesis H1: women cannot be themselves at work.

H2. Organizational climate is a barrier to womens advancement. Several questionswere used to test the second hypothesis regarding organizational climate. The results,summarized in Table V, are not uniformly consistent, but seem to suggest thatLebanese women managers consider that the cultures of their organizations aregenerally supportive and permeated by positive attitudes towards women. This can begauged by considering the reported answers in Table V, illustrating overallsatisfaction with prevailing attitudes, performance evaluations and the manner inwhich women have been treated and addressed at work. The findings are fleshed out inmore detail below.

Looking at RQ3, we notice that the findings are statistically significant, with 32.80percent of the women surveyed reporting that their work performance had not beenmore harshly evaluated than that of their male counterparts. In referring to RQ4, only3.30 percent of the women managers interviewed considered that they have beenindependently unfairly judged, while 39.30 percent expressed satisfaction with

judgements of their work performance.In referring to RQ5 and RQ6, we notice that no significant results were obtained in

relation to negative perceptions and stereotypes about womens professional

Research questionsYes

(percent)Sometimes

(percent)No

(percent)Significance

(p-values)

RQ1. Do you think it is more difficult for women thanmen to be themselves at work? 13.10 29.50 57.40 ,0.0001RQ2. Do you think you can be yourself at work? 85.20 13.10 1.60 0.012Top level management 100 0 0 F 0.004Middle level management 73.5 23.5 2.9

Table IV.Difficulty for women to

be themselves at work

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capabilities. In referring to RQ6, 28 percent of the women interviewed did not considerthe workplace to be permeated by negative perceptions and stereotypes regardingwomens commitment to their careers while 23 percent of the women interviewedconsidered this to be the case.

In referring to RQ8, on the other hand, we notice that the majority (77 percent) of thewomen considered that the way they have been addressed at work by management

and superiors has not been influenced by negative attitudes towards them because oftheir gender and the results obtained in this respect are all statistically significant. Inreferring to RQ7, 51 percent of the women managers did not consider work life to becharacterized by negative attitudes towards women.

Looking at RQ9 and RQ10, the results obtained were also statistically significant,suggesting that the invisible woman syndrome was not perceived as a particularlysalient issue in the Lebanese context and that the women respondents did not considerthat their ideas are frequently discounted in conversations and meetings.

Research questionsYes

(percent)Sometimes

(percent)No

(percent)Significance

(p-values)

RQ3. Do you think that women receive

more unfair judgment of their workperformance than men? 18 49.20 32.80 0.012RQ4. Do you think you have beenunfairly judged? 3.30 57.40 39.30 ,0.0001RQ5. Do negative perceptions andstereotypes about womens professionalcapabilities constitute barriers towomens advancement? 21.30 45.90 32.80 0.063RQ6. Do negative perceptions andstereotypes about womens commitmentto their career constitute barriers towomens advancement? 23 49.20 27.90 0.029RQ7. Do you think that work life is

characterized by negative attitudestowards women? 16.40 32.80 50.80 0.004RQ8. Do you believe the way you havebeen addressed at work was influencedby negative attitudes towards youbecause you are a woman? 0 23 77 ,0.0001RQ9. Do men fail to pay attention to whatwomen say at meetings? 6.60 37.70 55.70 ,0.0001RQ10. Do you feel you have to be extrawell prepared for talking professionallyto men to make them pay attention towhat you say? 16.40 23 60.70 ,0.0001RQ11. Do you think women have to bemore accomplished in their work than

men in order to be promoted? 44.30 21.30 34.40 0.088RQ12. Do you think, as a woman, youmust be more accomplished and pushyto be promoted? 30 30 40 0.549

Table V.Organizational culture

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Looking at RQ11 and RQ12, we notice that the results are mixed, with about 44 percentof women perceiving the need to be more accomplished in their work than men in order tobe promoted. In referring to RQ12, 40 percent of the women managers interviewed did notconsider aggressiveness and higher achievement as necessary for promotion.

The findings from the different questions combined seem to suggest that H2:organizational climate is a barrier to womens advancement is not supported in thecontext of Lebanese banks. Overall, the women interviewed have reported satisfactionwith the cultures of their organizations, the psychological environment created, and itsunderpinning values/attitudes. Our rejection of H2 suggests in turn that Lebanesebanks have been successful in creating an appropriate gender-inclusive culture, whichpromotes/rewards congruent values/attitudes.

H3. Women work in the context of corporate cultures that fail to value diversity. Theresults from this survey suggest that the vast majority of women respondents (86.90percent) consider that banks in Lebanon value diversity. The results in Table VI arestatistically significant, leading us to reject H3: women work in the context of corporatecultures that fail to value diversity. Both top and middle women managers agree thattheir organizations value diversity as no significant differences were obtained afterexamining this question by level of management. Lebanese banks according to thisfinding seem to be making consistent efforts at embracing diversity effectively,valuing individual differences, and minimizing injustice and discrimination. Thiscould in part be attributed to the fact that women have infiltrated the Lebanesebanking sector early on shortly following the saturation of the teaching/nursingfields allowing enough time for a gradual refinement of diversity managementpractices in Lebanese banks over time.

Organizational practices hypothesesH4. Women do not receive the development opportunities necessary for career

advancement. A first reading of the findings suggests no significant results relating towomen receiving fewer opportunities for professional development in the Lebanesebanking sector (Table VII). In referring to RQ14, almost 25 percent of the women

Research questions Yes (percent) No (percent) Significance (p-values)

RQ13. Does your organization value diversity? 86.90 13.10 ,0.0001Table VI.

Organizational diversity

Research questionsYes

(percent)Sometime(percent)s

No(percent)

Significance(p-values)

RQ14. Do you think that women havefewer opportunities than men forprofessional development at work? 24.60 44.30 31.10 0.159Top level management 14.80 40.70 44.40 0.092Middle level management 32.40 47.10 20.60RQ15. Do you think you receive feweropportunities for professionaldevelopment than you wish for? 21.70 45 33.30 I 0.086

Table VII.Professional developmentopportunities for women

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managers interviewed considered that they have fewer opportunities for professionaldevelopment at work, in contrast to 31 percent who do not concur that this is indeed thecase. In referring to RQ15, only 22 percent of the women managers concede receivingfewer opportunities for professional development than desired, in contrast to 33

percent who appear satisfied with levels and opportunities for professionaldevelopment made available in the context of their respective organizations.

In aggregate, the results presented above lead us to reject H4: women do not receivethe development opportunities necessary for career advancement. The womeninterviewed seem satisfied with opportunities for career development made availablein the context of Lebanese banks. An analysis by level of management (Table VII)reveals, however, that more middle women managers agree that they have feweropportunities for professional development than men in their organizations. Theseresults suggest that mid-level women managers are more pessimistic in terms ofaccessibility to career development opportunities made available in their firms. Whilethe questions here were formulated in broad terms and more insight could have been

gained by referring to specific developmental factors (e.g. training/successionplanning), the results overall suggest that the women interviewed do not feelparticularly disadvantaged in relation to career and professional developmentopportunities in their firms.

H5. Women do not get enough organizational support. Several questions were usedto test the hypothesis relating to organizational support. The findings are compiled inTable VIII. and generally reveal no significant results relating to women receiving lessthan adequate organizational support. Specifically, when referring to RQ16, 67.20percent of the women respondents indicated having someone to turn to at work (e.g.mentor, friend, coach, and colleague) in difficult times. Referring to RQ18, the majority

Research questionsYes

(percent)Sometimes

(percent)No

(percent)Significance

(percent)

RQ16. If you experience a difficulty at work, do youhave somebody or somewhere to resort to? 67.20 21.30 11.50 ,0.0001RQ17. Do you think men receive more organizationalsupport and trust than women? 23 41 36.10 0.204Top level management 14.80 29.60 55.60 0.018Middle level management 29.40 50 20.60RQ18. Would you have preferred to receive moresupport and trust at work? 6.60 27.90 65.60 ,0.0001Top level management 0 18.50 81.50 F 0.041Middle level management 11.80 35.30 52.90RQ19. Do you think women receive enough

organizational support in order to manage theirprofessional work and their domesticresponsibilities? 45.90 36.10 18 0.026Top level management 33.30 37 29.60 0.071Middle level management 55.90 35.30 8.80RQ20. Do you think you need more support than youreceive to manage your double role? 8.50 23.70 67.80 ,0.0001Top level management 0 14.80 85.20 F 0.019Middle level management 15.60 31.30 53.10

Table VIII.Organizational support

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of women respondents (65.60 percent) reported a level of satisfaction with the supportand trust provided at work, suggesting that existing levels of organizational supportmade available in the context of Lebanese banks are adequate. Also referring to RQ20the majority (67.80 percent) of the women respondents did not articulate the need for

more support. This could be the case either because they already receive enoughsupport at their organizations or that they rely on other sources of support to managetheir double role.

An examination of the responses by level of management (Table VII), suggests thata significantly larger percentage of middle managers have responded by yes andsometimes to all questions. On the other hand, no top woman manager admitsneeding more support and trust at work, while 11.8 percent of middle managers do.Moreover, more middle managers agree that women do not get enough organizationalsupport to manage their double role. Even though most women from bothmanagement levels report satisfaction with existing levels of support, yet more middlemanagers perceive a need for more support in order to successfully manage theirdouble role.

These differences in perceptions between middle and upper level women managersare somehow expected, but in the aggregate, women in the context of Lebanese banksseem to be receiving a reasonable degree of support at work, leading us to reject H5:women do not get enough organizational support.

Discussion of findingsThis study has sought to probe the perceptions of Lebanese women managersregarding the impact of corporate culture and corporate practices on their careeradvancement. The choice of the Lebanese banking sector is interesting, given that thenumber of female employees in Lebanese banks has increased significantly in recentyears with women reported to comprise about 41.5 percent of bank employees

(World Bank, 2005). Despite this proliferation, we notice that women in Lebanesebanks are concentrated in entry-mid level jobs and that their presence plummetsconsiderably as we go up the managerial hierarchy. It was indeed difficult to identifytop women managers for this study, as some banks did not even have female topmanagers, while most others had only two to three women in top managementpositions.

The demographic component of the survey clearly demonstrates that thedevelopment of most women in the Lebanese banking sector plateaus at middlemanagement positions. In this respect, 81.3 percent of middle managers in the samplehave been working for more than 10 years in their respective organizations. We alsofind in our sample cases of women who have been continuously employed for 20 yearson average, yet continue to plateau at middle level management positions. It would be

interesting to ponder the question whether progress in the banking sector takes time orwhether women are facing a glass ceiling that is impeding their advancement beyondmiddle levels of management.

The findings of this study help to shed some light on this question given that twoaspects of the glass ceiling have been thoroughly assessed, suggesting no evidence ofglass ceiling type barriers in the context of Lebanese banks. With respect to barriersstemming from the corporate culture, the respondents considered the cultures of theirorganizations as generally supportive and permeated by positive attitudes towards

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women. Reported perceptions of corporate practices also suggest satisfaction withprevailing organizational practices, career development opportunities and existingorganizational support mechanisms.

Our rejection of all the hypotheses is supported by a host of positive findings that

portray an unexpectedly rosy picture of the experiences of women managers in thecontext of Lebanese banks. In the corporate culture category, for example, the majorityof women respondents (85.20 percent) felt good in their skins or in other words did notfeel the pressure to think/act male (RQ2); a good percentage of women (50.80 percent)did not consider working life to be characterized by negative attitudes towards women(RQ7) and 77 percent of the women respondents did not consider that the way theyhave been addressed at work has been influenced by gender-related stereotypes (RQ8).The majority of the women interviewed (55.70 percent) did not experience theinvisible woman syndrome (RQ9) and a good percentage (39.30 percent) did notconsider that their performance at work had been unfairly judged (RQ4). Similarly, thevast majority of the women interviewed (86.90 percent) considered that they worked in

the context of corporate cultures that value diversity (RQ13).In parallel, the women who participated in the study also expressed satisfaction

with prevailing organizational practices. A good percentage of women managers (33.30percent) considered that the opportunities for professional development made availablein the context of their organizations were adequate (RQ15). Particularly revealing inthis respect were also the findings relating to organizational support, where 65.60percent of women managers expressed satisfaction with levels of support and trustprovided at work (RQ18) and a good percentage of women (36 percent) did not considerthat men receive more organizational support and trust than women (RQ17). A goodpercentage of women (46 percent) also reported that women receive reasonable supportat work (RQ19), allowing them to reconcile their professional and domesticresponsibilities and almost 68 percent conceded that women do not need moresupport to manage their double role (RQ20).

These rather unexpected findings are intriguing and have necessitated the rejectionof all hypotheses articulated at the beginning of the paper. These positive findings mayat least in part be attributed to the peculiarities of the Lebanese banking sector and itslegacy as one of the oldest and most prominent employers of women in the country.Over the past five decades, Lebanese banks have made systematic efforts to earn thereputation of equal opportunity employers for men and women, offering many benefits,particularly attractive to women (including stable jobs, career continuity, competitivesalaries, and decent working hours and benefits). These positive findings can thuscertainly be attributed to a pattern of harmonious coexistence between women andmen that has evolved in the context of Lebanese banks over the past fifty years and the

special efforts exerted in this sector in the way of attracting and retaining women.Not only is the Lebanese banking sector one of the most progressive in the country

in way of women employment, there are also indicators that these positive trends mayhave been necessitated by the advent of globalization and its implications for themanagement of intellectual capital in the context of Lebanese banks. As banksbroadened their expansion into new markets in the region with clear evidence of anaggressive pattern of expansion of top banks into neighboring Middle Easterncountries they realized the need to leverage the intellectual capital of the entire

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workforce and to retain competent, experienced and loyal managers, irrespective ofgender.

The progressive work practices and orientations in the Lebanese banking sectormay invite other organizations to step outside the daily protocols and framework of

analysis and question whether they are reinforcing the right activities and outcomes.Lebanese banks have been relatively successful in creating gender-inclusive workenvironments/practices, and tackling subtle or stubborn forms of disadvantage. Thisfinding is certainly deserving of further attention, to document more precisely andmeticulously the cultural and structural dynamics that have molded the overallpositive perceptions reported in this paper.

Practical implications and future researchThis study has attempted to scrutinize the effects of corporate culture and corporatepractices on Lebanese womens career advancement. A questionnaire molded after theWWC developed by Bergman and Hallberg (2002), was used to examine the

perceptions of career advancement barriers in a sample of 61 middle and top levelwomen managers, drawn randomly from the context of 12 different Lebanese banks.The findings suggest that the common precepts of the glass ceiling theory are notsupported in the context of Lebanese banks with overall positive inferences andperceptions reported by Lebanese women managers in relation to their workenvironment and daily work experiences. These findings can certainly be explained bythe progressive evolution of the Lebanese banking sector over the past five decades.Whether they are also the product of a surprising development of gender-sensitiveequalized corporate practices across sectors in Lebanon is, however, an assumptionwhich requires a broader and more thorough investigation in both the banking andother key sectors of the Lebanese economy.

While Lebanon has always been differentiated from its neighbouring Arab

counterparts by a higher degree of democratization and women emancipation, limitedevidence has been made available to translate these distinctive peculiarities intopositive work-related advantages for women. This paper may provide preliminaryevidence in this direction, taking into consideration two important points, which mayhave slightly skewed the findings of the study. The first relates to the choice of sector,in the sense that the banking sector is one of the most progressive in the country, andalso comprises a sector where women have infiltrated as early as the 1960s, thuscreating room for much experimentation, learning and evolution. Second, unlike theaverage ordinary woman in Lebanese society, the women who participated in thisstudy were primarily educated women, occupying middle and upper level managementpositions in their respective organizations. The influence of education andsocio-economic status as important moderating variables therefore needs to be

accounted for and kept in mind.The study can nevertheless be considered as a gateway for future research on the

topic. These rather optimistic, yet inconclusive findings need to be revisited. A largersample from the Lebanese banking sector could be used to assess the reliability of thefindings and the implications to Lebanese banks. More research in the context ofLebanese banks and other vital sectors of the Lebanese economy could add aninteresting comparative component. Women have infiltrated the banking sector earlyon, and this may have attenuated the salience of glass ceiling barriers. It would be

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interesting to also examine other sectors, where women have been a relatively morerecent addition (e.g. telecommunications) to compare the convergence or divergence ofwork dynamics and women inferences and perceptions. Finally, while limitedgeneralizations can be drawn from this study, additional research will definitely allow

the detection of general trends in the Lebanese labor market, and gauge accordinglyreal progress in the Lebanese context vis a vis the main glass ceiling precepts.

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Corresponding authorD. Jamali can be contacted at: dj00@aub.edu.lb

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