The Glass Ceiling—The Barrier that Once Kept Women From the Top Tiers of Management

Reading Passage Question

The glass ceiling—the barrier that once kept women from the top tiers of management in the banking industry—has been shattered, only to be replaced by a more insidious form of (5) restriction: the lockout. While the glass ceiling was a palpable enemy and could be overcome, the lockout is much more elusive and therefore much harder to combat. Sheer numbers argue that women have (10) made great strides in the banking industry. In the late 1970s women accounted for only three percent of top-level banking management: women now hold forty percent of all titles of senior vice president or higher. This gain, (15) however, is illusory. The influence of female corporate managers has been contained by a change in corporate structure: while each senior vice president used to preside omnipotently over a single area of operations, all managers now (20) oversee all operations, and all major decisions on such matters as new areas of investment and acceptable credit risks are decided by a majority vote. This change from a two-tiered pyramid (25) structure to a hive structure has further eroded the ability of corporate women to assert their influence, because these majority votes are little more than majority lockouts. When all major votes were examined on the basis of sex, (30) investigators found that men voted as a bloc ninety-one percent of the time, while women voted as a bloc only fifty-two percent of the time. These votes determine hiring criteria, salary structure, promotions, and stock-option (35) plans—in substance, the entire culture, direction, and focus of the company. The resulting effect on company policy is to maintain the status quo at the expense of diversity of opinion, dealing a rough blow to the American (40) ideal of meritocracy.

Just as disquieting is the frequent trumpeting of women's gains from the highest levels of the banking industry. In a recent report to stockholders, one CEO announced that “by (45) elevating women to five of seven recently created vice presidential posts, we have increased the number of female vice presidents by thirty percent." Such hypocritical efforts to take credit for broadening women's roles in (50) upper management while circumscribing their effective power in the same circles merely demean the women seeking such responsibilities.

“The glass ceiling—the barrier that once kept women from the top tiers of management”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 4 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

1. The author's opinion of lockouts is best expressed by which of the following words?

1. “insidious” (line 4)
2. "palpable" (line &)
3. "illusory" (line 15)
4. "disquieting" (line 40)
5. "elevating" (line 44)

2. According to the passage, major decisions concerning all of the following are decided by a majority vote EXCEPT

1. operations oversight
2. choosing investments
3. issuing reports
4. salary structure
5. employment policy

3. Which of the following is an assumption about management decision-making made by the author in the third paragraph of the passage?

1. In management circles, men and women vote according to similar criteria.
2. The hive structure is a natural product of the American ideal of meritocracy.
3. The imposition of a hive structure was a result of management's unwillingness to allow women influence in the banking industry.
4. Lockouts result from women's unwillingness to vote in blocs.
5. Bloc voting diminishes the role of interests represented by smaller blocs.

4. Which of the following best summarizes the final paragraph of the passage?

1. Corporate leaders manipulate corporate structure to roll back the gains made by women over the last two decades.
2. The banking industry lacks the structures to reward women for the significant contributions they make to management decisions.
3. Current corporate structure deters female executives from seeking jobs in the highest management circles of the banking industry.
4. Corporate leaders obscure the disparity between male and female management roles by focusing attention on women's numerical gains.
5. The banking industry will not recover from recent setbacks without abandoning the lockout system of corporate decision-making.

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