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Paper Abstract: Examines lack of female managers in the airline industry. Role of women at Delta Airlines and Air France. Concept of the "glass ceiling." Data on Air France; only one woman in a senior management position. Data on Delta Airlines. Employment of 81,000 people with 20 senior managers, 3 three of whom are women, a higher percentage than other airlines. Paper Introduction: How Gender Work Issues are Managed in Two Companies in Two Countries Overview of Argument It is apparent that gender inequality in the workplace is not a uniquely American phenomenon. Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (1998) in their excellent analysis of multicultural management address the issue of gender issues with this challenging observation. “One might ask whether organizations should seek to promote women because they are “just as good” or because they are “significantly different” and they want the benefit of that difference” (Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner, 1998, 229). The feeling of the two authors is that gender differences are not as essential a stumbling block as are racial issues. “Ethnic diversi Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. (1996), Riding the waves ofculture: Understanding cultural diversity in global business, New York:McGraw-Hill. Delta Air Lines and Women Delta Airlines is the third-largest airline in the U.S. And judging from the company's web site, the airline is activelyrecruiting women. The Vice President-Treasurer of thecorporation is M. Trompenaars, F,; Hampden-Turner, C. She is energetic, demanding and inquisitive,and is a frequent traveler." As Harris and Moran point out "Management isprimarily concerned about structures, resources and prioritization. The top female manager atDelta is Vicki B. Theanalysis will focus, for clarity on one industry -- commercial airlines.The data will concern the role of women at Delta Airlines in the UnitedStates and Air France in France. Moshavi, writing in Business Week (1998) provides a thoroughanalysis of the "Glass Ceiling" as a hidden or unstated barrier toadvancement within a corporation. Escarra, 47, who serves as Executive Vice President ofCustomer Service with an annual salary of $62 , . "One might ask whetherorganizations should seek to promote women because they are "just as good"or because they are "significantly different" and they want the benefit ofthat difference" (Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner, 1998, 229). Air France, together with the Condé Nast Group, launches its new-lookinflight magazine for women "Air France Madame" (2 , May 5) Online athttp://www.airfrance.com. On Internet chat sites devoted to women's issues, Air Francecomes up frequently as a company that likes to hire women, but isn't tooemphatic about promoting them. The feeling of the two authors is that gender differences are not asessential a stumbling block as are racial issues. She concludes that "Among all women, topreasons for leaving were, in order: inflexibility; glass-ceiling issues,such as not being valued; unpleasant environment; and lack of challenge.Black women felt far more affected by the glass ceiling and racialdiscrimination than other groups. The problem with such an imbalance issuggested by Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner who suggest that "The importanceof women in the workforce is that, provided they are not exploited, theyare capable of revealing values different, yet complementary to men,thereby creating a synthesis of values" (Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner,1998, 229). This is mandated by law in America and is sometimes adhered toby culture in France. Her profile has been defined as a professionalwoman aged between 35 and 4 . (1996), Managing cultural differences:Leadership strategies for a new world of business, Houston: Gulf PublishingCompany Hoover's Online Business Profiles, at http://www.hoovers.com Moshavi, S. Sharpe, Inc. Wibbem. Harris and Moran(1996) in their discussion of empowerment point out that by the year 2 5,more than 6 percent of the American Workforce will be women. However, the management levels in both airlines areconsiderably male-dominated. "Ethnic diversityexhibits far greater differences than gender, perhaps because women canmore easily approximate men (and vice versa) than black Americans,Hispanics, American Indians and Asian Americans can approximateCaucasians"(Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner, 1998, 23 ). Air France and Women The pertinent data for Air France, as shown on Hoover's Online,reveals that after years of unsuccessfully operating as a state-ownedairline, the company has been privatized and is on an upward growth curve.Of the company's 1999 employee figure of 55,199, more than two-thirds arewomen. Three women out of 2 senior managers are hardly equitable, but, in fact,is a higher percentage than other airlines. In the top echelon ranks,three women hold key management positions. In the short term, we can assume that both Delta and AirFrance will continue to be supportive of the idea that women should betreated as equals in the workplace, but that the definition of theworkplace does not extend to the boardroom, or the senior managementsuites. However, when one examines the top officers of theairline, it is revealed that not one woman is in a senior managementposition. Menand women managers may approach these concerns with unique perspectives,and differ in the way they deal with each" (Harris & Moran, 1996, 17 ). To determine if the "glass ceiling" is,indeed, real, the rest of this analysis will focus on that question. "Realityis that today, only approximately 3 percent of the management positionsare held by women, so it will be a few decades before the transformation ofthe male-dominated work culture is accomplished. Thechallenge, say the authors, is for the corporation to strive to recognizethe value of these differences (Adler & Izraeli, 1988). Hispanic women had the fewest complaints"(Moshavi, 1998, 14). This mayexplain why women today are more likely to be interactive leaders" (Gibson,1995, 258). Gibson, C.B., (1995, June 22), An investigation of gender differencesin leadership across four countries, Journal of International BusinessStudies, 255-28 . Harris, P.R.; Moran, R.T. References Adler, N.; Izraeli, D.N., (1988), Women in management worldwide.Armonk, NY: M.E. How Gender Work Issues are Managed in Two Companies in Two Countries Overview of Argument It is apparent that gender inequality in the workplace is not auniquely American phenomenon. It is unfortunate that the authors limited the benefit to "women inthe workforce" instead of "women in management" because the samesensitivities and differing points of view can be an essential addition tothe management focus. Michele Burns, who was an external hire for the position. Gibson (1995) discovered that women managers, as perceived by maleexecutives interviewed in four countries are supposed to be "cooperative,supportive, gentle, and to provide service to others. The glass ceiling isreal" (Harris & Moran, 1996, 17 ). However, thequestion remains: What part of that percentage will be managers? They are to derivesatisfaction and self-esteem from helping others while men had to appear tobe competitive, strong, tough, decisive, and in control, women have beenallowed to be cooperative, emotional, supportive, and vulnerable. and employees81, people, 62 percent of which are women. Senior vicepresident of In Flight Service. (1998, May 25), Why Women fly the corp, Business Week, 14. On May 25, 2 , however, that apparent denial of women in topexecutive positions was modified somewhat when Joan Juliet Buck, ChiefEditor of Vogue Paris, was named Executive Editor of Air France Madame, atwice-monthly in-flight magazine targeted at the upscale woman traveler.According to the company's web site, "The new concept is aimed at the globe-trotting businesswoman. Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (1998) intheir excellent analysis of multicultural management address the issue ofgender issues with this challenging observation. In many respects, the demographic of Air France Madame matches thetypical female employee at Air France who is likewise demanding andinquisitive. It is apparent that the lack of women in senior management positionsin both airlines is a confirmation of Adler and Izraeli's 1988 seminalstudy that detailed corporate opinions of dealing with the two contrastingviews of male-female management "equity," assuming a similarity betweenmale and female contributions, and "complementary contribution," assuming anoted difference between male and female management contributions. The airline industry is "service intensive" and the success of anairline comes from the perception of it being a "nurturing" enterprise.Both Delta and Air France claim to be discrimination-free in their hiringpolicies. Among the top managersreporting to her (11), there is one woman, Sharon I. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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