IDENTIFICATION OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS PROMOTING GLASS CEILING PRACTICES IN IT SECTOR OF PAKISTAN – A CASE STUDY OF FEDERAL ORGANIZATIONS

Abstract

The glass ceiling is an invisible barrier that does not let female engineers to attain positions at executives’ level despite of their knowledge, skills and expertise. It is badly affecting the career progression of female engineers. It is rare to see female engineers at upper hierarchy of IT sector in Pakistan. Despite a lot of research conducted, it was unclear that which organizational factors can reduce the glass ceiling practices that are hindering the career growth of female engineers in Pakistan. To address this knowledge gap, a quantitative research was conducted. This study contributes to the previous researches on glass ceiling by embedding the “organizational factors”. Stratified simple random sampling technique was used for unbiased representation of population and sample size was 240. A self-administered questionnaire with 5-point Likert scale was used to gather data from the respondents. Relationships were identified in SPSS using reliability, correlations and regression. Results revealed that superior organizational justice and better work-life balance are the most influential factors in minimizing the glass ceiling practices from the IT sector in Pakistan. In terms of practical implication, results will help higher authorities to devise the organizational policies and environment in such a way that promotes the career progression of female engineers in Pakistan.