International Research Journal of Education and Technology

The technological expansion in the mid-1990s opened the prospect of a career in IT for girls. Most assessments reveal that, notwithstanding the gender mainstreaming in this sector, the highest level of gender diversity has not yet been achieved in top-level management. Professionally, women have proven their essence in the conventionally male-dominated fields. As more women enter the workforce, governments have formed laws, passed regulations, framed policies, and circulated instructions to help employees and organizations avoid unlawful practices against women. Despite an almost equal ratio of men and women in the workforce, the number of women progressing to top-level management positions is relatively small. A wide gender gap in the IT sector at the C-suite level is a persistent reality worldwide.

Compared to the glass ceiling, the glass escalator is a lesser-known concept. When it comes to women-dominated sectors, the glass escalator is the idea that men ascend faster and higher than women. Women in male-dominated fields earn less money and advance slower than men in such fields. In areas where women predominate, women receive fewer benefits than men. Career planning requires a high commitment, strategy, and personal sacrifice. In our society, a wife's career is viewed as less important than her husband's. A woman's career is often re-shaped and re-moulded by her social roles. All employed women have jobs, but they do not have meaningful careers. Women typically shoulder a disproportionate share of the burden of balancing work and family; their careers may suffer.

Most organizations consider a stereotypical masculine model of leadership which causes the stepping out of capable women at every stage. The absence of gender-sensitive policies, inflexible work hours, and the inability to make a difference, and inadequate chances for career growth at work are the reasons for such a leak out. The cost of good crèches is very high, and most families find it unaffordable. Failure to decode informal networks, especially those that can provide vital information, is one of the key hindrances to women's corporate progression. The dynamics of gender have to be acknowledged instead of spending resources on preparing women to follow the rules created by men.

Keywords: Glass Escalator, Glass Ceiling, Gender, Career Planning