Glass Ceiling - The Pipeline Theory

The Pipeline Theory

The Pipeline Theory describes the situation in which women are placed on a track that would eventually promote them to a top executive position. However, this process is long, and women sometimes spend 20–35 years in the pipeline waiting to advance to CEO positions. While many argue that women in the pipeline are becoming sufficiently trained and educated to compete for top-level positions, others contend that women in the pipeline are being unjustly held back from advancement. The latter would call this situation the "leaky pipe," describing a situation in which the pipeline has not advanced women to top-level positions due to "leaks" and "blockages" in the pipe. For example, some believe that there are not enough women in the pipeline. Secondly, women make many sacrifices and tradeoffs while moving up the pipeline. Lastly, the environment in many companies discourages women from advancing because they are male dominated. In order for the pipeline to work there must be a desire from women to fill the high executive positions in order for them to even be considered for those positions.