Public Employees' Career Considerations and the Glass Ceiling Perception

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the career considerations of women employees in the ministry responsible for youth and sports through the concept of the glass ceiling. In this study, a descriptive survey model was used. The working group of the study consists of 453 volunteers who from among the 2,812 employees of the Central Organization of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, which plays the most important role in defining the relationship between sports and gender. The 6-dimensional Glass Ceiling Barriers Scale (GCBS) developed by Yavuzer and Ozkan (2020) with a total of 30 items (Multiple Roles, Personal Preferences, Informal Communication, Professional Discrimination, Mentoring and Stereotyped Prejudices) was used as a data collection tool for the research. The results showed that the scale was valid and reliable. The study concludes that the variables of marital status, having children, and working hours do not create an artificial obstacle that prevents women from reaching upper management levels. But at the same time, it was revealed that artificial barriers such as professional discrimination, non-participation in informal communication networks, gender-related stereotypes and lack of mentors did prevent women from taking part in upper management levels