INTRODUCTION

The main aim of the study presented here is an attempt to verify the problem of the competitiveness of women in the sphere of academic promotion (in the sense of acquiring ever higher academic titles and holding management positions within the university hierarchy). This topic is especially interesting because in the world literature there are few studies regarding his subject in the university environment. It is equally important to assess the scale of the glass ceiling phenomenon, and also to understand its individual and organizational conditions. This study will allow us both to introduce changes into the management of universities, and also to become aware of the need for a change in the attitudes of women towards a more effective form of competitiveness for academic promotion.

1. AN OVERVIEW OF THEORY AND RESEARCH

The concept of the glass ceiling appeared in print in the 1980s, and has been described as a nearly imperceptible transparent barrier which makes it impossible for women and minorities to rise to the highest levels in the management hierarchy [Hymowitz and Schellhardt 1986; Morrison, Von Glinow 1990]. Other authors have called this phenomenon the “concrete wall” or the “sticky floor” [Bell and Nkomo 2001; Betters-Reed and Moore 1995], associating it with racism and sexism with regard to women and women of color. Nowadays, it is more common to speak of a labyrinth in order to characterize the “uneven path” of development and promotion which women encounter in organizations [Eagly and Carli 2007].