Is Glass Ceiling a Myth or Reality? A Systematic Review in Healthcare Sector

Abstract

As females are actively participating in every sector, the obstacles faced by them in their careers attracted the attention of researchers. The main purpose of this study was to systematically review the literature about the glass ceiling in the healthcare sector, published between the years 2000 to 2019, with no geographical limitations. Additionally, the barriers resulting from the glass ceiling were also explored. For this purpose, literature was searched from various databases, and grey literature was also used for the review. After applying all the steps of inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 32 studies were evaluated for this paper. Results were obtained by mainly focusing on the existence of a glass ceiling in healthcare and the barriers/factors of the glass ceiling. The findings showed that although the number of females is increasing in the healthcare sector, there is still an underrepresentation of females in senior positions. The existence of a glass ceiling is the main reason for this. The main barriers to the glass ceiling in the healthcare sector that are obstructing the way of females are organizational, societal, and personal. There is a long way to go for females in the healthcare sector.