Glass Ceiling Paradox and Women’s Career Progression: A Case of Female Employees in Colombo Port, Sri Lanka

Despite the increasing participation of women in the workforce, their representation in decision-making positions on the corporate ladder has been slow and remains a worldwide concern. One of the primary reasons behind this concern has been identified in the literature as the theory of the ‘Glass Ceiling’. On the other hand, with such enormous strategic potential, more involvement and contribution of women in all economic sectors, particularly the maritime and ports industry in Sri Lanka is much needed. However, Sri Lanka has a lower rate of women's participation in the maritime sector compared to other countries in the world which highlight the need for further investigation into this issue. Therefore, the current research aimed to explore the effect of the Glass Ceiling theory on Women's Career Progression in the Sri Lankan port sector. The study used a quantitative approach and surveyed 108 executive-level female employees in Port of Colombo using a structured questionnaire. The data was analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS. The results revealed that Individual, Family, and Organizational factors negatively impacted Women's Career Progression, while Cultural factors had a positive impact. Furthermore, the study found that the Glass Ceiling has a 77.8 percent influence on the Women Career Progression among executive-level female employees working under the Sri Lanka Ports Authority. These findings highlight the need of addressing Individual, Family, Organizational, and Cultural factors to promote female upward mobility in the maritime and port industry in Sri Lanka.