Looking Through The Glass Ceiling

He said, she said.A recent survey of workers found that men are more much optimistic about a woman's chances for getting ahead in the high-tech arena than are women. For example, only 38 percent of men think women face a glass ceiling hindering advancement, while 62 percent of women believe a glass ceiling is firmly in place.Similarly, only 29 percent of women agreed with the statement that women receive equal pay for equal work in the high-tech industry, compared to 55 percent of the men. And 84 percent of the women said there are too few women in high-tech, compared to 57 percent of the men.The results of the survey, which was conducted by polling firm Roper Starch Worldwide for the professional services firm Deloitte & Touche, surprised a lot of people, including those who commissioned the study."We thought we would find that the tech industry was much more open, that anyone could enter and be successful and move up quickly, and we'd find women in leadership positions," said Sue Molina, a Deloitte & Touche tax partner and national director of the company's initiative for the Retention and Advancement of Women. "Unfortunately, from what we heard, that's not the case," she said.Staff Writer Gail Repsher Emery talked to Molina and other high-tech women executives to get their take on the survey. Not everyone agreed that women face a glass ceiling, and some had suggestions for steps women ? and men, for that matter ? can take to clear a pathway to success.You can read their observations in Gail's Workplace article.