The glass ceiling continues to be a barrier to women's promotion to senior management positions. This study aims to examine the behaviours and decisions that explain the persistence of the gender gap in the case of Spain, despite gradual progress in closing this disparity over the last 2 decades. Unlike most research, which tends to focus on individuals in advanced stages of their careers, this study explores the early career stage, providing a unique perspective on gender disparities within the first decade after completing a management degree.
Our analysis addresses the practices employed by a large group of individuals with the same higher educational background in management. The database includes a broad sample of almost 1,000 business administration graduates from the University of Valencia, Spain. This approach ensures that participants share similar starting conditions, enabling a clearer identification of the factors influencing their professional advancement.
The findings reveal the prevalence of men in top management positions, with a predominance of women in administrative roles and in the public administration and education sectors. Personal branding, particularly on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, and the pursuit of additional training opportunities emerge as critical drivers of career progression in management. These factors appear to have a greater impact on the professional advancement of men, suggesting the emergence of inequalities even in the early stages of professional life.
Regarding the limitations of the study, the sample comprised professionals who graduated from the Valencia Faculty of Economics, thereby limiting the generalisability of findings and making them primarily applicable to Spain. The need for further research into the mechanisms behind the observed disparities in continuing education and personal branding, particularly in the context of Spain and similar settings. Future studies could explore the cultural norms and organisational practices that perpetuate these inequalities.
Highly educated women begin to fall behind in the race for professional success very early in their careers and their efforts in pursuing additional education fail to yield the same rewards in terms of professional promotion as they do for men.
Women are more inclined towards public administration and education, even though these sectors are not always their first career choice but rather a second-best option after becoming disillusioned with limited opportunities for advancement in the private sector.
First, by using a sample of professionals with the same educational background, age and geographical origin, the study offers a controlled setting that isolates gender as a variable affecting career success. Our study demonstrates that these obstacles appear very early in their careers, showing that the glass ceiling emerges and becomes evident much sooner than expected. Such findings challenge the assumptions in the existing literature, which may generalise gender disparities without accounting for specific contextual factors. Second, apart from expanding the existing literature, this study opens new avenues for academic inquiry into the complexities of gender disparities in professional advancement. For instance, it suggests the need for further research into the mechanisms behind the observed disparities in continuing education and personal branding, particularly in the context of Spain and similar settings.
