The existence of the glass ceiling and the impact on the participation of female executives in the Vietnamese banking sector

Abstract

The glass ceiling is a multifaceted phenomenon because it is the cause and effect of multiple factors. Vietnam is a developing nation and their cultural perceptions toward gender equality have had substantial impact on understanding the barriers that Vietnamese women meet in their career progression. The study focuses only on the Vietnamese banking sector. The theme for this study is to find the answer to the questions: “does the glass ceiling exist, does it affect the participation of female executives in the boardroom in the banking sector in Vietnam, and is there any relationship between gender and leadership effectiveness?” As a result of male domination of senior positions, there were few female executives; 27.9% of respondents felt the lack of female role models in the Vietnamese banking sector was an obstacle. Women’s lack of ambition in comparison with men was an obstacle for 29.4% participants. Managerial implications and conclusions form the last sections.