abstract: 'Americans often rely on meritocratic ideologies rather than structural

  factors to explain unequal labor market outcomes, but we know little

  about how such beliefs are contingent upon individuals'' social

  locations. Taking advantage of unique survey data, this article examines

  how gender inequality in professional advancement is explained among

  successful women professionals in science, technology, and allied

  fields-an employment arena potentially characterized simultaneously by

  potent meritocratic ideologies and persistent gendered barriers. Using

  multinomial logistic regressions comparing structural and meritocratic

  frames for explaining the paucity of women at high levels, we show how

  respondents in different career and family circumstances use these

  conflicting perceptual lenses. We find that married women, those with

  business education, and those in the top levels of their organizations

  are more likely to account for gender inequality by invoking

  deficiencies in women''s human capital or motivation, whereas mothers,

  primary breadwinners, sellers of professional services, and those

  working in unsupportive organizations are more likely to invoke

  structural explanations. This research has implications for social

  action. Successful women''s beliefs about gender inequality may influence

  whether they help remove structural obstacles for other women, or

  whether, through adherence to the meritocratic ideology, they help

  reconstruct the glass ceilings they have cracked.'
affiliation: 'Cech, EA (Corresponding Author), Univ Calif San Diego, Dept Sociol,
  9500 Gilman Dr 0533, La Jolla, CA 92093 USA.

  Cech, Erin A.; Blair-Loy, Mary, Univ Calif San Diego, Dept Sociol, La Jolla, CA
  92093 USA.'
author: Cech, Erin A. and Blair-Loy, Mary
author-email: 'ecech@ucsd.edu

  blair-loy@ucsd.edu'
author_list:
- family: Cech
  given: Erin A.
- family: Blair-Loy
  given: Mary
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1525/sp.2010.57.3.371
eissn: 1533-8533
files: []
issn: 0037-7791
journal: SOCIAL PROBLEMS
keywords: 'perceptions of inequality; gender; glass ceilings; meritocratic

  ideology; women in science and technology'
keywords-plus: 'WORK-FAMILY POLICIES; SYSTEM-JUSTIFICATION; ATTITUDES; EDUCATION;

  BELIEFS; MOBILITY; LIFE; MENS; PREDICTORS; DEPENDENCE'
language: English
month: AUG
number: '3'
number-of-cited-references: '108'
pages: 371-397
papis_id: 3e80a05d0ac10cec17cfbd9818bc8f41
ref: Cech2010perceivingglass
researcherid-numbers: Cech, Erin A/I-6061-2012
times-cited: '124'
title: Perceiving Glass Ceilings? Meritocratic versus Structural Explanations of Gender
  Inequality among Women in Science and Technology
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000279980500003
usage-count-last-180-days: '3'
usage-count-since-2013: '101'
volume: '57'
web-of-science-categories: Sociology
year: '2010'