Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/109126 
Year of Publication: 
2014
Series/Report no.: 
IFN Working Paper No. 1034
Publisher: 
Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN), Stockholm
Abstract: 
There is a scarcity of women and minorities at the apex of political power. This paper formalizes the concept of the glass ceiling for political organizations and builds on previous research to suggest four testable criteria. A glass ceiling exists if women and/or racial minorities (1) are discriminated against in the organization's promotion process and (2) the discrimination increases in severity for the top levels of power and over an individual's career trajectory. We suggest a series of empirical tests for this phenomenon and apply them to longitudinal data on Swedish politicians. Results show that women face a glass ceiling, while minorities' career disadvantages are more severe at the earlier career steps (a "sticky floor").
Subjects: 
Glass ceiling
Political careers
Subnational politics
Women and politics
Supply of politicians
Gender inequality
Racial inequality
JEL: 
H10
J16
J21
J45
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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