A recent study of 160 managers in the north west of England, 80 male and 80 female, investigating what makes them successful was completed in partnership by TGP Human Resources Ltd and Business Services (Connexions Lancashire Ltd). The project was part-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and supported by Lancaster University Management School and the Chartered Management Institute. The aim was to identify those factors that can help or hinder aspiring female managers by exploring the differences in characteristics, perceptions and experiences between the genders in order to identify the transparent barrier thought to exist between women and senior management posts, the so-called 'glass ceiling'. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques were used for the project. Research Highlights Whilst the men were slightly less qualified, they earned more money on average, tended to work for larger organisations and to be more senior Almost half the men in the study (i.e. 41%) are not even familiar with the term the glass ceiling More male managers in the study were married than female managers Over three quarters of the men (i.e. 79%) said that gender does not impact management, i.e. it should be ignored The majority of females said that they felt high self esteem was important but when profiled over half (i.e. 53%) reported low levels of self esteem More women than men reported high levels of anxiety and unhappiness, which suggests that coping strategies for stress are more important for females Females are emerging as more conscientious, i.e. they are less likely to bend the rules The men are more likely to be opportunistic and are more tough minded Men tend to be doers (practical) and the women thinkers (strategy) At the top levels of an organisation's hierarchy there is less difference between men and women's personality Women are struggling to find suitable mentors, which may lead them to feel more isolated at the top Competitiveness tends to increase with seniority in men, yet the females felt that being seen as overtly competitive would make them appear ineffective The participants felt that, in order to be considered as 'good', a manager had to be: Optimistic Responsible Trusting Straightforward Motivated Conscientious/committed A good communicator The men cite influencing skills as being an important part of leadership and self-esteem as a definite factor in success. This overlaps with the views of the women, who despite tending to report lower levels of self-esteem, consider high self-esteem and influence as essential to management. In addition, the women rated three more characteristics as crucial: self-awareness, emotional resilience and interpersonal sensitivity. It is interesting to note that, on the whole, as with self esteem, the women in our study tended to report lower levels of emotional resilience on the personality tests. There is general agreement amongst psychologists that personality traits are difficult to develop. It could be argued that, in seeing such characteristics as essential, women are essentially creating a psychological barrier that stops them from striving for senior management positions. This, coupled with the fact that most male managers said they would not take into consideration the gender variable, means that females are still getting stuck at middle management, or are having to create their own opportunities outside of traditional organisations. Our study suggests that there are some differences in the perceptions of women and men regarding successful management. Consequently, there could be a gap between what the females are presenting as successful characteristics and what the men see as successful managerial behaviour. As the men will be making most of the decisions due to their seniority in organisations, it is crucial that females understand what an organisation values in their managers before attempting to break the glass ceiling. The next phase of the project has already begun which is looking at the impact of organisational culture on the glass ceiling. If you are interested in being involved please contact Victoria Camera at TGP HR on 01928 711935 or Michelle Hirst at Business Services on 01772 642413, or if you would like to see a copy of the full discussion, e-mail