A cognitive learning perspective on women becoming expert managers

Despite recent gains, women still face the glass ceiling—an invisible barrier that blocks their entry into top executive positions. Explanations for women's lack of success range from blaming men for discrimination to blaming women themselves. Rather than blaming the people in organizations, it is useful to analyze the task facing women managers. I argue that understanding the inherent difficulties in women's work can provide a new perspective on why women have difficulty in achieving top positions. Recent work in cognitive psychology is helping us learn more about the processes involved in reaching high levels of performance. Using these theories and concepts to analyze the task facing women managers, we can begin to develop new ways to help women develop higher levels of managerial skill.