"Breaking the glass ceiling is an economic priority that this nation can no longer afford to ignore," says a panel studying the slow progress of women and minorities into top business jobs.
The Glass Ceiling Commission went out of business at midnight Tuesday, completing four years of work with a report urging the government and business to open opportunities for top jobs."It is not only a matter of fair play but an economic imperative that the glass ceiling be shattered," Labor Secretary Robert Reich said in introducing the group's report.
The commission was set up to document the existence of glass ceilings - invisible barriers that many believe keep women and minority men out of the highest levels of business.
The group found that 97 percent of the senior managers of Fortune 1000 industrial companies and Fortune 500 companies are white, and nearly all of them are men. In Fortune 2000 industrial and service companies, 5 percent of senior managers are women, virtually all of them white.
Reich has said persistent stereotyping of women and minorities, mistaken beliefs that they aren't qualified for management and decision-making posts and fear of change keep the glass ceiling in place. At the same time, increasing numbers of corporate officers say they realize the need for diversity.
Delayed by last week's partial government shutdown, the commission approved its final report in a teleconference Tuesday. The report will be distributed to President Clinton and Congress.