How to break the internal glass ceilings that are holding you back in business
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When Marilyn Loden attended the 1978 Women’s Exposition in New York, she was meant to discuss the ways in which women were to blame for not advancing in their careers. Instead, she highlighted the opposite: the often invisible roadblocks that women and other historically marginalised people face when trying to reach positions of power.
She coined this issue the ‘Glass Ceiling’, and whilst this might have been more than 40 years ago, the issue is far from resolved. Despite some progress, in 2021, women still remain underrepresented on every rung of the corporate ladder. McKinsey also found that, though they are more likely to be seen by employees as better managers, their work still isn’t being recognised with promotions.
It’s not just employed women facing this, though. As a female business owner or entrepreneur, you’re likely encountering some of your own glass ceilings, too. The difference is, some of these might be self-imposed: limitations you may not realise you’ve set for yourself that could be holding you back.
But why is this?
“Internal glass ceilings are the kind of beliefs we hold deep-down that can develop from societal stereotypes, our peer groups and past experiences,” explains Paula Allen, Global Leader and Senior Vice-President of Research and Total Wellbeing at LifeWorks. “They affect us subtly and subconsciously, making us all behave in ways that are in line with what we think is most likely to happen.” This, she says, means our worries can end up materializing, making them a “self-fulfilling prophecy.”
Vanessa Moss has coached thousands of women in lead generation, marketing and mindset over the course of her career and has published several multi-author books on this topic. Her latest project is a series of Manifesting Queens books, which tap into the phenomenon hailed as the “buzzword of 2021” by detailing the stories of female business owners who overcame their own glass ceilings in order to achieve their goals.
“I strongly believe that our mindset is the determiner of our success. Mindset work, or “manifestation,” as some call it, transcends societal boundaries, cannot be bought or inherited and, regardless of the opportunities you’ve had access to in the past, if you master yours, you can achieve your goals. I launched this series to offer female entrepreneurs real-life examples of other women who overcame their internal glass ceilings.”
And it’s these real-life examples that are so sorely needed. The 2021 Veuve Clicquot international survey of female entrepreneurship (which questioned thousands of women across 17 countries) stated that in every country surveyed, more women reported being more inspired by female entrepreneurs than male, yet few women could name one as a successful role model.
“Reading inspiring stories of ordinary women who have created thriving businesses from scratch fortified me to take the leap of faith and start,” confirms Tina Wyatt, one of the entrepreneurs in Moss’ latest book. “It’s important to fuel your mind with women’s success stories because it’s proof to the mind that it can be done. This greases the wheels to get you up and running.”
So what are those internal glass ceilings?
Whilst there’s no doubt that external, societal factors play the largest part in holding women back in their careers, some of the barriers are internal.
Veuve Clicquot revealed that 57% of respondents believe it is still more difficult for a woman to become an entrepreneur than a man, with the majority in 11 out of the 17 countries believing being a female entrepreneur makes having a balanced home or family life more challenging. The final findings showed that the most significant barriers preventing women from starting or growing their own businesses were fear of failure, lack of role models and facing criticism, amongst other things.
For three of the business mentors who contributed chapters to Moss’ series, the same issues resurface with their clients time and again.
“A lot of my clients feel responsibility for their own clients’ results,” says Martina Zorc, founder of Zorc Global, which guides future-conscious entrepreneurs and organizations to incorporate disruptive growth strategies.
“Money blocks are what hold my female clients back,” adds award-winning business mentor Natasha Britton. “They don’t charge their worth, struggle with imposter syndrome and don’t feel like can put up their prices.”
Indeed, imposter syndrome seems to be a particularly prevalent challenge. “If I ever had a limiting belief it was when I first started my career,” recalls Annick Bleyen, who runs workshops and retreats to help people overcome these blocks and who also wrote a chapter in the book. “I listened to my bosses when they told me there were limits to what women could do and felt I wasn’t taken as seriously because I didn’t have a degree they approved of. For many clients, it’s these early experiences that also shaped them.”
Identifying them is one thing, though. Breaking them is another. “These internal glass ceilings are very powerful and can only be countered with strong intention,” affirms Allen.
Here, they share their tried-and-tested knowledge to break through your own glass ceilings once and for all:
Get clear on your goals
Business owners are often being pulled in multiple directions at the same time and it’s all too easy to end up veering off track from what you really want to achieve – particularly if you have a low self-worth mindset. This can result in a vicious cycle, where low self-worth leads to accepting misaligned opportunities, which then only serve to deepen those negative beliefs.
“By having a clear focus on an end goal, whether that’s to earn more and work less or something else, you can put a strategy in place to avoid old habits in the future,” advises Britton.
Identify past patterns
When you’ve gotten really clear on what it is that you want to achieve, Zorc recommends taking a look at any unhelpful patterns you feel you’ve repeated in the past, such as attracting disrespectful clients or continually charging less than your experience warrants.
“Everything has a cause and a consequence. Look at any of the outcomes you’d like changed and ask yourself, ‘what led to this?’ If you do this several times, you’ll usually notice a common thread – a deep-rooted fear or long held belief at the heart of it.”
From there, she says it’s easier to pinpoint which of these glass ceilings have been acting as comfort blankets. “Ask yourself what these beliefs are allowing you to do, feel, be or have, because there’s a reason you’re hanging on to them. Find the reason, and you can make sure these needs are met in a more constructive way.”
Get support
Often, we end up in an echo chamber of our own fears and limiting beliefs and it takes an unbiased outsider to pull us out. Not only can they help you gain some perspective, but they can also share wisdom and point out your blind spots, too.
“The real key is having mentors to guide and support you when things get overwhelming,” advises Britton. “Someone to constantly keep you accountable, as well as push you to grow and stretch beyond your beliefs and out of your comfort zone.”
