Esra BOZTEPE

The impressive increase in the active participation of female employees in business life around the world can be accepted as a result of the changes and developments in the cultural and economic structure. When considered in terms of women's participation in business life, business life for women contains many gains and obstacles. The rise of women, whose active participation in business life has increased in recent years, to management levels is not at the same rate. This is due to many reasons, but research shows that women are not promoted to senior positions due to the invisible glass ceiling effect. The glass ceiling characterizes the invisible and artificial barriers that prevent women from moving up the corporate ladder to managerial and managerial positions, ignoring their success and merit.

In our study, the concept of female workforce, glass ceiling syndrome and its characteristics were examined theoretically and 51 professionals who were members of the Sakarya Cooks and Pastry Association were interviewed. Ardahan University Academic Ethics Committee permission was obtained for the study. The results obtained through the semi-structured interview form created through Google Forms due to the pandemic conditions were examined with the phenomenological analysis method. According to the results obtained, the perceptions and attitudes of female and male employees towards the glass ceiling syndrome were evaluated and some suggestions were made to overcome these obstacles by revealing the obstacles that women face in business life.

Keywords: Female Labor, Glass Ceiling Syndrome, Female Manager, Gastronomy, Kitchen