Identifying the Challenges of Breaking the Glass Ceiling with an Organizational Bullying Approach among Women in the Ministry of Sports and Youth and Providing Solutions
Subject Areas :Mona Mirzaei 1 , Majid Solimani 2 * , Adel Afkar 3
1 - PhD student in sports management, Hamedan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Hamedan, Iran.
2 - Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Education, Malayer Branch, Islamic Azad University, Malayer, Iran
3 - Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Education, Malayer Branch, Islamic Azad University, Malayer, Iran
Keywords: challenges of breaking the glass ceiling, organizational bullying, solution to break the glass ceiling, women of the Ministry of Sports and Youth,
Abstract :
The present study was conducted with the aim of identifying the challenges of breaking the glass ceiling with an organizational bullying approach among women in the Ministry of Sports and Youth and providing solutions. The present study was a descriptive survey research and was conducted cross-sectionally. The present study was also an applied research. This research is considered qualitative and quantitative (mixed) in terms of data collection. In this study, the statistical population of the qualitative part included experts who have scientific expertise and work experience in the field of sports and human resources in sports organizations (preferably familiar with the concept of glass ceiling), and the number of experts was selected based on theoretical saturation and the targeted snowball method to be 15 people. The statistical population of the quantitative part of the study included all female managers and experts of the Ministry of Sports and Youth in the country's sports federations, totaling 230 people, who were active in this organization in 2024. The results obtained from the qualitative part of the research using the one-sample T-test and Kendall coefficient using SPSS software showed that 55 components were identified as challenges to break the glass ceiling with an organizational bullying approach in women of the Ministry of Sports and Youth. Also, quantitative analysis using the one-sample T-test and Kendall coefficient confirmed that the relationships between the dimensions and components of the challenges are significant. The structural equation model also showed that structural, behavioral, and contextual challenges predict 85% of the criterion variable, and the goodness of fit index (GOF) showed a value of 0.535, indicating a very strong quality of the model. It is suggested that anti-discrimination and anti-bullying policies for organizations and creating equal opportunities for women in the workplace be developed and implemented. Increasing the awareness of managers, empowering women through management training, and promoting a meritocracy culture in sports organizations can be effective in reducing barriers to breaking the glass ceiling.
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