Spirituality as a vehicle for passing through the stained glass ceiling: perspectives on African American women's leadership in US organizations

The glass ceiling describes the effect that accounts for the discrepancy between numbers of men and women and ethnic minorities in organizational leadership positions. The authors begin by exploring the evolution of leadership thought and then specifically focus on gender and leadership in organizations. Role congruity theory is used as a vehicle for analyzing genderized characterizations of leadership and ensuing glass-ceiling effects. Because effective leadership is contextually and culturally dependent, a discourse on the interaction of leadership, gender, race, and ethnicity follows. Specifically, leadership from the perspective of African American women in US institutions is addressed with the purpose of finding a general framework for analysis. The focus of the discussion shifts to spirituality in organizations and the possibility of leveraging spirituality as a vehicle for creating passages through the stained glass ceiling.