Name: JÉSSICA OLIVEIRA BARBOSA
Publication date: 17/03/2026
Examining board:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| HELGA MIDORI IWAMOTO | Examinador Externo |
| JULIANA CRISTINA TEIXEIRA | Examinador Interno |
| SUSANE PETINELLI SOUZA | Presidente |
Summary: Despite some progress, women still encounter several barriers to entering and advancing in
the labor market, especially in leadership positions, which are still associated with hegemonic
masculinity. To address these issues, many organizations have developed actions aimed at
gender equality. However, such actions often fail to adequately address these barriers or
question the patriarchal structures that sustain them. That said, the objective of this study was
to analyze how women managers in state secretariats deal with leadership barriers in middle
management positions. This study sought to investigate barriers of gender stereotypes, the
labyrinth, the sticky floor, the glass ceiling, and the concrete ceiling in public management
through a Latin American feminist perspective. To this end, a qualitative, descriptive study
was conducted. Semi-structured interviews were used as methods of information production.
Content analysis was used to analyze the information. The categories were grouped into three
main themes, which were as follows: gender and racial discrimination in the workplace,
internalization of patriarchal values, balancing professional work with caregiving
responsibilities, economic difficulties, employee awareness events, rights provided for in
legislation, specific initiatives by the secretariat, assertiveness and professional competence,
community as a form of resistance, and perceptions of gender and race in the workplace. It is
hoped that this research will contribute to a better understanding of the barriers to leadership
faced by women, questioning the structures of society and organizations that build and sustain
such barriers, and to further discussions on gender and leadership in administration.
