Des femmes et des réseaux : mentoring et réseaux affinitaires au service de l’égalité

The persistency of the glass ceiling in French organizations is produced by the accumulation of societal and organizational resistances (structure effect) and of relational bias. It hampers, limits and delays women’s professional insertion and career advancement. These barriers create some sexist systemic distortions, which harm women’s personal and professional blooming and affect their well-being at work. Furthermore, they can affect the overall performance of the organizations and eventually support the perpetuation and the reproduction of gender-based social inequalities. This paper addresses the relational bias (network effect) obstructing the meritocratic progression of women managers in the French companies. It draws several managerial propositions, aimed to sustain the overtaking of the glass ceiling, enlightening the strategic role of relationally-based organizational initiatives, such as mentoring and affinity networks development.