Women's advancement in management positions has not kept pace with the rise in the number of working women. Their presence at the top of the corporate ladder is rare. Despite the fact that more women are joining management roles, there is a bottleneck at the middle management level. Though entry is easier, progression slows after the middle stage, and in most cases, women are barred from ascending the corporate ladder to the top, regardless of their technological or professional credentials or achievements. In India, research and surveys show that men outnumber women in top management roles, a phenomenon known as "the glass ceiling," which is described as "a barrier that is so subtle that it is undetectable, but is so powerful that it prevents women from rising through the management ranks." Women's underrepresentation in the corporate hierarchy, gendered pay gaps, workplace discrimination, discriminatory corporate practices, a lack of commitment to the individual needs of women, sexual harassment, and exclusion of women from informal networks are all examples of the ceiling. As a result, the aim of this paper is to identify the issues and challenges that women managers in India face, propose solutions, and provide a forum for what employers and society can do to crack the glass ceiling.

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Keywords: Glass Ceiling, Hierarchy, Discrimination, Informal Network, Gender Gap.