Gender discrimination can be described as unequal treatment of different individuals due to their gender. Mostly it is disadvantageous for the people of that gender and might be observed in all fields of life. It affects the life experience of these people from early childhood. The glass ceiling in sociology is a term that is used to describe the gender discrimination cases when “the invisible barriers” do not allow women to have a position in top management due to their gender. Their qualifications are ignored, and they cannot move forward in a corporate environment. The glass cliff phenomenon can be described as a case when women have more opportunities to break the glass ceiling during times of crisis when there is an increased risk of failure. This happens because men do not want to take responsibility during volatile periods, and occasionally, they might assume that women possess the characteristics, which are more efficient at problem-solving under stressful conditions.
This theory tries to describe how career development ideas are developed. It examines how factors such as self-efficacy, interests, outcome expectations, abilities, personality, and goals affect the choice of the career. The given theory is highly applicable to the aging process because people tend to get more managerial positions as they get older. Thus, older adults, specifically women, are more likely to experience the mentioned theories due to the fact that younger individuals do not get promoted to top positions. In addition, it is important to note that aging shifts the personality and abilities of a person because there is a significant influence of both biological and mental factors.