Published: April 1, 1992

Current Events

The Glass Ceiling Starts In School

Girls face pervasive barriers to achievement throughout precollegiate schooling and are "systematically discouraged'' from pursuing studies that would enhance their prospects for well-paying jobs. This is the conclusion of a new report, commissioned by the American Association of University Women, that is described as the first synthesis of existing research on girls in public schools.

"Construction of the glass ceiling begins not in the executive suite but in the classroom,'' writes Alice McKee, the president of AAUW. "It starts in preschool.... By the time girls reach high school, they have been systematically tracked toward traditional, sex-segregated jobs, and away from areas of study that lead to high paying jobs in science,...