Checking in from 20,000 feet
Posted by Diane Danielson at 2:50 PM

August's issue of Fast Company interviews six high-flying, high-ranking women re: the status of the glass ceiling. Each one provides some interesting insights. However, the general theme is that while young women of today should appreciate the strides that have been taken, it's still a little bit lonely being a woman (and/or minority) at the top.

It was another promise of the new economy: We'd finally move from the old-time rules of the old boys' network to a workplace based on merit, performance, and skill -- a workplace that would be more open to women. Forget about breaking the glass ceiling, the logic went, the new economy would break out of the whole box. That was the promise. Just how well has it been kept? To find out, Fast Company surveyed six successful women, high achievers in industries as diverse as autos, packaged goods, finance, and medicine. The question: Are we living in a meritocracy or a machotocracy?

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