Burnsville review of "Glass Walls"

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Glass walls of exclusion
Beyond the glass ceiling, Burnsville author and former executive explores barriers faced by women in business

Posted: 5/19/06

Jean Rostollan broke the “glass ceiling” — that supposedly invisible, impenetrable barrier that keeps women from rising in business.

She worked 13 years as vice president of purchasing for a public company with $1 billion in annual sales.

But her experiences and those of women friends of similar stature convinced Rostollan there was another barrier to contend with.

She calls it the “glass wall” — an insidious layer of cronyism and patriarchy that often leaves women executives out of the loop, regardless of salary or rank.

Rostollan, of Burnsville, and PepsiCo executive Rhonda Levene of Texas are the authors of “Glass Walls: Reality and Hope Beyond the Glass Ceiling,” which was published last month by Brown Books Publishing Group of Dallas.

The term “glass ceiling” is said to have been popularized by a 1986 Wall Street Journal article. Rostollan and Levene, who met through their work as food-services executives, believe their “glass walls” construct has similar currency for a new age.

“It’s the first book to discuss the glass wall and give it a name,” said Rostollan, 54. “I think it’s extremely notable.”

Now semi-retired, Rostollan is a consultant and president of Glass Wall Enterprises. She also volunteers at the Minnesota Valley Humane Society and Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, and served on the architectural committee for Burnsville’s Heart of the City redevelopment district.

She and husband Dave, a school psychologist in Osseo, moved here in 1979. A St. Olaf College graduate, Rostollan taught social studies for two years at Metcalf Junior High. She left teaching to join the corporate office of the Perkin’s Restaurant chain.

“I enjoyed the food industry more,” Rostollan said.

She was hired by Buffets Inc. in 1986 and eventually became executive vice president of purchasing, a job she held for 13 years until leaving in 2004. Rostollan was responsible for an annual purchasing budget of $350 million at Buffets Inc., now a privately held firm called Buffets Holdings.

The slights of the glass wall didn’t keep Rostollan from enjoying her job, the company or a salary that eventually reached six figures. But the slights were more than she and many female acquaintances could ignore.

“My experiences over 31 years of working certainly contributed to the concept,” Rostollan said. “The term glass wall is certainly something I had felt for the last decade or better.”

The wall leads to exclusion, whether casual or direct, from the typically male-dominated inner sanctum of the top company brass, Rostollan said.

Whether excluded from a golf outing or a casual meeting among bosses, women executives are often separated from the “temper and nuance” of the organization, she said.

“To some extent, it’s the nature of the beast,” she said. “But I think it’s an issue worth raising. It disenfranchises some very talented, capable women. And I think there are very talented, capable men who aren’t thrilled with it, either.”

Rostollan and Levene relate the experiences of numerous women they interviewed and agreed to identify by first name only.

“A lot of them would remember that decisions had been made that impacted their area of responsibility and they didn’t even know it had been discussed, let alone had input into the decision,” Rostollan said.

The book describes corporate archetypes, including the “patriarchs” — “the exclusive group of men ... who dominate the organization, along with the males chosen as their entourage.”

The authors devised names for other types of corporate functionaries, including seeds, informers, corks and diamonds.

Informers, for example, are “panderers, patriarchal wannabees” of either gender.

By contrast, diamonds are “fabulous coaches and teammates” who are “worthy members for any project team.”

“Diamonds can be anywhere in the organization,” Rostollan said. “Most people, if they’re honest with themselves, had diamonds in their lives that have made a difference in their careers.”

The authors advise women to learn to spot and navigate glass walls, not despair or reflect fault back on themselves.

“You can’t be taken over by that,” Rostollan said. “What you can hope to do is shed light on a situation and allow some hope. That’s why the title says ‘Reality and Hope.’ ”

For information on “Glass Walls: Reality and Hope Beyond the Glass Ceiling,” visit www.glasswalls.org.

John Gessner is at burnsville.thisweek@ecm-inc.com.