Glass Ceiling: Is it a Curse or an Alibi?

Maureen Rice wrote in The Way Women Work that “the glass ceiling has gone the way of the chastity belt”. Furthermore, Rice evokes the results of a survey held by the Equal Opportunities Commission, stating that women considered themselves equal to men.
Still, if women think that the glass ceiling is removed, why all the struggle to evolve?
According to Rice, women themselves are to blame for not having the power. The glass ceiling “... it was a great alibi. While it existed, we could blame our lack of progress in business and public life, on everything but ourselves. (...) The fact is, women are mid-career dropouts, and if they aren’t in the top jobs it’s at least because they don’t want to be”.
Women, says Rice, have different aspirations for work and prioritise relationships, personal interests and families. Susan Vinnicombe, professor of Organizational Behaviour at the Cranfield School of Management, mentions in Rices’s text that for men success means promotions, salary rises and job titles. For women, it means peer respect, being able to use their knowledge, being personally fulfilled and being able to make a difference.
Rice also attributes to women the creation of flexible working. “Disenchanted by the structures and limitations of most organisations ... (women) just walk away from their big jobs ... (and start working) as consultants and freelancers”.