Are Women Happy Under The Glass Ceiling?

About 70% of women and 57% of men believe an invisible barrier--a glass ceiling--prevents women from getting ahead in business, according to a study of 1,200 executives in eight countries, including the U.S., Australia, Austria and the Philippines. Consulting firm Accenture (nyse: ACN - news - people ) released the study on Wednesday in conjunction with International Women's Day.

But if women are unhappy about making 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man, it's not reflected in Accenture's statistics. Globally, the same percentage of men and women--58%--felt they were fairly compensated. In the U.S., 67% of men were happy with their salaries, compared with 60% of women. But American women were almost as satisfied as men with the professional levels they had achieved.

One reason why women aren't complaining about the pay gap: They've decided to work for themselves. The number of women-owned firms grew 17% between 1997 and 2004, according to the Center for Women's Business Research, while the total number of firms rose only 9%.

Read more at: Are Women Happy Under The Glass Ceiling? - Forbes.com