glass ceiling

Definition

An unrecognized or unwritten barrier to further progression or promotion, in employment and elsewhere, for a member of a specific demographic group (originally women).

Etymology

From glass + ceiling, a metaphor using ceiling to suggest a barrier to upward mobility, and glass to allude to the often unacknowledged or “invisible” nature of this limitation. The term was coined by the American diversity advocate, management consultant, and writer Marilyn Loden (1946–2022), who referred to the “invisible glass ceiling” during a panel discussion about women’s aspirations in 1978.

Example Sentences

• "Women have reached a certain point—I call it the glass ceiling. They're in the top of middle management and they're stopping and getting stuck. There isn't enough room for all those women at the top. Some are going into business for themselves. Others are going out and raising families."
• "A recent Wall Street Journal report describes the invisible barrier at the top as "the glass ceiling" and speculates that it is caused by corporate tradition and prejudice—the same factors that had to be dealt with years ago in order for women to make it beyond the steno pool. […] In the spate of recent articles about glass ceilings faced by women, it's been said that men at the top feel uncomfortable with women of equal or nearly equal power. One high-level vice president quoted her boss as saying, "It was his problem, but he couldn't make serious decisions if a woman was in the room.""
• "There are fears of hitting a "glass ceiling" beyond which known or suspected gay men and lesbians cannot rise. According to Fortune: / In a 1987 survey by the Wall Street Journal, 66% of major-company CEO's said they would be reluctant to put a homosexual on management committees; while attitudes may have changed since, there's no evidence of a revolution."