glass ceiling
An unrecognized or unwritten barrier to further progression or promotion, in…An unrecognized or unwritten barrier to further progression or promotion, in employment and elsewhere, for a member of a specific demographic group (originally women).
» You have to try to break the glass ceiling.
Meaning
2 senses(idiomatic)An unrecognized or unwritten barrier to further progression or promotion, in employment and elsewhere, for a member of a specific demographic group (originally women).
(figuratively, idiomatic)A barrier to progression that is not obvious.
Gläserne Decke
стекля́нный потоло́кstekljánnyj potolók
скляна́ сте́ляskljaná stélja
- a ceiling based on attitudinal or organizational bias in the work force that prevents minorities and women from advancing to leadership positions
Examples
4 sentencesYou have to try to break the glass ceiling.
One should have enough political and historical awareness to see glass ceilings.
The glass ceiling refers to an invisible barrier that keeps women and minorities from reaching the top of the corporate ladder.
She despaired of breaking through the glass ceiling that seemed to keep even the most accomplished women from positions of real leadership.
Translations
9 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From glass + ceiling, a metaphor using ceiling to suggest a barrier to upward mobility, anFrom 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.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: glass ceilings| Singular | glass ceiling |
|---|---|
| Plural | glass ceilings |
regular