Want a quick and relatively comprehensive overview of the glass ceiling and its many forms?
Wikipedia is a community-generated information source that covers a range of typical areas on this topic:
- how the term ‘glass ceiling’ arose
- some of the barriers that create a glass ceiling for women
- more information on the gender wage gap – the different pay rates between men and women for equal work
- added issues around sexual orientation and discrimination
- the experiences of women who have made it through the glass ceiling
- other phrases used interchangeably such as brass ceiling, bamboo ceiling, sticky floor, sticky walls, glass cliff, glass wall, and the glass elevator to explain the rise of women above the ceiling (often due to meeting quotas)
You can find the Wikipedia coverage here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_ceiling
It’s our belief and experience from working with hundreds of women (and men) throughout their careers that career barriers exist. In some areas the discrimination is blatant, in some cases it’s masked and in some cases it is systemic and unconscious. Women have made significant progress since emancipation began in the late 1800’s , since moving into the workforce in large numbers during the second world war, and since the advent of the Pill in the 60’s. There is still a long way to go though before we have an equal workplace and society.