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The term glass ceiling (officially known as 'vertical segregation') refers to the observation that top-level management in businesses consist predominantly, if not exclusively, of a certain demographic (e.g., white heterosexual men). A "ceiling" is suggested because persons outside the dominant demographic group are supposedly limited in how far they are able to advance inside the organization ranks; the ceiling is "glass" (transparent) because the limitation is not immediately apparent. The "glass ceiling" is distinguished from formal barriers to advancement, such as education or experience requirements. The existence of the glass ceiling is frequently cited as a failure of existing anti-discrimination action.
The term is often credited as having been originally coined by Carol Hymowitz and Timothy Schellhardt in the March 24 1986 edition of the Wall Street Journal. However, the term was used prior to that e.g. in a March 1984 Adweek article by Gay Bryant.
The term glass elevator is sometimes used to describe the rapid promotion of men over women, especially into management, in female-dominated fields like nursing
The term glass cliff describes a situation wherein someone, particularly a woman, has been promoted into a risky, difficult job where the chances of failure are higher.
There is also a sometimes-used term glass floor which describes the theory that some factor both limits a group's (often women's) progress but also limits their numbers in situations like, say, imprisonment and the disproportionate numbers of male inmates. Biological factors are often quoted for these, although contentious.
The phrase glass floor is also sometimes used to describe the fact that men almost always occupy the least pleasant jobs in a society - sewage workers, miners, street cleaners, refuse workers etc.
The political aspects of these concepts limit the ability of research to clarify the issue.
Worldwide statistics
| Sweden | 45.3 |
| Denmark | 37.0 |
| Finland | 37.5 |
| Norway | 36.4 |
| Netherlands | 35.0 |
| Germany | 32.8 |
| Iceland | 30.2 |
| New Zealand | 28.3 |
| Austria | 27.5 |
| Canada | 21.1 |
| China | 20.2 |
| UK(Commons) | 17.8 |
| United States | 15.0 |
| Japan | 7.1 |
See also
External links
- Report of the Glass Ceiling Commission (PDF format)
- Read Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Pay Equity
"Glass ceiling"