The Glass Ceiling And How To Shatter It

Most children spend their early years being told that they can grow up to be anything they want. Whether they aspire to be a teacher, dog trainer, or CEO, any goal could be achievable given the right amount of effort.

Unfortunately, once adulthood is reached, this isn’t always the case for everyone in the professional world. The metaphor of a ‘glass ceiling’ is a poignant phrase that’s often tossed around to describe this difficulty for women and minority groups.

What Is the Glass Ceiling?

The glass ceiling trope draws the comparison of an invisible barrier that exists in a professional environment that hinders certain people, specifically women and members of minority groups, from rising through the managerial and executive ranks within their place of employment.

That’s a mouthful that generally means there are unwritten social obstacles that make it more difficult for certain people to develop their careers or attain leadership roles.

The term was originally introduced by a management consultant named Marilyn Loden in 1978. As an experienced HR professional with accolades in her field, she was living in a reality that is all too common among women and people in minority groups.

Despite her track record of accomplishments in the field, the promotions and opportunities were continually handed to her male peers. When she would ask why she’s not receiving these career advancements, she’d be met with a weak explanation like the co-worker was a ‘family man’ and therefore needed the money more.

She also mentions that she was borderline harassed about her appearance daily, an experience that her male co-workers didn’t share.

The phrase ‘glass ceiling’ was initially introduced in a time before protective regulations on workplace harassment existed. There wasn’t much public concern for the issue of women’s advancement in the workplace, and the idea of there being a glass ceiling that needed to be broken was fairly revolutionary.

Today, the implication of the glass ceiling exists differently. There’s a bigger focus on inclusivity and opportunities for all regardless of an individual’s race, gender, religion, or any other factor.

Places exist for people who have been mistreated, harassed, or disrespected to report these incidents. The working environment that employees are subjected to and a company’s culture are increasingly important for the organization and its professional team alike.

Yet, the glass ceiling continues to exist with all of these measures in place because, at its core, the metaphor describes collective social bias that takes a long time to repair.

The glass ceiling is illustrated as this particular material for a reason; it can be shattered. Rather than being an inescapable reality of life, the glass ceiling provides the motivation to break through these barriers.

While the term was initially coined over 40 years ago to describe the plight of high-achieving women, Loden still agrees that it’s as relevant today as ever.

Different Variations of Glass Ceilings

There are quite a few variations on the ceiling effect depending on who it affects. Below are the different variations of the glass ceiling that can be experienced.

1. Gender glass ceiling. The glass ceiling term was first coined to describe the difficult barriers that women face in the professional world and make waves in the feminist movement.

   Today, a gender bias glass ceiling still exists in many working environments. Women who work just as ferociously and are equally committed to their careers remain underpaid, under-promoted, or underappreciated.

   This reality can be seen clearly when pondering the statistics. The greater percentage of college graduates are women, and women account for nearly half of the American workforce with 46.8%.

   Yet, women only occupy 29% of senior management positions and 31% of senior roles in the United States. A statistic that actually demonstrates a stark increase from years past. Additionally, women are found to be 25% to 46% more likely to get hired for a job with blind application screening.

2. Racial glass ceiling. The metaphor of the glass ceiling has broadened over time to include the obstacles and mistreatment that people of color also face in the professional world. The term describes a similar situation of invisible barriers and discrimination, but in this case, it’s due to racism or racial bias.

   The racial glass ceiling can be direct or indirect, either of which needs to be handled immediately to maintain a safe working space. Direct discrimination refers to a situation like an employer rejecting a fully qualified person of color for a job in a predominantly white area because they wouldn’t “fit in.”

   Alternatively, indirect racial discrimination is a little more covert but equally as damaging. An example of indirect discrimination could be a job requirement needing a native English speaker.

   An applicant who fills all the requirements and speaks English fluently but doesn’t speak it as their native language could still be disqualified for this trivial reason.

   While the glass ceiling is tough for women generally, the difficulties are doubled for women of color. The wage gap statistics for women of varying races demonstrate this.

   As of 2018, every US dollar that a man earns full-time:

   • A white woman earns $0.79

   • A black woman earns $0.62

   • An American Indian or Alaskan native woman earns $0.57

   • A Hispanic or Latino woman earns $0.54

3. Cultural glass ceiling. The cultural glass ceiling can also impact the experience of people in the workforce. This broadens to include when individuals of a particular age, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, or any other background characteristic face an exorbitant amount of obstacles to leadership positions and career advancement.

   An example of a workplace that might be suffering from an issue with the cultural glass ceiling is one in which every employee comes from the same background. Today, the importance of a diverse workplace has been emphasized more, but the cultural glass ceiling persists nonetheless in many industries and companies.

Potential Causes of Glass Ceilings

After understanding what the existence of glass ceilings in society means, the next thought jumps to why these barriers exist for people from particular groups or backgrounds in the professional world. The glass ceiling persists at workplaces for a few outdated and injudicious reasons.

1. Traditional gender roles. One of the big things that are pointed to when the conversation of the glass ceiling arises is called the motherhood penalty.

   Although plenty of men have children and work full-time, women who take this path are treated as less competent, dedicated, or dependable. It’s a factor that comes into play because it shapes a woman’s experience at their job.

   The motherhood penalty plays into traditional gender roles of seeing women as homemakers and childcarers, as opposed to leaders within companies or business owners. This often ends up with the result of women getting fewer opportunities in the workplace in comparison with their male co-workers because of gender biases.

2. Cultural stereotypes. Another unfortunate cause of the glass ceiling is cultural stereotypes. These damaging beliefs are impactful on the professional world today because stereotypes act as reasoning for keeping the same types of people in power.

   Stereotypes make it okay for some people to just be meant for leadership roles because of their background, and others to simply be destined for lower-level positions because of their cultural characteristics. This contributes to the glass ceiling that these groups face.

How to Break Through Glass Ceilings

The purpose of recognizing the glass ceiling is to find the means for shattering it to pieces. Becoming aware of a problem is the first step to overcoming it. It’s up to both employers and employees to minimize the negative impact of the glass ceiling for women and people belonging to minority groups.

1. Recognize its existence and understand it. The first step towards remedying the harm of the glass ceiling in the professional world is acknowledging its existence. The reason that the glass ceiling has persisted for so long is that people continued to ignore it.

   Both companies that are building a team and employees who are looking to develop their career should understand the definition of the glass ceiling, its causes, and who it affects. This enables all parties to speak up if they notice that the glass ceiling barriers are impacting people at work.

2. Use your voice. If you notice that your place of employment is guilty of fostering an environment with glass ceilings, you must use your voice and express this. Even if the obstacle isn’t impacting you directly, it’s important to stand up for co-workers and supervisors alike.

   Once you understand exactly what the glass ceiling is and how it impacts people in their careers, you must use this knowledge to better your working environment.

3. Discuss it with others. Another way to improve the glass ceiling situation is by discussing its existence with other people. Even when you’re not directly witnessing an act of discrimination, speaking about these realities helps people get more comfortable with the topic.

   It can also potentially help to educate others who aren’t as familiar with the subject. The more people who know about the glass ceiling, the less power it gradually has.

4. Implement bias and stereotype training. As an employer, it’s your responsibility to ensure that you’re creating a healthy work environment for everyone involved. Even if you’re aware of the glass ceiling and actively try to combat it, biases can still fester at your company.

   One way to go about improving the glass ceiling situation at your organization is by implementing bias and stereotype training. Unconscious bias training programs are designed to expose people to implicit biases and provide tools for fixing these patterns of thinking.

   Adjusting these thinking patterns can have a hugely positive impact on people’s behaviors at work and limit the glass ceiling effect. Executing these types of training programs during onboarding allows everyone at work to get on the same page.

5. Be patient but also assertive about your worth. While it is infuriating to deal with a situation where you feel like you’ve come face-to-face with the barrier of a glass ceiling, the way you handle the situation speaks volumes.

   Maintain patience and poise when dealing with a frustrating glass ceiling situation; however, assert yourself. Stand your ground when you feel you’ve been wronged in a professional situation or discriminated against, and never lose sight of your incredible worth.

   Diligently being an advocate for yourself and your skills is the strongest tool to break the glass ceiling.

Author

Sky Ariella

Sky Ariella is a professional freelance writer, originally from New York. She has been featured on websites and online magazines covering topics in career, travel, and lifestyle. She received her BA in psychology from Hunter College.