glass ceiling

Language: en

Meaning: Anunrecognizedorunwrittenbarrierto furtherprogressionorpromotion, inemploymentand elsewhere, for amemberof aspecificdemographicgroup(originallywomen).[from 1978]1984March 15, Nora Frenkiel, quotingGay Bryant, “The Up-and-Comers; Bryant Takes Aim at the Settlers-in”, inAdweek: Magazine World 1984 Supplement, New York, N.Y.: A/S/M Communications,→OCLC, page39, column 2:Women have reached a certain point—I call it theglass 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.This is the earliest quotation recorded by theOxford English Dictionary.1986June 18, Rusty Brown, “The glass ceiling”, in Dan Bolton, editor,Lompoc Record, volume112, number60, Lompoc, Calif.:Donrey Media Group,→OCLC,page A4, column 2:A recentWall Street Journalreport describes the invisible barrier at the top as "theglass 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 aboutglass ceilingsfaced 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."1991December 15, Kathyrin E. Diaz, “TellingFortune: A Media Watch Report”, inGay Community News, volume19, number22, Boston, Mass.:The Bromfield Street Educational Foundation,→ISSN,→OCLC,page 7, column 1:There are fears of hitting a "glass ceiling" beyond which known or suspected gay men and lesbians cannot rise. According toFortune: / In a 1987 survey by theWall 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.2007January 5, Polly Curtis, “Six thousand women missing from boardrooms, politics and courts”, inAlan Rusbridger, editor,The Guardian‎[2], London:Guardian News & Media,→ISSN,→OCLC, archived fromthe originalon22 December 2023:Theglass ceilingis still holding back 6,000 women from the top 33,000 jobs in Britain, according to new research from the Equal Opportunities Commission. Thirty years after the introduction of the Sex Discrimination Act, women are "woefully under-represented" in the country's boardrooms, politics and courts, it says.2017September 19,Jennifer Szalai, “The Education of Ellen Pao[review of Pao’s bookReset: My Fight for Inclusion and Lasting Change(2017)]”, inThe New York Times Book Review‎[3], New York, N.Y.:The New York Times Company,→ISSN,→OCLC, archived fromthe originalon19 February 2025:[I]t was the genteel chauvinism of the enlightened elites at Kleiner Perkins that carried with it the sting of betrayal. They promised her[Ellen Pao]a meritocracy and gave her aglass ceilinginstead: "It just wasn't fair."2021November 19, Chris Megerian, quotingBakari Sellers, “Kamala Harris makes history, again, as first woman with presidential power – for 85 minutes”, inLos Angeles Times‎[4], Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications,→ISSN,→OCLC, archived fromthe originalon24 August 2024:"Has theglass ceilingshattered?" said Bakari Sellers, a political ally of[Kamala]Harris. "No, but it does have another crack."2022July 29, Lux Alptraum, “Women, the game is rigged. It's time we stop playing by the rules.”, inThe New York Times‎[5], New York, N.Y.:The New York Times Company,→ISSN,→OCLC, archived fromthe originalon14 January 2025:And yet as we stand amid the metaphorical shards of all those shatteredglass ceilings, it's hard to ignore the fact that empowerment feminism hasn't really delivered on its promises.2023October 13 (online version), Raphael Minder, quotingAgnieszka Holland, “Lunch with the FT: Filmmaker Agnieszka Holland: ‘It’s possible to commit the worst crimes and never pay’”, inFT Weekend(Life & Arts section)‎[6], London: Financial Times, published14 October 2023,→ISSN,→OCLC, archived fromthe originalon7 April 2024, page 3:My father[Henryk Holland]really believed at some point that [communism] would be great for humanity, perhaps also because he was facing all theglass ceilingsfor being a Jewish boy[…]; (figurative)A barrier to progression that is notobvious.1994August 25, Charles Pretzlik, “The Market: Ceiling gives way thanks to Uncle Sam”, inThe Daily Telegraph, number43,288, London:Telegraph Media Group,→ISSN,→OCLC,page25, column 1:After several spirited assaults, the FT SE's 3200glass ceilingfinally gave way yesterday, allowing the index to close sharply higher after a day of drifting.

Examples:

EN: Above, a view through the glass ceiling.
ES: Y por el otro, veré a través del techo.
EN: We could even put in a glass ceiling. One?
ES: Incluso, con techo de vidrio.
EN: - The glass ceiling
ES: Del techo de cristal.
EN: I think we've uncovered new clues regarding the 'glass ceiling'.
ES: Tengo nuevas noticias sobre el techo de cristal.
EN: Only it had this here glass ceiling.
ES: Pero el techo era de vidrio.
EN: There's no glass ceiling.
ES: No hay techos de cristal.
EN: Every time I've wanted to promote a woman to break the glass ceiling it's always been the same story:
ES: Siempre que he querido ascender a una mujer, para romper barreras, pasa lo mismo:
EN: And what I realized during this very interesting week is that I have probably focused too much on breaking the glass ceiling, on finding a woman to run things here when what I should have been looking for is the best person to run things up here.
ES: Me he dado cuenta, en esta... semana tan interesante... de que probablemente me he centrado demasiado... en romper barreras, en encontrar una mujer que dirigiera la empresa, cuando debería haber buscado a la mejor persona... para dirigir la empresa.
EN: You see... some of us are getting rather sick and tired of the "glass ceiling," Professor.
ES: Verá... algunos de nosotros estamos hartos del "techo de vidrio", profesor.
EN: You see, some of us are getting rather sick and tired of the glass ceiling, professor.
ES: Verá... algunos de nosotros estamos hartos del "techo de vidrio", profesor.
EN: Maybe on this world, women have finally broken through the glass ceiling.
ES: Quizás en este mundo las mujeres finalmente han logrado igualdad.
EN: Two: break through the firm's glass ceiling.
ES: Dos: abrirme paso en la empresa.
EN: So, there is a glass ceiling.
ES: Así que hay un techo de cristal.
EN: Uh, downsizing... e-solutions, the glass ceiling.
ES: Reducciones, soluciones electrónicas, barreras de discriminación.
EN: You've just bounced off the glass ceiling.
ES: Te felicito, Brown, desaprovechaste tu oportunidad.

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