Glass ceiling
Topic: Employment, Unemployment and Informalisation · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The glass ceiling is an invisible barrier that stops qualified women and minorities from rising to the top posts in an organisation. No written rule blocks them. The barrier comes from bias, informal networks and unequal care burdens. It is called "glass" because people can see the top but cannot reach it. As a result, few women become heads of companies, boards and senior government offices, even when they have the skills.
Example
A woman software engineer in Bengaluru has excellent performance reviews. Year after year, male colleagues with similar records are promoted to director level, and she is not.
Don't confuse with
- Gender wage gap: this is the gap in average pay between men and women at all levels. The glass ceiling is about promotion to the top.
Related concepts
- Female labour force participation rate
- U-shaped female labour force participation
- Unpaid work of women
- Unpaid care work
- Care work
- Double burden
- Feminisation of agriculture
- Gender wage gap