glass ceiling

Definition of glass ceiling

: an intangible barrier within a hierarchy that prevents women or minorities from obtaining upper-level positions

Examples of glass ceiling in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web For many, the barrier isn’t only a glass ceiling at the very top, but also an invisible wall that sidelines them from the kinds of roles that have been traditional stepping stones to the CEO position. — Vanessa Fuhrmans, WSJ, "Where Are All the Women CEOs?," 6 Feb. 2020 The state’s voters have never elected a female governor, a glass ceiling Eastin hopes to shatter by campaigning vigorously around the state. — Seema Mehta, latimes.com, "Delaine Eastin calls on rivals in California governor's race to pledge pay equity and gender parity in hiring," 10 Apr. 2018 Everyone seemed to know where that sentence was headed, many having hit what is arguably the last remaining glass ceiling in the business. — Tatiana Siegel, The Hollywood Reporter, "How Over-40 Female Writers Are Trying to Shatter Hollywood's Last Glass Ceiling," 16 Dec. 2019 India’s justice system has a conspicuous glass ceiling. — Manavi Kapur, Quartz India, "Some Indian states will take over 200 years to make a third of their police forces female," 7 Nov. 2019 There is a glass ceiling that will prevent you from professional success. — Dennis Prager, National Review, "What the Left Tells Young Americans," 29 Oct. 2019 There is most definitely a glass ceiling still in play in Hollywood. — Katherine J. Igoe, Marie Claire, "Why Were There Fewer Top Female Movie Directors in 2018 Than In 2017?," 4 Jan. 2019 Whether one or the other was the absolute first to break a glass ceiling could be open to debate. — William Mcdonald, New York Times, "In a Year of Notable Deaths, a World of Women Who Shattered Ceilings," 26 Dec. 2019 In another, a prolific romance author discusses breaking the glass ceiling for black women in the genre. — Eliana Dockterman, Time, "The 50 Best Podcasts to Listen to Right Now," 20 Dec. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'glass ceiling.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

19 Feb 2020

Cite this Entry

“Glass ceiling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glass%20ceiling. Accessed 1 Mar. 2020.

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