A

GLASS CEILING

GLASS CEILING, a discriminatory barrier to the advancement of women into the upper echelons of business, the professions, and government. After discrimination by sex in employment was outlawed by the CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964, it was understood that women would not be seen in top jobs in substantial numbers until many had achieved the necessary experience at intermediate levels. However, the paucity of women in the highest positions decades later suggested that they faced persisting barriers—hence the perception of a "glass ceiling." Even in the absence of an impenetrable barrier at some particular level, fewer promotional opportunities for women than for men at each of many levels produced a scarcity of women at and near the top.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Davidson, Marilyn J., and Cary L. Cooper. Shattering the Glass Ceiling: The Woman Manager. London: Paul Chapman, 1992.

Morrison, Ann M., Randall P. White, Ellen Van Velsor, and the Center for Creative Leadership. Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Can Women Reach the Top of America's Largest Corporations? Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1992.

Barbara R. Bergmann

See also Discrimination: Sex; Women in Public Life, Business, and Professions.