Workers will sometimes say that they are being held back by a glass ceiling. You may also see an analysis of a specific industry – such as the tech industry – claiming that there is a glass ceiling hindering the upward mobility of employees at the company.
What this generally means is that there is an invisible barrier keeping employees from climbing the corporate ladder. There is nothing obvious or tangible holding them back. It’s not as if the employees lack education or training. They have excellent resumes and, from the outside, look like prime candidates for promotion. Even so, those promotions go to others.
What creates this invisible barrier?
A glass ceiling is often just a form of discrimination. It is most commonly used regarding female workers who see a significant lack of promotions. Even though they have exemplary records, excellent education levels, great performance reviews and everything else an employer would want, they can only climb so high before all of the promotions start going to male employees.
The reality could just be that the executives at the corporation are discriminating against women. Perhaps they do not believe that women can be effective in leadership positions. When deciding how to give out promotions for career advancement, it is this discrimination that drives their decisions, rather than an accurate and fair analysis of all potential candidates.
This is considered an invisible barrier because the discrimination is never overly stated. But it is still illegal if it happens, and workers who are facing such discrimination must know what legal options they have.
