Just Because You Can’t See Glass, Doesn’t Mean It Can’t Hold You Back

The glass that sits in your cupboard symbolizes some of the darkest moments of our history. Originally, glass was only owned by the wealthy and symbolized fragility and brittleness. In the 12th century, glass windows were incredibly expensive and were only in churches, palaces, and houses of the nobles. A popular phrase “break through the glass” arose from the “glass ceiling,” a phrase created by Marilyn Loden in 1978. It was created 41 years ago yet it is still present today. The glass ceiling and glass floor affect women’s and youths’ lives every day because women don’t earn the same salary as men, nor are they treated with the utmost respect in politics, and youth coming from wealthy families are rising over poor bright underprivileged youth.

The glass ceiling has affected many women in history and until this day still affects many women in a different way. The glass ceiling is a metaphor expressing a transparent barrier that keeps women from reaching “the level of men” in their careers. Marilyn Loden first coined the phrase in a panel discussion about women’s aspirations. She said, “As I listened, I noted how the (female) panellists focused on the deficiencies in women's socialisation, the self-deprecating ways in which women behaved, and the poor self-image that many women allegedly carried” (BBC News). Women were looked down upon and were seen as a public figure. For example, Marilyn Loden was an HR professional in the telecoms industries and was often told by her male boss to smile more and commented on her appearance in every meeting. Even if women were at “men’s level” of intelligence or leadership, they wouldn’t be given the position simply because their co-workers were men. Marilyn Loden said, “Once I was told that despite my better performance record, a promotion I was hoping for was going to a male peer. The reason given was that he was a ‘family man’ - that he was the main breadwinner and so needed the money more” (BBC News). Women weren’t expected to have a higher position than men and if they did, they were told that the advantage of being a woman was “degrading the importance” of their positions.

In this day in age, we see many women rising to these higher positions but still have many hurdles along the way, due to their gender. We are in the 21st century and men and women still don’t have equal pay, even if they have the same position. For every dollar a man makes, a woman makes 79 cents. This affects women of color even more, depending on their ethnicity they get paid less money. Hispanic women will make 54% of what a white male makes (AAUW). Women also struggle to rise in politics. Studies have shown, “That 16 percent of the women in this country and 17 percent of the men said they would not vote for a woman for president” (The New York Times). In our most recent presidential election many people didn’t want Hillary Clinton as president for many reasons, one of them being: she's female. According to, IN AMERICA; Another Glass Ceiling by Bob Herbert, “Now, nearly a decade later, there are only 9 women among the 100 U.S. senators, 56 women in the 435-member House of Representatives and just 3 women among the 50 governors.” Women have more privileges and opportunities nowadays compared to the 90s but as a society, we are slowly growing. We’ve been working on women's rights since 1968 and still so little has changed.

The glass ceiling still affects many women but currently, more and more youth are being affected by the glass floor. The glass floor is a barrier that affects underprivileged bright youth. “It is well known that in the United States, income distribution has a ‘sticky floor.’ Two-fifths of children born into the poorest fifth of households remain there as adults. But it is sticky at the top, too: the same odds apply to those born into the richest fifth” (The New York Times). The big issue is relative mobility. Relative mobility is how likely children are to move from their parents’ income ladder. The simple solution for this is to broaden our economy, but a wide range of things are attached ㅡ in order for improving upward relative mobility it requires more downward mobility from the top. “New research released by the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission reveals wealthy kids are 35% more likely to become high earners than clever, disadvantaged young people, even if they are not academically gifted” (Huffpost). The income of families affects their youth very much. It’s not just the money but the connections. Parents with a higher income are able to secure their children’s educational opportunities overcoming their lack of ability. More advantaged parents are able to get their children into the labour market through unpaid internships and informal social networks versus parents who don’t have these connections don’t have the ability to help their kids in this form.

Undoubtedly the glass ceiling is a tragic moment that remains engraved onto our past. Opportunities of rising in jobs were taken from women simply for being female. This event impacted women immensely and continues to. The glass ceiling has shifted a bit but is still very relevant today. There is a huge wage gap between men and women and in politics, they aren’t treated equally. This has not only affected women but in recent years (glass floor) has begun to affect underprivileged youth for not having equal access to opportunities and connections compared to those who are more financially stable than them. There are echoes of 1978 in our everyday lives.

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