She hit a glass ceiling at work and couldn't get promoted.
glass ceiling
idiomAn unrecognized or unwritten barrier to further progression or promotion, in employment and elsewhere, for a member of a specific demographic group (originally women).
Origin
first recorded 20th c.From glass + ceiling, a metaphor using ceiling to suggest a barrier to upward mobility, and glass to allude to the often unacknowledged or “invisible” nature of this limitation. The term was coined by the American diversity advocate, management consultant, and writer Marilyn Loden (1946–2022), who referred to the “invisible glass ceiling” during a panel discussion about women’s aspirations in 1978.
Despite her qualifications, she felt the glass ceiling kept her from reaching senior management.
The study revealed that minority candidates confronted a glass ceiling so pervasive it shaped every stage of their careers, from hiring to executive selection.
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bamboo ceiling
A social barrier to further promotion or progression, in employment and elsewhere, for a person of East Asian ethnicity.
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brass ceiling
An unwritten, uncodified barrier to promotion or progression for women in law enforcement or the military.
- 03
heart of glass
A heart (or by extension, person) in a very fragile romantic state: one that is easily made broken-hearted.
- 04
scrape someone off the ceiling
Used to describe the response to someone who is either experiencing great pain, who is very frightened, or is very elated.
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throw stones in a glass house
To criticize others when one has similar weaknesses oneself.
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walk on broken glass
To do everything possible to achieve something, even if it involves great risk or discomfort.