Glass Ceiling

• 11 Sep 2024

Source: IE

Recently, Hillary Clinton, former US Secretary of State stated that Kamala Kamala Harris' confirmation as the Democratic presidential candidate could break the "highest, hardest glass ceiling" for women in politics. 

• Clinton, the first woman to be nominated for president by a major US party in 2016, believes this could lead to Harris becoming the 47th US President.

Glass Ceiling:

• It refers to the invisible barriers that prevent women and other marginalised groups from advancing to senior positions in their careers, despite having the qualifications and capabilities to do so.
• The phrase gained traction during the Second Wave of Feminism in the USA in the 1960s and 1970s, a time when women were increasingly demanding equality in the workplace. 
  • This period saw the introduction of laws in the US aimed at combating discrimination, such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
• Despite advancements, the persistence of the glass ceiling was underscored by the Glass Ceiling Commission (1991) established by the US President, which found that although women made up nearly 46% of the workforce and earned more than half of all master’s degrees, 95% of senior-level managers were men.

Read More: Empowering Women, Elevating India.