An unacknowledged — and ultimately illegal — barrier to advancement, especially for women and people of color: “In many professions a woman cannot break through the glass ceiling to the upper level of management.” The term dates from the 1980s.
A solid but invisible barrier against women's advancement in business and other institutions: Women could all stop wearing lipstick and blusher tomorrow, and I doubt it would help them break through the glass ceiling/ the sound of glass ceilings breaking as women empowered by the Clinton Administration rise to new positions of influence (1990+)