Glass Ceiling:

Refers to a "stifling of advancement" for women and minorities in the workplace.

The following are some causes of the barrier, known as the "glass ceiling."

• Internal recruitment practices - this could be resolved by eliminating "seniority based" promotions and replacing them with job related assessment methods.
• Biased performance ratings - instead of giving "well liked" employees raises without merit, you could instead, rate employees on their job performance, job knowledge and reliability.
• Not promoting because of judgments regarding whether or not a women has been able to find work/life balance - this could be resolved by addressing the company's belief's regarding what is needed to acquire a work/life balance.
• Denying women and minorities access to developmental assignments - By even distribution of new assignments between men and women, you can find what your employee's capabilities are. By following this practice, you will be able to make fair and educated decisions when considering all employees for promotion.

I don't know if the glass ceiling will ever be eliminated. I think that some men percieve themselves as being the "provider" of the family and will always want to be superior to women in the workplace. On the other hand, there will always be women that want to excel and should be given the chance to do so.