The Glass Ceiling Has Been Replaced…And It’s Worse
The Scrubbed-In Mindset: Women’s Empowerment
Once upon a time, they told us to aim high. Break the glass ceiling, they said. Shatter it like a boss in heels and a power suit. But nobody warned us what happens when the shards are swept away and replaced with something even more dangerous… It doesn’t break at all, not because it cuts.
For women of color, especially Black and Brown women, the idea of a “glass ceiling” was always misleading. It was never just glass. It was barbed wire laced with bias, reinforced with institutional gatekeeping, and dusted in the residue of respectability politics. But at least glass gave the illusion that you could break through it if you hit it hard enough.
Now? In today’s political and corporate landscape, that ceiling has morphed into something slicker, stronger, and more invisible than ever. I call it the polymer ceiling, a toxic, synthetic version of the old problem. It doesn’t shatter. It doesn’t give. And worst of all, it reflects our ambition back at us like a cruel mirror.
The Current Reality
Let’s be real. In a time when diversity and inclusion are being rolled back under the guise of “meritocracy,” many of us are being told we’re either “lucky to be in the room” or “too emotional” to lead. From Supreme Court decisions that undermine affirmative action to corporate DEI layoffs post-2020 reckoning, the message is loud and clear: progress isn’t linear, and our presence is still perceived as conditional.
Even in medicine, STEM, business, or politics, we’re told to “stay in our lane.” Not because we lack skills, but because our presence makes others uncomfortable. And heaven forbid we advocate for ourselves or others while being female and Black or Brown. That makes us “difficult.” Or worse… ungrateful.
What Is Changing?
Despite all this, we’re seeing glimmers of hope. Women of color are building power in the community, in boardrooms, on ballots, and on our own platforms. We’re creating our own tables. We’re writing books, launching startups, mentoring the next generation, and refusing to apologize for taking up space.
Gen X is tired, and most of us have checked out, but Gen Z is kicking down doors with its unapologetic intersectional lens. Social media has become a megaphone for collective accountability. And truth be told, there are more of us in these rooms than ever before.
But progress isn’t power unless it’s protected. Visibility without voice is a trap. And tokenism dressed as representation is just another trick in the system’s handbook.
Solutions or at Least Survival Tools
We need to:
- Codify our wins – Fight for policies, not performative panels. That means laws, funding, promotions, and pipelines that actually work.
- Mentor intentionally – Pull someone up as you climb. Leave no woman behind. Or as I say in my book The Rules of Medicine: Rule #34…Pay It Forward!
- Speak truth to power – Even when your voice shakes. It carries more force than you know, and others are listening.
- Call it out – When the ceiling changes, so should the strategy. Recognize when the rules are shifting in silence, like our judicial system.
- Build your own ladder – And make it extendable. Entrepreneurship, advocacy, media, whatever your weapon…use it. You don’t need permission.
The Caveat
Let me be clear: this new ceiling, the one made of reinforced “optics,” AI bias, and policy erosion, is not your imagination. It’s real. And it’s been engineered to look progressive while maintaining the status quo. It smiles in your face while blocking your path. And when you finally touch it, it doesn’t cut you, it laughs.
The old glass ceiling could be shattered. But what happens when the new ceiling doesn’t break at all? What happens when it’s built from a material that mocks your resilience and absorbs your impact?
You keep swinging. You find new tools. You train the next generation to build wrecking balls instead of ladders.
Because even if the ceiling can’t be broken the old way, we’re smart enough to find another way through.