The term ‘glass ceiling’ is often used in a situation when a woman or someone from a minority group has had a hard time climbing up the professional ladder, and seems to have plateaued professionally below their actual potential.
Example in use: “She was not able to break through the glass ceiling; despite her qualifications, she was not promoted to the executive level position.”
This term was first heard in 1978 when Marilyn Loden (an American author) mentioned this in a speech she gave. Hillary Clinton recently made it very popular again when she used this term after she lost the political election in 2016.