rainbow ceiling

rainbow (a reference to the rainbow flag, an international symbol of gay pride) + ceiling (suggesting a barrier to upward advancement)

rainbow ceiling

1. An informal (and often unacknowledged) barrier to promotion or advancement, in employment and elsewhere, for gay and lesbian people.
   • 2013, Niv Elis, "The Middle East’s first openly gay mayor?", The Jerusalem Post, 27 June 2013:

     Meretz MK Nitzan Horowitz isn’t just Israel’s only openly gay parliamentarian, he’s the Middle East’s only openly gay parliamentarian (though he was preceded in that role by Uzi Even, who broke that particular rainbow ceiling in 2002).

   • 2014, Chris, quoted in Conor Friedersdorf, "28 Distinct Takes on Gay Marriage and Stigma," The Atlantic, 15 April 2014:

     I am an out gay man in my late 20s. […] I consider myself a successfully "launched" millennial and I've made it my mission to break the rainbow ceiling wherever I work.

   • 2014, Craig Takeuchi, "Michael Sam makes history: First openly gay football player drafted into NFL", The Georgia Straight, 12 May 2014:

     Michael Sam has made history on May 10 by breaking the rainbow ceiling to become the first openly gay football player to be drafted into the NFL.

   • For more examples of usage of this term, see Citations:rainbow ceiling.

• pink ceiling