Number: 96-86 Title: The Glass Ceiling: A Fact Sheet Authors: Linda Levine, Economics Division Abstract: The term "glass ceiling" is used to describe the barriers that women and minorities are thought to encounter as they advance up the organizational ladder. This fact sheet provides references to and briefly discusses reports on the issue by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Glass Ceiling Commission (created by the Civil Rights Act of 1991, P.L. 102-166). It also summarizes the prevalence of women in senior level management positions at Fortune 500 companies in 1995 according to Catalyst (a nonprofit research and advocacy group for women.). Pages: 2 Date: Updated January 14, 2000