The Double Glass Ceiling
Impact of the Ruling on the Double Glass Ceiling
The double glass ceiling is a metaphor for the double layer of invisible barriers that queer women face within the workplace. This metaphor can also be applied to women of color and queer women of color. This double glass ceiling exists for many reasons, many of which are simply exacerbated reasons for the existence of the single glass ceiling. One reason for the existence of the glass ceiling is the sheer lack of women in upper-management positions. This lack of women allows for the creation of a culture that strengthens the glass ceiling. The amount of out, queer women in the workplace and management positions, is even less. When a group isn’t represented among a group of people, it allows for discriminatory remarks and bigotry to go unnoticed or ignored due to the ignorance of those in the group or to maintain a level of comfort.
With the increased amount of stereotypes and societal norms for queer women, it makes a glass ceiling that is even harder to breakthrough. On top of presumed gender roles and gender bias experienced by women in the hiring process, there are additional levels of conscious and unconscious homophobia that influence a recruiter's decision. This is a reason why many queer women choose to hide their sexuality during the hiring process and even during their employment.
It is hoped that the positive impacts that this ruling will have on the LGBT+ community will help inspire queer women to have more opportunities within the workforce and more confidence in their sexuality within the workplace. By creating more streams of employment, education, and financial stability, the Supreme Court ruling will hopefully begin the process of cracking the double glass ceiling that queer women encounter. However, it is not broken yet.
Looking at the 6-3 ruling, it’s clear that there is still work to be done before there can be full equality within the work environment. As the Supreme Court is meant to reflect the public opinion, the 3 Justices who voted against the ruling do represent a portion of Americans who don’t support the decision. These negative opinions cannot be overlooked as it is often the negative voices that are the loudest. While there is still deep-rooted societal homophobia, the double glass ceiling will continue to exist. The passage of this ruling though is a positive sign that laws and regulations will continue to change for the better for the LGBT+ community.