lavender ceiling

Noun

lavender ceiling (plural lavender ceilings)

1. An unwritten barrier preventing the advancement of LGBT people in society.
   • Each day, thousands of employees throughout corporate California wrestle with whether to come out of the closet. Some fear that revealing their sexual orientation will bring down the "lavender ceiling," which they say can spell the difference between a promotion and stagnation.1993 May 17, Denise Hamilton, “WORKPLACE DIVERSITY : Gays Confront 'Lavender Ceiling'”, in Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the...
   • Just as Hillary Rodham Clinton famously put "18 million cracks in the glass ceiling" for women in high office, so there are a number of corporate executives who are doing the same for the lavender ceiling faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees. It's just a matter of time before...2014 May 26, Selisse Berry, “Letter: Gay Chief Executives”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Jun 2022
2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see lavender, ceiling.