Breaking Glass Ceiling ©Dawn Minott |Happy International Women’s Day [March 8]

On By Dawn MinottIn Poetry

Beforeword: The “glass ceiling”, was coined by Management consultant Marilyn Loden in 1978. It symbolizes the invisible barriers that hinder women and marginalized groups from advancing in their careers. 

Samia Suluhu Hassan
First woman president of Tanzania

The thing about “glass ceiling” when smashed
is that the shards don’t vanish—
they fall
Sharp, jagged, relentless,
raining down like a warning,
like a punishment for daring to rise

Falling glass cuts deep—
Patriarchy, splintered but still clawing
Violence, turning freedom into something fragile
Laws, binding instead of breaking chains
Norms, polished smooth but when harmful they wound
Root causes slicing through progress
turning triumphs into scars
Rights into relics
Hard won gains into loss
Reproductive rights overturned—
choices stripped, voices silenced,
autonomy reduced to a battlefield
where laws are weapons,
and women’s bodies contested spaces

But how does the ceiling hold?
It’s not chains you can see,
not walls you can touch—
It’s an unspoken limit, the silent “no”
It’s underrepresentation dressed as “not the right fit”
It’s the weight of pay gaps
The care work not paid
The lock on leadership doors
The promotions that never come
no matter how qualified or how high women climb

They say, “You’ve come so far”
But they don’t mention the cracks beneath our feet
The unequal shifting ground
The backlash waiting at every turn
Every step forward risks another wound, another push back, another war to fight—again

The thing about glass—
It was never meant to be a cage
Meant for clarity, yet it distorts,
letting light in but keeping power out

The thing about ceiling—
It was never meant to hold in
Meant to shelter, yet it confines,
holding dreams beneath its weight

So, like Maya Angelou, women—we rise!
Not just breaking, but building
Not just shattering, but shaping
Hands wrapped in armor, feet steady on the dust
Helmets on, hearts fierce, forging new foundations
Until the sky stretches wide,
and the only thing above us—
is rights, equality, justice

About Women’s History Month:

In the USA, President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the Week of March 8th 1980 as National Women’s History Week. March was later designated as “Women’s History Month” in 1987. This year’s theme: “Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations.”

About International Women’s Day (March 8th)

IWD is a worldwide day of activism, celebrating achievements while continuing the fight for women’s rights.

IWD began in the early 1900s as a movement for women’s labor rights, better working conditions, and suffrage. But the first milestone in US was much earlier – in 1848. Indignant over women being barred from speaking at an anti-slavery convention, Americans Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott started the US first women’s rights convention in New York. Inspired by protests in New York, socialist activist Clara Zetkin proposed an annual Women’s Day in 1910, leading to the first official IWD on March 19, 1911, in several European countries. The 8 March date was chosen after Russian women demanded “bread and peace” during a war-time strike in 1917. 

The United Nations recognized IWD in 1975, expanding its focus to broader gender equality issues. This year the UN theme is “For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.” 

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In creative solidarity, Dee

29 thoughts on “Breaking Glass Ceiling ©Dawn Minott |Happy International Women’s Day [March 8]”

  3. Your poem really reminds us of everything women have to go through to reach their goals (that is if they are ever able to reach it) because of the limitations and challenges the patriarchy puts in our way. Yet, we continue to fight for equality because it is worth fight for.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. It is absolutely worth the fight though it shouldn’t be a fight. But in each of our spheres of influence we play the hand we are dealt as best we can. Thanks for stopping by and engaging. 🙏🏽🌺🙏🏽

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

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