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From Glass to Concrete Ceilings: Understanding Barriers Facing Women on the Waterfront

The idea of the glass ceiling is familiar to many of us. It describes the invisible, systemic barriers that prevent women from advancing into senior leadership roles — even when they are qualified, capable, and experienced.

But for many Black women and other women of colour, that ceiling isn’t glass at all.

It’s concrete: harder, thicker, less likely to crack. And, far more difficult to challenge alone.

THE GLASS CEILING: A STARTING POINT, NOT THE FULL PICTURE

The term glass ceiling was coined by Marilyn Loden in 1978 to describe how women are often blocked from leadership by unspoken rules, biased assumptions, and structural inequality. These barriers are subtle enough to be denied, but strong enough to stall careers.

On the BC waterfront — an industry historically shaped by masculinity, hierarchy, and tradition — these barriers can be even more pronounced. Women may be encouraged into the industry, but quietly excluded from advancement, influence, or decision-making roles.

The glass ceiling metaphor assumes a shared experience for all women. But we know that’s not always the case.

THE CONCRETE CEILING: WHEN RACE AND GENDER INTERSECT

The concept of the concrete ceiling has been explored and named by scholars and practitioners studying the compounded effects of racism and sexism in the workplace. One of the most cited voices on this is Tsedale M. Melaku, whose research and book You Don’t Look Like a Lawyer examine how Black women face uniquely rigid barriers to advancement.

Where the glass ceiling suggests fragility, the concrete ceiling reflects permanence.

Concrete ceilings are reinforced by:

Racial stereotypes layered onto gender bias
Higher scrutiny and lower margin for error
Being over-mentored but under-sponsored
Exclusion from informal networks where advancement actually happens
Tokenization without real authority

These experiences align with the framework of intersectionality, first articulated by Kimberlé Crenshaw, which explains how overlapping identities (such as race and gender) create distinct experiences of discrimination that are compounding.

WHY THIS MATTERS ON THE WATERFRONT

The waterfront industry prides itself on resilience, teamwork, and accountability. But when leadership pipelines are shaped by “who fits,” “who’s proven,” or “who’s always been here,” concrete ceilings can quietly form.

And when women of colour leave (not because they lack ambition, but because they are blocked, burned out, or sidelined) our industry risks losing talent, perspective, and trust.

WHAT MEN AND ALLIES CAN DO (THAT ACTUALLY HELPS)

Allyship doesn’t need a label. It shows up in day-to-day decisions, in who gets backed, and in how opportunities are shared.

In practice, that can look like:

Move from mentorship to sponsorship. Careers often advance in rooms people aren’t in. Active advocacy helps open those doors.
Pay attention to dynamics in meetings. Notice who gets credit, who gets cut off, and whose mistakes are highlighted more often than others.
Normalize diverse leadership styles. Effective leaders show up in different ways, so familiarity shouldn’t be the default measure of competence.
Create access to real opportunity. Stretch roles matter most when they come with decision-making power, not just extra responsibility.
Keep learning independently. Building awareness shouldn’t depend on women of colour carrying the full burden of education.

What matters most isn’t intent – it’s whether these actions actually change who advances, who stays, and who leads.

STRATEGIES FOR WOMEN

While systems must change, navigating them practically still matters.

Some approaches might involve:

Seeking sponsors who understand power. A sponsor is different from a mentor. This is someone who speaks your name in promotion, staffing, and succession conversations, not just someone who offers advice. Look for people willing to attach their credibility to yours.
Documenting impact consistently. Concrete ceilings are reinforced when contributions are minimized, overlooked, or reframed by others. Keeping clear records of your results, decisions, and outcomes helps protect against that erasure. This helps ensure your work is visible, traceable, and harder to dismiss.
Building networks laterally and externally. Advancement doesn’t rely only on upward movement within one organization. Peer relationships, cross-industry connections, and external networks often provide perspective, opportunity, and leverage where internal systems might not. These connections can also become sources of sponsorship, validation, and mobility over time.
Trusting your read of the room. When patterns repeat — being passed over, held to different standards, or excluded from key conversations — it’s often structural, not personal. Naming that reality privately can help you make clearer, safer decisions about where to invest your energy and when to seek change or support.
Protecting your energy. You don’t owe resilience at the expense of your health. You are not required to absorb every barrier, educate every colleague, or push through harm to prove your worth. Setting boundaries, taking breaks, and choosing when to engage are acts of sustainability, not weakness. Longevity matters — and so does your well-being.

These approaches focus on navigating existing workplace systems with clarity and intention, particularly where advancement hasn’t historically been equally accessible.

MOVING FORWARD: BREAKING THE CEILING MEANS CHANGING THE STRUCTURE

Progress on the waterfront depends on more than individual effort.

Barriers persist when inequity goes unnamed, advancement pathways remain informal, and leadership outcomes go unexamined. Moving forward requires clarity about how decisions are made, who has access to opportunity, and where patterns continue to exclude.

Real change happens when inclusion is treated as part of how the industry operates — built into leadership development, succession planning, and accountability structures. These barriers don’t erode over time on their own. They change when they are deliberately identified, measured, and addressed through consistent action.