India proudly points to the rising number of women in workplaces, boardrooms, and government offices as proof of gender progress. Yet beneath this progress lies a subtler reality—the glass ceiling remains very much intact, only polished to appear invisible. The crucial question is not whether women have reached higher positions, but whether they are truly free to exercise their will once there.
The metaphor of the glass ceiling is apt: one can see the sky above—symbolizing limitless opportunity—but a transparent wall prevents actual ascent. Many women professionals climb until they reach that glass surface; from there, they can see the possibilities, yet find themselves hindered, sometimes injured, by forces they cannot openly name. Promotion, title, or representation may create an image of
equality, but real autonomy often remains locked behind a door controlled by unseen hands.
In politics as in commerce, this illusion of empowerment persists. Appointing a woman to a senior position may serve optics, but if she remains answerable to a dominating figure—the boss behind the door who holds the real lock and key—then her authority is merely decorative. The puppet phenomenon at leadership levels exposes that the glass ceiling is not just an institutional construct; it often operates through individual control and subtle domination. The person who “owns” the system also controls the autonomy of those placed within it.
True professional growth cannot exist under invisible supervision.Genuine empowerment means freedom of decision-making, not the conditional delegation of authority. A woman seated at a high post yet constantly second-guessed, guided, or undermined is no freer than one denied entry. The ceiling has simply shifted from overt exclusion to invisible manipulation.
Legislative reforms such as the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 and the POSH Act, 2013 have strengthened formal equality, but they cannot dismantle this invisible hierarchy of control. The real test lies in institutional culture—whether workplaces allow women to lead as per their own will, or merely showcase them
as symbols of progress. True equality is not having a seat at the table; it is having an equal voice that cannot be muted by unseen authority.The glass ceiling, therefore, is both systemic and personal. It thrives wherever decision-making power is centralized in a manner that undermines autonomy. It is sustained not only by laws and traditions
but also by individual egos and insecurities that fear sharing real authority. Data reinforces this reality. Women’s representation in the Lok Sabha has increased from 5% in the first Lok Sabha to 14% in the 17th, and in many Legislative Assemblies of States remains below 10%. Similarly, as per PIB 2023, India’s female labour force
participation rate stood at just over 33%, a figure that signals progress but still exposes deep structural barriers to women’s full inclusion. Christiana Lagarde, former IMF Chief, has noted that India could increase its GDP by 27% if full participation of women in the workforce were realized. Although this is encouraging to hear, at what cost—without addressing the structural, invisible consequences of the glass ceiling? Numbers may rise, but power and autonomyremain unevenly distributed, leaving women to bear persistent, unseen burdens.
India’s challenge today is to replace symbolic inclusion with substantive independence. The ceiling will truly shatter only when merit, not manipulation, defines leadership; when a woman’s positionis her own, not a projection of someone else’s power. Until then, she may look up and see the sky—but the wall of transparent control will remind her that visibility is not the same as freedom.
Way Forward
Breaking this enduring ceiling demands a collective rethinking of power and perception. Society must challenge entrenched gender stereotypes through education and media narratives that normalize women’s leadership and shared domestic roles. Institutions must move beyond tokenism by ensuring transparent, bias-free systems of recruitment, evaluation, and promotion. Workplaces need to recognize that flexibility, equitable parental leave, and genuine work–life balance are not concessions but necessities for sustained gender equity. Simultaneously, structured mentorship networks can strengthen women’s confidence and leadership pipeline, while strict accountability for compliance with equality and safety laws must ensure that empowerment is not confined to policy papers. Only when the will of a woman operates free from invisible supervision—whether social, professional, or personal—can India claim that its glass ceiling has truly shattered.
