Marilyn Loden, Labor Advocate Behind Term 'Glass Ceiling,' Dies at 76
(CNN) — When Marilyn Loden first used the phrase "glass ceiling" at a women's business conference in 1978, she didn't imagine it would become a familiar metaphor for the challenges to career advancement faced by women in the workforce."To be honest with you, I didn't think it was a big deal," Loden told the Washington Post in 2018, the 40th anniversary of the first time she used the term. "It made sense to me in the moment."She also didn't think at the time that women would continue to encounter those invisible obstacles after her death."I thought I would be finished with this by the end of my lifetime, but I won't be," she told the Post. "I'm hoping if it outlives me, it will (become) an antiquated phrase.
People will say, 'There was a time when there was a glass ceiling.'"Loden died last month at 76, according to an obituary published in her local paper, the Napa Valley Register.
Her death came a year after Loden was diagnosed with cancer, the paper reported. Widely credited with coining the term "glass ceiling," she leaves behind a rich history of advocating for working women and challenging companies to break down the barriers to women's career success.Loden invented 'glass ceiling' off the cuffWhen Loden worked in AT&T's HR department, she was asked to fill in for a female manager at the 1978 Women's Action Alliance Conference, the Post reported.
