paper ceiling en · NOUN
Etymology
paper (a piece of paper being the diploma representing a university or college degree) + ceiling (suggesting a barrier to upward advancement); modeled on glass ceiling, the first of such figurative ceiling terms.
Meanings
- An informal (and often unacknowledged) barrier to promotion or advancement, in employment and elsewhere, for people who do not have a university or college degree.
Coordinates
gray ceiling · more at glass ceiling § Coordinate terms
Relateds
sheepskin effect · the more you know, the higher you go · ceiling paper · credentialism