說起阻止女性在職場升遷的玻璃天花板（glass ceiling），很多人應(yīng)該都知道。不過，由于職業(yè)領(lǐng)域不同，各行業(yè)中對于這種升遷障礙的叫法也有所差異，比如，在軍隊和執(zhí)法部門，這種障礙就叫brass ceiling（黃銅天花板）。

Brass ceiling is an imaginary barrier which stops women from progressing in their careers within the military and law enforcement.

Brass ceiling（黃銅天花板）指存在于軍隊和執(zhí)法部門中、阻止女性進(jìn)一步升遷的一個無形障礙。

The term is a play on glass ceiling, which refers to the unseen, yet unbreakable barrier that keeps minorities and women from rising to the upper rungs of the corporate ladder, regardless of their qualifications or achievements. The word ‘brass’ here symbolizes the uniform of military and law enforcement officers because traditionally all the buttons in their uniforms are made of brass.

Brass ceiling一詞是由glass ceiling（玻璃天花板）演化而來的，后者指不顧資質(zhì)和成績，阻礙少數(shù)民族和女性在職場升遷的一道無形又難以打破的障礙。這里的brass一詞就代表軍隊和執(zhí)法部門的制服，因為他們的制服紐扣都是用黃銅做的。

For example:

The appointment of the first woman to command the Air Force Academy marks another breach of the "brass ceiling" that keeps women from top assignments in the military.

首次任命女性統(tǒng)領(lǐng)空軍學(xué)院標(biāo)志著對黃銅天花板的又一次破擊，黃銅天花板阻止女性在軍中擔(dān)任要職。

相關(guān)閱讀

職場女性遭遇grass ceiling

2010年職場女性依然遭遇“玻璃天花板”

職場的“蜂王綜合征”

讓人頭疼的“職場霸王”

（中國日報網(wǎng)英語點津 Helen）

點擊查看更多英語習(xí)語和新詞