Seeing gender inequality through glass metaphors: Epistemic power and blind spots
WOMEN'S STUDIES INTERNATIONAL FORUM, cilt.120, ss.1-9, 2027 (SSCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 120
- Basım Tarihi: 2027
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.wsif.2026.103429
- Dergi Adı: WOMEN'S STUDIES INTERNATIONAL FORUM
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Science Premium Collection (ProQuest), Scopus, Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), IBZ Online, Periodicals Index Online, American History and Life, Educational research abstracts (ERA), Geobase, Historical Abstracts, Index Islamicus, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Psycinfo, MLA International Bibliography
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1-9
- Akdeniz Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
This study examines the glass ceiling, glass cliff, and glass escalator in terms of their explanatory power, the conceptual frameworks they generate, and the solutions they establish. A comparative critical thematic analysis of 15 high-impact peer-reviewed reveals three patterns. First, metaphors name structural inequalities, but the conclusions and recommendations of the reviewed studies frequently shift the horizon of possible solutions toward individual strategies. This points to the risk of relocating responsibility from institutions to individuals. Second, metaphor-based explanations often rest on an implicit assumption of a “universal woman” and engage with intersectional differences only in limited ways. This limitation stems both from authorial choices and from the simplifying tendencies of metaphorical framing. Third, metaphors do not always operate as substantive explanatory tools; in some texts, they reduce inequality to discursive labels. The study argues that glass metaphors function as selective epistemic apparatuses that make certain inequalities visible while obscuring others and shaping the repertoire of possible solutions. These metaphors reveal distinct organizational logics, including exclusion, risk delegation, and the invisible circulation of rewards. Accordingly, the article calls for a more critical, reflexive, and intersectional approach to the use of metaphors in gender studies.