Awoman has been with the same company for 15 years. during that time, she has been steadily promoted from one position to another. when she applied for the top position in the company, the job was given to a white male from outside of the company even though she believed she was more qualified. which concept does this exemplify?

The correct answer is - a. Glass ceiling.

Explanation:

Glass ceiling is an expression used to describe a situation in which an individual is unable to overcome certain invisible barrier in order to move to the next level of the hierarchy, for example, hierarchy in the business structure.

Here, a woman confronts the invisible barrier of not being able to take the top position in the company. The barrier is invisible because it is not officially recognized.

For example, the board of the given company is comprised by white males and they share the belief that a woman should never occupy a top position in their company. Meanwhile, they would never officially state this opinion.

The same with glass ceiling - it is invisible because it is transparent, but it impossible to overcome to move higher.