Glass Ceiling — BLOG

Named after Italy's first king, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II connects two of Milan's most famous landmarks, Teatro Alla Scala and The Duomo. Construction was completed in 1877 and it is officially the world's oldest shopping mall. The cast iron and glass ceiling roof was one of the first of it's kind (along with a few others like Galerie du Roi (Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert) in Brussels and Galleria Umberto I in Naples), however the dimensions of this ceiling and arcade were much larger than any of the predecessors. The galleria was an international effort in terms of design and construction, especially when it came to the gleaming roof—the ironwork was produced and installed by the French craftsman Henry Joret and the glass plates were also manufactured in France. In a strange and tragic twist, the architect behind the galleria, Giuseppe Mengoni, passed away the day before the galleria was to be inaugurated after falling from the roof while inspecting the final decorative details.

Mengoni's vision stands as one of the busiest and most photographed places in Milan. It is a beautiful landmark and during the World's Fair in 2015, the U.S. Pavilion in partnership with the James Beard Foundation created a fine dining restaurant from this space on the top floor of the arcade and this is where I captured this shot.

The Glass Ceiling. Paris, France. August 2012.

I thought this was a timely photo to post as it coincides with The Clinton Foundation & The Gates Foundation's 'No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project" report. The retrospective report compiles 20 years of data on the status of women, girls, and gender equality. Two decades since former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the United Nations Conference in Beijing, delcaring that "women's rights are human rights," progress has been made, however there are still significant barriers to closing the gender gap around the world. To draw attention to this disparity, Secretary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton launched the 'Not There' global campaign yesterday on International Women's Day to draw much needed attention to gender equality. I hope that we can finally break through the glass ceiling before another 20 years goes by.