This reflective essay bears witness to the fact that women of African ascent in academia look to religious pioneers within the culture as role models to achieve goals and reinforce spiritual and professional values while attempting to break the glass ceiling. Drawing from a literature analysis on the global glass ceiling, we find that African American women whose spiritual journey looms large on the professional horizon tend to reflect pioneering strategies developed by historical role models from traditional religion. Following this, their life work sees them emerge as leaders at home, within the community, church and world-at-large. In fact, women of African ascent seldom begin with an idea of being a leader; rather they begin as servants within the parameters of everyday life. In the day to day experience of being committed to a traditional religious ideal there is little time to think about ceilings. It is only as these women become valued workers as servant leaders that institutional constraints become more apparent. We provide both historical and contemporary indications to illuminate that servant leadership is a tradition among women of African ascent. Keywords: servant leadership, glass ceiling, African American women studies, intersectionality