Corporate Ladder Meaning

(idiomatic) The hierarchy or ranking system of employment positions within a business organization.

Example: 1960 July 4, "Time Listings," Time:
  The Apartment. Producer-Director Billy Wilder tells of a sweet-natured schnook (brilliantly played by Jack Lemmon) who shoots up the corporate ladder.
1991 Sept. 29, Nancy Marx Better, "The Executive Life: A Gender Switch In Grooming Rituals," New York Times (retrieved 14 April 2013):
  "Good grooming is increasingly important as you move up the corporate ladder," said Camille Lavington, a New York image consultant.
2012 August 23, Petrina Gentile "All business about his off-road vehicle ," Globe and Mail (Canada) (retrieved 14 April 2013):
  He's climbing the corporate ladder fast and is moving from New York City to CNN headquarters in Atlanta.