What Is a Glass Cliff?
The “glass cliff” refers to promotional opportunities for women during times of crisis or recession, when failure is more likely. These scenarios set women up for failure. Researchers from the University of Exeter, UK, invented the phrase as they studied the 100 firms in the FTSE 100 Index. The study showed that elevating women to higher positions typically had adverse effects. Setting yourself up for failure is like standing on a precipice. If they fail, they fall.
Understanding Glass Cliff
The Glass Cliff affects several industries, such as business, politics, technology, and academia. It tackles the inclination to elevate women into organizational or situational problems. This increases the likelihood of poor performance. The glass cliff metaphor means women in this position risk falling and failing.
Women hold riskier leadership positions than men for various reasons. A faltering corporation may lead to shorter senior management tenures, making the post riskier. A woman in that position gives the corporation someone to blame if she fails to turn it around.
“In times of crisis, firms don’t want to lose their most prized, high-potential talent—white guys. According to Pinsight CEO and author Martin Lanik, companies may put less valued personnel, such as women and ethnic minorities, at risk during difficult times.
It also boosts the corporate image. The progressive corporation may replace the lady with a guy if she fails. If she succeeds, the firm benefits and may take credit for hiring the appropriate individual. Because women rarely hold leadership positions, a glass cliff post might be hard to turn down despite the significant risk of failure.
There is no correlation between gender and leadership potential. Women are underrepresented in senior leadership roles, costing organizations excellent talent. By permitting the glass cliff phenomenon to remain, businesses prevent female leaders from performing at their best.
Special Considerations
A glass cliff typically challenges women. That’s because workplace mentors are few. They may also have trouble joining the good old boys’ club, an informal network of males who aid each other with favors and information.
One of the most prevalent tactics for corporate advancement is strategic networking. This is where “It’s now what you know, it’s who you know” comes from. Without networking and mentorship from men, women cannot achieve this. Women often face exclusion from informal social networks, resulting in missed connections.
Other underrepresented groups experience problems when promoted to leadership roles in the workplace, but the glass cliff usually relates to women.
Glass Cliff history
In 2004, University of Exeter scholars Michelle K. Ryan, Julie S. Ashby, and Alexander Haslam examined the top 100 businesses listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) with the most significant market capitalizations in the FTSE 100 Index.
The study found that organizations with female board members performed worse in the previous five months. They believed sexism drove influential people to assign women to these dangerous positions to avoid ruining a notable man’s reputation with failure.
Ryan, Ashby, and Haslam released further research on law students in “Legal Work and the Glass Cliff: Evidence that Women are Preferentially Selected to Lead Problematic Cases.” What they found:
- Men were equally likely to be lead counsel for low-risk matters.
- Females were highly preferred for high-risk situations and usually allocated to failures.
Other Research
Alison Cook and Christy Glass studied the promotion and leadership tenure of women and racial/ethnic minority CEOs in Fortune 500 businesses in 2013. A 15-year dataset of CEO transitions supports the glass cliff theory, indicating that occupational minorities (white women, men, and women of color) are more likely than white males to replace underperforming CEOs.
Glass and Cook wrote in their paper:
“Minority leaders face challenges that begin at the point of promotion and go beyond underrepresentation. They are more likely to be appointed to struggling firms, creating greater obstacles to successful leadership than their white male peers.”
Their findings also found that white males replace white women and individuals of color once performance decreases. Only four out of 608 Fortune 500 CEO transfers involved a female CEO after another. The researchers called this the “savior effect.”
According to University of Missouri data, female CEOs are more likely to attract activist investors. According to Vishal K. Gupta, Sandra Mortal, and Daniel B. Turban, investors who acquire shares to influence management choices must register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Their studies showed:
The analysis found that activists targeted 6% of enterprises with male CEOs and 9.4% with female CEOs. Wolf Pack assaults affected 1% and 1.6% of male and female CEOs, respectively. Although these differences may not seem like much, there was a 50% increase in the likelihood that activists would target corporations with female CEOs and a 60% increase in the likelihood that there would be numerous activists.
Impact of Glass Cliff
Women confront several obstacles to achieving leadership roles in the business world. Similar situations apply to other minorities, such as persons of color. The glass cliff put people who overcame these difficulties at risk of failing at work.
When a company is in crisis, women are generally perceived as problem-solvers. It’s their job to clean up, says Catalyst senior research director and business engagement partner Anna Beninger.
This trend is unsustainable for businesses and sets women and minorities up for failure. In organizational crises, companies may lack the necessary infrastructure and support for a successful leadership transition. Without organizational support or growth, promoting a minority may give the corporation the appearance of progressiveness or inclusion.
When female or minority leaders fail to salvage a failing firm, they depart and cause additional upheaval. If they fail, it reinforces leadership preconceptions about women and people of color.
You can complain about job discrimination at your local Equal Employment Opportunity Commission office in person or by letter. Make sure you have dates, employer contact information, and more.
Preventing Glass Cliffs
Recognition and naming the glass cliff are the first steps to preventing it. Ryan, Ashby, and Haslam recommend first admitting leadership biases and then educating on them.
Women and minorities should investigate and understand their organizations’ financial condition. Staying informed about business stock and industry developments might help you assess your risk level. Utilizing your network is crucial. The researchers recommend seeking advice when considering promotion risk.
Ask how role success will be determined throughout negotiations. Consider asking these questions:
- What criteria will the company’s board of directors use to evaluate my performance?
- What risks are board members ready to take to compete in this industry?
- What is your optimum turnaround time?
- Have you offered this job elsewhere? Why reject it?
Include risk in salary talks. Salary negotiations are four times more common for males than females. Always negotiate more than the original offer and leverage the position’s risk factor. Accepting the job will undoubtedly put you in a male-dominated setting. Now, you may use your unique abilities and viewpoint. Women outperform men in 11 of 12 emotional intelligence skills.
Finally, no is alright. After failing the glass cliff, many women are not asked to run another organization.
If research suggests failure and warning indicators exist, do not accept a promotion.
Glass Ceiling versus cliff
The notion of a glass cliff for women and people of color stems from the glass ceiling, a familiar professional concept. Women sometimes encounter an unseen obstacle in their jobs called the glass ceiling. It also describes comparable experiences for many individuals of color.
At the 1978 New York Women’s Exposition, Marilyn Loden discussed women’s job development (or lack thereof) and coined the term “glass ceiling.”Popularized over a decade later by The Wall Street Journal. The name resurfaced when Hillary Clinton ran for president in 2008 and 2016.
This barrier sometimes prevents women and others from obtaining top executive or managerial positions in their firms. These jobs are male-dominated. Unspoken and unwritten prejudices limit promotion, not business regulations. Leaders who overcome prejudices and difficulties break the glass ceiling.
Glass Cliff Example
Many famous women have encountered glass cliffs.
Marissa Mayer
In 2012, Yahoo! named Marissa Mayer CEO after losing considerable market share to Google. The corporation had three CEOs in less than a year. Mayer resigned in 2017 under criticism after failing to improve the company’s course. She held the role for five years. Criticism attributed her performance to her effort, not an underperforming firm. White man Thomas McInerny replaced Mayer.
Jill Soltau
In 2018, JCPenney recruited its first female CEO. Only a few women have led Fortune 500 firms. Still, Jill Soltau was qualified after losses, shop closures, and struggles to adapt to customers’ shifting expectations in the digital age. Soltau was the president and CEO of Joann Stores and a 30-year industry veteran before taking the job.
Soltau entered a demanding industry. Experts predicted JCPenney’s bankruptcy due to its massive debt. The COVID-19 epidemic was terrible. Earlier than predicted, the firm declared bankruptcy in May 2020. Soltau resigned as CEO in December 2020.
When do women face glass cliffs?
During times of crisis or downturn, women in leadership capacities, such as corporate executives and political candidates, are more inclined to take on leadership duties than men.
What Do Companies Want From a Glass Cliff?
The glass cliff reinforces the damaging assumption that women and people of color can’t lead, maintaining the status quo. When women or minorities are elevated to leadership positions without support and fail, it is assumed they are bad leaders.
How Can Women Avoid Glass Cliffs?
Companies should ensure women and people of color in top leadership roles have the necessary resources for success. Women and minorities can reduce their risk of falling down an insurmountable glass cliff, but corporations must prevent it. To reduce unconscious prejudice, companies might offer women-specific leadership development and blind hiring.
Conclusion
- A glass cliff is when women are elevated to top posts in specific businesses amid a crisis, setting them up for failure.
- The word comes from the glass ceiling, an implicit constraint on women’s organizational advancement.
- Promoting women offers employers someone to blame if they fail to turn the firm around.
- Promoting women to senior posts helps companies maintain a progressive image, even if they fail.
- If women fail, employers may recruit men without penalty.
