Glass cliff

2016-10-24T08:13:49Z

168.187.244.62: /* See also */

{{about|workplace discrimination|the similarly named developmental psychology experiment|Visual cliff}}
{{Feminism sidebar}}
The '''glass cliff''' is a term that describes the phenomenon of women in leadership roles, such as executives in the corporate world and women political election candidates, being likelier than men to be put in leadership roles during periods of crisis or downturn, when the chance of failure is highest.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/women-often-put-charge-failing-companies/ | title=Why women are often put in charge of failing companies | work=PBS NewsHour | date=September 22, 2015 | accessdate=July 11, 2016 | author=Cooper, Marianne}}</ref>

== Origins ==
The term was coined in 2004 by British professors [[Michelle K. Ryan]] and [[Alexander Haslam]] of [[University of Exeter]], [[United Kingdom]]. Ryan and Haslam examined the performance of [[FTSE 100 Index|FTSE 100]] companies before and after the appointment of new board members, and found that companies that appointed women to their boards were likelier than others to have experienced consistently bad performance in the preceding five months.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|url = http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8551.2005.00433.x/full|title = The Glass Cliff: Evidence that Women are Over-Represented in Precarious Leadership Positions|last = Ryan|first = Michelle K., and S. Alexander Haslam|date = 9 February 2005|journal = British Journal of Management|accessdate = 18 October 2014|doi = 10.1111/j.1467-8551.2005.00433.x|pmid =|volume=16|pages=81–90}}</ref> This work eventually developed into the identification of a phenomenon known as the glass cliff. Since the term originated, its use has expanded beyond the corporate world to also encompass politics and other domains.

== Overview ==
Ryan and Haslam's research showed that once women break through the [[glass ceiling]] and take on positions of leadership they often have experiences that are different from those of their male counterparts. More specifically, women are more likely to occupy positions that are precarious and thus have a higher risk of failure—either because they are appointed to lead organizations (or organizational units) that are in crisis or because they are not given the resources and support needed for success.<ref name="exeter">{{cite web|url=http://psy.ex.ac.uk/seorg/glasscliff/|title=The Glass Cliff|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727233341/http://psy.ex.ac.uk/seorg/glasscliff/|archivedate=2011-07-27|accessdate=2015-08-04|publisher=University of Exeter}}</ref>

Extending the metaphor of the glass ceiling, Ryan and Haslam evoked the notion of the "glass cliff" to refer to a danger which involves exposure to risk of falling but which is not readily apparent.<ref name="exeter" /> "It therefore appears that after having broken through a [[glass ceiling]] women are actually more likely than men to find themselves on a "glass cliff", meaning their positions of leadership are risky or precarious."<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3755031.stm BBC NEWS | Magazine | Introducing... the glass cliff]</ref> CEO tenure is typically shorter at companies which are struggling, compared to those which are stable.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url = http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/aug/05/fortune-500-companies-crisis-woman-ceo-yahoo-xerox-jc-penny-economy|title = Women CEOs: Why companies in crisis hire minorities - and then fire them|last = McCullough|first = DG|date = 8 August 2014|work = The Guardian|accessdate = 18 October 2014}}</ref>

The glass cliff concept has also been used to describe employment discrimination experienced by leaders who are members of minorities or disabled.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cook, A.|first=A.|author2=Glass, C.|title=Glass Cliffs and Organizational Saviors: Barriers to Minority Leadership in Work Organizations?|journal=Social Problems|volume=60|issue=2|pages=168–187|doi=10.1525/sp.2013.11147}}</ref>

Evidence of the glass cliff phenomenon has been documented in business, politics, law, public service, education and sport. A 2006 study found law students were much likelier to assign a high-risk case to a female lead counsel rather than a male one.<ref>{{Cite journal|url = http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmjowl/vol13/iss3/5/|title = Legal work and the Glass Cliff: Evidence that Women Are Preferentially Selected to Lead Problematic Cases|last = Ashby|first = Julie S.; Haslam, S. Alexander; Ryan, Michelle K.|date = Fall 2006|journal = William and Mary Journal of Women and the Law|accessdate = 18 October 2014|doi = |pmid = }}</ref> A 2010 study found undergraduate students in British political science likelier to select a male politician to run for a safe seat in a by-election, and much likelier to select a female candidate when the seat was described as hard to get.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2009.01541.x/abstract |title=Politics and the Glass Cliff: Evidence that Women Are Preferentially Selected to Contest Hard-to-Win Seats |last1=Ryan |first1=Michelle K. |last2=Haslam |first2=S. Alexander |last3=Kulich |first3=Clara |date=March 2010 |journal=Psychology of Women Quarterly |accessdate=18 October 2014 |doi=10.1111/j.1471-6402.2009.01541.x |pmid= |volume=34 |pages=56–64}}</ref>

Other research has failed to confirm the existence of glass cliff phenomenon. A 2007 study of corporate performance preceding CEO appointments showed that women executives are no more likely to be selected for precarious leadership positions than males.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Adams |first1=Susan |title=Are Female Executives Over-represented in Precarious Leadership Positions? |journal=British Journal of Management |volume=20 |issue=1 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8551.2007.00549.x |url=http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8551.2007.00549.x/abstract |accessdate=13 July 2015}}</ref>

== Explanation ==
Many theories have been advanced to explain the existence of the glass cliff.

[[University of Houston]] psychology professor [[Kristin J. Anderson]] says companies may offer glass cliff positions to women because they consider women "more expendable and better scapegoats." She says the organizations that offer women tough jobs believe they win either way: if the woman succeeds the company is better off. If she fails the company is no worse off, she can be blamed, the company gets credit for having been egalitarian and progressive, and can return to its prior practice of appointing men.<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.trust.org/item/20131103084828-93enz?view=print|title = When Wall Street Needs Scapegoats, Women Beware|last = Rivers|first = Caryl, and Rosalind C. Barnett|date = 2 November 2013|work = Women's eNews|accessdate = 18 October 2014}}</ref>

Haslam and Ryan say their studies show that people believe women are better-suited to lead stressed, unhappy companies because they are felt to be more nurturing, creative and intuitive.<ref>{{Cite journal|url = http://blog.aelios.com/mbawg/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/The-glass-cliff.pdf|title = The road to the glass cliff: Differences in the perceived suitability of men and women for leadership positions in succeeding and failing organizations|last = Haslam|first = S. Alexander and Michelle K. Ryan|date = 2008|journal = The Leadership Quarterly|accessdate = 18 October 2014|doi = 10.1016/j.leaqua.2008.07.011|pmid =|volume=19|pages=530–546}}</ref> Female leaders are not necessarily expected to improve the situation, Ryan and Haslam argue, but are seen as good people managers who can take the blame for organizational failure.<ref>{{Cite journal|url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21171729|title = Think crisis-think female: the glass cliff and contextual variation in the think manager-think male stereotype|last1 = Ryan|first1 = Michelle K. |last2=Haslam |first2=S. Alexander |last3=Hersby |first3=Mette D. |last4=Bongiorno |first4=Renata|date = May 2011|journal = Journal of Applied Psychology|accessdate = 18 October 2014|doi = 10.1037/a0022133|pmid = 21171729|volume=96|issue=3|pages=470–84}}</ref>

Haslam has said that women executives are likelier than men to accept glass cliff positions because they don't have access to the high-quality information and support that would ordinarily warn executives away.<ref name=":2" /> [[Utah State University]] professors Ali Cook and Christy Glass say women and other minorities view risky job offers as the only chance they're likely to get.<ref name=":1" />

A 2007 study found female news consumers in the [[United Kingdom]] were likelier than male ones to accept that the glass cliff exists and is dangerous and unfair to women executives. Female study participants attributed the existence of the glass cliff to a lack of other opportunities for women executives, sexism, and men's [[in-group favoritism]]. Male study participants said that women are less suited than men to difficult leadership roles or strategic decision-making, or that the glass cliff is unrelated to gender.<ref>{{Cite journal|url = http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/09534810710724748|title = Reactions to the glass cliff: Gender differences in the explanations for the precariousness of women's leadership positions|last = Ryan|first = Michelle K., and S. Alexander Haslam, Tom Postmes|date = 2007|journal = Journal of Organizational Change Management|accessdate = 18 October 2014|doi = 10.1108/09534810710724748|pmid =|volume=20|pages=182–197}}</ref>

== Implications for women executives ==
Glass cliff positions risk hurting the women executives' reputations and career prospects, because when a company does poorly people tend to blame its leadership without taking into account situational or contextual variables.<ref name=":0" /> Researchers have found that female leaders find it harder than male ones to get second chances once they have failed, because they have fewer mentors and sponsors and less access to a protective "old boys' network."<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://blogs.hbr.org/2008/08/are-women-leaders-often-set-up/|title = The Glass Cliff: Are Women Leaders Often Set Up to Fail?|last = Hewlett|first = Sylvia Ann|date = 5 August 2008|work = Harvard Business Review|accessdate = 18 October 2014}}</ref>

Some researchers argue, however, that companies in bad situations offer more opportunity for power and influence compared with companies that are stable.<ref name=":2" />

== Examples ==
News media have described the following as examples of the glass cliff.
* In 1993, the Canadian [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative Party]], facing low approval ratings and almost assured loss in the upcoming general elections, appointed [[Kim Campbell]], then [[Defense minister|Defense Minister]], to replace [[Brian Mulroney]] as its leader.<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/caroline-simard/women-in-leadership-and-t_b_776291.html|title = Women in Leadership and the Glass Cliff|last = Simard|first = Caroline|date = 29 October 2010|work = Huffington Post|accessdate = 18 October 2014}}</ref>
* In 2002 then-unprofitable [[telecommunications]] company [[Lucent Technologies]] appointed [[Patricia Russo]] CEO, and then replaced her with [[Ben Verwaayen]] after she returned the company to profitability.<ref name=":1" />
* In 2011, "a horrible time for newspapers," [[Jill Abramson]] was appointed editor of the ''New York Times,'' and in 2014 she was fired.<ref name=":3">{{cite web|url=http://www.vox.com/2014/5/14/5717926/the-jill-abramson-story-highlights-everything-thats-bad-about-being-a |work=Vox.com|first=Danielle|last=Kurzleben|title=What happened to Jill Abramson shows everything that sucks about being a woman leader|date=May 14, 2014|accessdate=May 15, 2014}}</ref>
* In 2014, [[General Motors]] hired [[Mary Barra]] as CEO, during a period in which it announced a number of product recalls.<ref name=":2">{{cite news|last=Trop|first=Jaclyn|title=Is Mary Barra standing on a glass cliff?|url=http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/currency/2014/04/mary-barra-general-motors-ceo-glass-cliff.html|accessdate=23 May 2014|newspaper=The New Yorker}}</ref>
* After the Icelandic banking crisis in 2008, various women were appointed to repair the industry with the rationale that broader perspectives would prevent the same mistakes from occurring.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sunderland|first=Ruth|title=After the crash, Iceland's women lead the rescue|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/feb/22/iceland-women|accessdate=May 22, 2014|newspaper=The Observer}}</ref>
* In 1990, two female premiers were appointed in Australia: [[Joan Kirner]] inherited significant deficit in Victoria, while [[Carmen Lawrence]] headed a party that had previously been accused of corruption.<ref>{{cite web|last=Range|first=Jae Lynn|title=No Glass Ceiling for Women? Beware Of The Glass Cliff!|url=http://www.askajna.com/blog/glass-ceiling-women-beware-glass-cliff/}}</ref> In 2009, [[Kristina Keneally]] was appointed Premier of [[New South Wales]] amid low polling for her party and their eventual defeat in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/nobodys-girl-20100520-vp10.html|title=Nobody's girl|last=Wright|first=Tony|language=en-US|access-date=2016-08-02}}</ref> [[Julia Gillard]] was appointed as Australia's first female prime minister and subsequently ousted amid procedural complaints about the leadership spill.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wareham McGrath|first=Susan|title=The Glass Cliff Claims Another Victim – Was Julia Gillard’s Fall From Grace Inevitable?|url=http://www.abn.org.au/blog/glass-cliff-another-victim-julia-gillard/|publisher=Australian Businesswomen's Network|accessdate=23 May 2014}}</ref><ref name=Walsh>{{cite book|last1=Walsh|first1=Kerry-Anne|title=The Stalking of Julia Gillard|date=2014|publisher=Allen & Unwin|location=Crows Nest, NSW, Australia|isbn=9781760110864}}</ref>
* [[Ina Drew]] became the CEO at Morgan Chase in 2005 and resigned in 2012 after the company suffered a $6 billion loss.<ref>{{cite news|last=Covert|first=Bryce|title=Was JP Morgan Chase's CIO Ina Drew Pushed Off the Glass Cliff?|url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/brycecovert/2012/05/15/was-jp-morgan-chases-cio-ina-drew-pushed-off-the-glass-cliff/|accessdate=23 May 2014|newspaper=Forbes}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Goudreau|first=Jenna|title=With JPMorgan Chase's Ina Drew Out, Few Top Wall Street Women Left Standing|url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2012/05/14/with-jpmorgan-chases-ina-drew-out-few-top-wall-street-women-left-standing/|publisher=Forbes|accessdate=24 May 2014}}</ref>
* [[Marissa Mayer]] was appointed as the CEO of Yahoo after it lost significant marketshare to Google.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hass|first=Nancy|title=Marissa Mayer Stares Down ‘Glass Cliff’ at Yahoo|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/18/marissa-mayer-stares-down-glass-cliff-at-yahoo.html|publisher=The Daily Beast|accessdate=23 May 2014}}</ref>
* [[Julia Pierson]], the first female [[Director of the United States Secret Service]], resigned after a [[White House]] security breach.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Covert|first1=Bryce|title=Secret Service Director Julia Pierson Was a Victim of the "Glass Cliff"|url=http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119675/julia-pierson-women-leaders-and-perils-glass-cliff|publisher=The New Republic|accessdate=6 November 2014}}</ref>
*[[Ellen Pao]], who [[Pao v. Kleiner Perkins|sued her]] former employer for gender discrimination and later became CEO of [[Reddit]] was forced to resign after severe backlash from the website's userbase concerning the enforcement of policies implemented during her tenure.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/11/reddit-ellen-pao-women-ceo|title=Reddit's Ellen Pao is latest female CEO blamed for inherited woes, experts say|publisher=The Guardian|first=Halima|last=Kazem|date=2015-07-11|accessdate=2015-08-04}}</ref>
*[[Theresa May]], became leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in July 2016 shortly after a referendum result to leave the EU caused the pound to drop in value to levels not seen in 30+ years.<ref>{{cite web|title=Congratulations, Theresa May. Now mind that ‘glass cliff’|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2016/07/12/congratulations-theresa-may-now-mind-that-glass-cliff/|first=Jena|last=McGregor|publisher=Washington Post|accessdate=12 July 2016}}</ref>
*After [[DNC email leak|leaked emails]] by [[Democratic National Committee]] members were published in 2016, [[Debbie Wasserman Schultz]] resigned as the chair to be replaced by [[Donna Brazile]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jul/28/black-women-political-clout-left-power|title=Black women have political clout on the left. But we deserve political power too.|author=Sabrina Hersi Issa|publisher=The Guardian|date=2016-07-28|accessdate=2016-07-28}}</ref>
*[[Kellyanne Conway]] became the first woman to manage a Republican presidential campaign in August, 2016, when she was appointed as [[Donald Trump]]'s campaign manager, after a month of missteps by the Republican nominee and his subsequently declining poll numbers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-08-18/kellyanne-conway-takes-on-toughest-role-yet-trump-whisperer|title=Kellyanne Conway Takes on Toughest Role Yet: Trump Whisperer|author=Jennifer Jacobs|publisher=Bloomberg|date=2016-08-18|accessdate=2016-08-18}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Glass ceiling]]
*[[Bamboo ceiling]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
*{{cite book| url = http://www.amazon.com/Managing-Diversity-Glass-Cliff-CIPD/dp/1843981904 | title = Managing Diversity and the Glass Cliff | first = M. K. | last = Ryan | publisher = Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development | date = 2007-09-01}}
*{{cite book | url = http://www.amazon.com/dp/1433804093 | title=The Glass Ceiling in the 21st Century | last1 = Ryan | first1 = M. K. | last2 = Schmitt | first2 = M. T. | last3 = Barreto | first3 = M. | publisher = American Psychological Association | year = 2009 | isbn = 1-4338-0409-3}}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Ryan | first1 = M. K. | last2 = Haslam | first2 = S. A. | year = 2005 | title = The Glass Cliff: Evidence that women are over-represented in precarious leadership positions | url = | journal = [[British Journal of Management]] | volume = 16 | issue = | pages = 81–90 | doi=10.1111/j.1467-8551.2005.00433.x}}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Ryan | first1 = M. K. | last2 = Haslam | first2 = S. A. | year = 2007 | title = The Glass Cliff: Exploring the dynamics surrounding the appointment of women precarious leadership positions | url = | journal = Academy of Management Review | volume = 32 | issue = | pages = 549–572 | doi=10.5465/amr.2007.24351856}}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Haslam | first1 = S. A. | last2 = Ryan | first2 = M. K. | year = 2008 | title = The road to the glass cliff: Differences in the perceived suitability of men and women for leadership positions in succeeding and failing organizations | url = | journal = Leadership Quarterly | volume = 19 | issue = | pages = 530–546 | doi=10.1016/j.leaqua.2008.07.011}}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Bruckmüller | first1 = S. | last2 = Branscombe | first2 = N. R. | year = 2010 | title = The glass cliff: When and why women are selected as leaders in crisis contexts | url = | journal = British Journal of Social Psychology | volume = 49 | issue = | pages = 433–451 | doi=10.1348/014466609x466594}}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Brescoll | first1 = V. L. | last2 = Dawson | first2 = E. | last3 = Uhlmann | first3 = E. L. | year = 2010 | title = Hard won and easily lost: The fragile status of leaders in gender-stereotype-incongruent occupations | url = | journal = Psychological Science | volume = 21 | issue = | pages = 1640–1642 | doi=10.1177/0956797610384744}}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Ryan | first1 = M. K. | last2 = Haslam | first2 = S. A. | last3 = Kulich | first3 = C. | year = 2010 | title = Politics and the glass cliff: Evidence that women are preferentially selected to contest hard-to-win seats | url = | journal = Psychology of Women Quarterly | volume = 34 | issue = | pages = 56–64 | doi=10.1111/j.1471-6402.2009.01541.x}}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Haslam | first1 = S. A. | last2 = Ryan | first2 = M. K. | last3 = Kulich | first3 = C. | last4 = Trojanowski | first4 = G. | last5 = Atkins | first5 = C. | year = 2010 | title = Investing with prejudice: The relationship between women's presence on company boards and objective and subjective measures of company performance | url = | journal = British Journal of Management | volume = 21 | issue = | pages = 484–497 | doi=10.1111/j.1467-8551.2009.00670.x}}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Ryan | first1 = M. K. | last2 = Haslam | first2 = S. A. | last3 = Hersby | first3 = M. D. | last4 = Bongiorno | first4 = R. | year = 2011 | title = Think crisis–think female: The glass cliff and contextual variation in the think manager–think male stereotype | url = | journal = Journal of Applied Psychology | volume = 96 | issue = | pages = 470–484 | doi=10.1037/a0022133 | pmid=21171729}}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Kulich | first1 = C. | last2 = Ryan | first2 = M. K. | last3 = Haslam | first3 = S. A. | year = 2014 | title = The Political Glass Cliff: Understanding How Seat Selection Contributes to the Underperformance of Ethnic Minority Candidates | url = | journal = Political Research Quarterly | volume = 67 | issue = 1| pages = 84–95 | doi=10.1177/1065912913495740}}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Cook | first1 = A. | last2 = Glass | first2 = C. | year = 2014 | title = Women and Top Leadership Positions: Towards an Institutional Analysis | url = | journal = Gender, Work & Organization | volume = 21 | issue = 1| pages = 91–103 | doi = 10.1111/gwao.12018 }}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Cook | first1 = A. | last2 = Glass | first2 = C. | year = 2013 | title = Glass Cliffs and Organizational Saviors: Barriers to Minority Leadership in Work Organizations?. | url = | journal = Social Problems | volume = 60 | issue = 2| pages = 168–187 | doi = 10.1525/sp.2013.11147 }}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Wilson-Kovacs | first1 = D. | last2 = Ryan | first2 = M. K. | last3 = Haslam | first3 = S. A. | last4 = Rabinovich | first4 = A. | year = 2008 | title = 'Just because you can get a wheelchair in the building doesn't necessarily mean that you can still participate': barriers to the career advancement of disabled professionals | url = | journal = Disability & Society | volume = 23 | issue = 7| pages = 705–717 | doi = 10.1080/09687590802469198 }}

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Glass cliff