Female Leadership at the Edge: Unpacking the Glass Cliff in Corporate Culture?
The enduring quest for gender equality has spanned centuries, with advocates calling for women’s rights as far back as the 18th and 19th centuries. Despite notable advancements, the journey towards true equality remains fraught with systemic challenges.
The corporate arena vividly illustrates this disparity.
In 2015, male to female CEO ratios in Fortune 500 companies stood starkly at 17 to 1. By 2021, only 41 women held the helm as CEOs within these influential companies. A modest increase, yet far from parity. The situation is similar within S&P 500 companies, where female CEOs represented a mere 5% of the total in 2019, and women accounted for only a quarter of board seats among the top 200 companies by 2021.
From these statistics emerged the notion of the ‘glass ceiling’—the invisible yet formidable barrier preventing women and marginalized groups from ascending to higher echelons of professional success.
Recent strides in corporate inclusivity have seen a growing number of women appointed to boards and C-suite positions.
Since 2015, the presence of women in C-suite roles has surged from 17 to 28 percent, with significant gains also in vice president and senior vice president ranks. Yet, this trend surfaces a crucial inquiry: What drives these appointments?
This is where the ‘glass cliff’ theory comes in – the tendency for women to be placed in leadership roles during times of organizational crisis.
Susanne Bruckmüller and Nyla R. Branscombe’s research provides insights, revealing a bias for female leadership when companies struggle, yet a preference for male leadership during success.
In their study, college students expressed a preference for male leadership when a company was flourishing. However, if the company faced difficulties, a female CEO was favored. Intriguingly, no such preference was noted when the struggling company was already led by a woman, suggesting the absence of a ‘glass cliff.’
Additional experiments confirm this bias, linking leadership in prosperous times with male-typed traits, while crisis situations favor attributes associated with women.
Despite these precarious circumstances, some women have excelled in such ‘glass cliff’ positions, redefining leadership during crisis.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment as Nigeria’s Finance Minister during the nation’s $30 billion debt crisis is one of such examples.
With an impressive academic background, including degrees from Harvard and a Ph.D. from MIT, coupled with extensive experience at the World Bank, her credentials were undeniable.
However, her appointment at such a tumultuous time raises the question: Would her qualifications alone have secured her this role if not for the country’s dire financial situation?
Historically, since Nigeria’s independence in 1960 until her appointment in 2003, the position of Finance Minister had been exclusively held by men. This shift in leadership, under such circumstances, prompts a deeper reflection on the intersection of gender and leadership during periods of crisis.
Noteworthy is that, under her leadership, Nigeria secured substantial debt relief, showcasing her crisis management prowess.
Another example is Stephanie Pope’s promotion to CEO of Boeing’s commercial division, which comes at a turbulent time for the company.
Her appointment follows a period of intense scrutiny after a safety incident involving a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 jet, where a door plug panel detached mid-flight. Taking over from the retired Stan Deal, Pope’s elevation underscores the ‘glass cliff’ phenomenon, where women are often appointed to leadership roles during times of crisis.
This pivotal moment in her career not only underscores the challenges ahead but also highlights the broader significance of women’s leadership in the corporate world.
These instances spotlight the persistent gender gap in corporate leadership and prompt a critical examination of the contexts in which women rise to power. While these advancements gradually break down the glass ceiling, they necessitate a reevaluation of corporate strategies regarding female leadership.
There must be a sincere commitment to promoting women into leadership roles as a crisis management strategy and recognizing and valuing their contributions as a standard practice. The goal should be to level the playing field and create an environment where women’s leadership is celebrated and supported in all situations.