Let's Talk About the Glass Cliff

Most of us have heard about the Glass Ceiling which is the informal barrier that keeps women out of upper management but what about the Glass Cliff?

There has been news of multiple women in leadership positions in top companies, especially in tech companies, resigning within a short period of time after being promoted or appointed as CEOs. Why, you might wonder?

It's because of the effects of the Glass Cliff. It is the phenomenon?in which women are promoted?to more senior roles in times of stress or crisis, particularly in recessions when the likelihood of failure is higher. Harvard Business Review ran an experiment based on which they found that people tend to favour executives with stereotypically masculine characteristics when?a firm is doing well, but they believe that stereotypically feminine skills are necessary to turn things around when a company is experiencing a crisis. In light of this, the majority of participants (67%) felt that a man should lead a successful company, whereas the majority (63%) believed that a woman should lead the company during a crisis.

You can read about the full experiment here:

WARNING: SLIPPERY SLOPE AHEAD

Researchers Michelle Ryan and Alexander Haslam from the University of Exeter came up with the phrase "glass cliff" in 2005. The Times made the claim that female executives have a detrimental effect on business performance back in 2003. Ryan and Haslam examined the performance of the 100 London Stock Exchange-listed companies that comprise the FTSE 100 index, both prior to and following the appointment of male and female board members.

Their findings brought to light the fact that companies that appointed women to their boards were more likely than those that appointed men to have historically underperformed over the previous five months during instances of general stock market declines. This is because of the belief that women are more adept at navigating difficult situations because of certain stereotyped traits. They are frequently viewed as being more cooperative, democratic, and devoted than men.

The glass cliff phenomenon, however, is not just limited to women- it also extends to minority groups. The highly qualified white or upper-class male candidates are hesitant to take on a role in a risky circumstance when their company is struggling. Women and minorities, on the other hand, believe that this could be their only opportunity to move up the leadership ladder, so they should accept the offer.

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Because they have fewer mentors and sponsors and less access to what is known as a protective "old boys' network," female leaders find it more difficult than male leaders to gain second chances after failing. In certain instances, prejudice is also the primary cause of the "glass cliff" phenomena. In actuality, there may be a thin line between utilising a new leader as a scapegoat from utilising them as a signal of change. You don't truly believe in their potential; you merely put them there till you come up with a better plan. While these acts may seem appealing in the short term and provide a temporary solution, they have terrible long-term effects that affect one's finances and reputation.

Women CEOs incur a significant "risk tax" over the course of their careers. This feeling is supported by studies of foreign women leaders in their 50s that the BBC conducted. The typical argument is that you might not be given another chance if you fail a dangerous assignment. In the unlikely event that you succeed, you'll likely have to prove yourself repeatedly, which is tiresome. In addition, a female CEO may feel that she is not only speaking for herself but also that she needs to lead by example for other women, particularly the younger generation. Stress is also increased by the notion that a failure will spark a significant return to the "old biases" of alpha male leaders.

When X (formerly known as Twitter) was going through transitions and battling to maintain its erstwhile status, Musk appointed Linda Yaccarino as the CEO of X corp. to manage the floundering social media company. The glass cliff issue has also affected former UK prime leader Theresa May and former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. However, there is still hope, and it is not certain that women CEOs will experience this destiny. Laura Alber, the CEO of Williams Sonoma, has been in the position for 13 years, making her the longest-serving CEO among the Fortune 500. Alber has accomplished this in spite of managing through the pandemic, the present slowdown in the housing market, and the "retail apocalypse" that is harming the competitors of the company.

HOW TO NAVIGATE THE GLASS CLIFF

Unlearning unconscious biases through organisational trainings: More often than not, beliefs like women are more adept at navigating difficult situations because of certain stereotyped traits and that they are frequently viewed as being more cooperative, democratic, and devoted than men are all part of our unconscious biases and stereotypes of seeing women as crisis mitigators and more resilient during difficult situations. The hiring and promotion process can be influenced by unconscious bias, which can result in the "glass cliff" phenomena. Organisations can assist to reduce these prejudices and encourage more fair results by providing bias training to all staff members who are engaged in hiring and promotion decisions.

Dismantling the "old boys' networks" to create equal mentorship and training opportunities: Minorities and women are disproportionately left out of leadership development programmes, which might hinder their advancement to senior leadership positions. Organisations can contribute to the creation of a more inclusive and diverse leadership pipeline by granting equal access to opportunities for leadership development. Distribute high-risk roles more evenly among leaders, regardless of gender or minority status. Avoid placing disproportionate numbers of women or minorities in precarious positions.

Diversifying the leadership and upper management positions in organisations: An underlying cause of the glass cliff is a lack of diversity and inclusivity in leadership roles. Even when the company is doing well, there should be an equitable distribution of power across genders to avoid the burden of stepping up only on women during crises.

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