Glass cliff
Encyclopedia
A glass cliff is a term coined by Prof Michelle Ryan and Prof Alex Haslam
of University of Exeter
, United Kingdom
, in 2004.
Their research demonstrates 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 organizational units that are in crisis or because they are not given the resources and support needed for success. Extending the metaphor of the glass ceiling, Ryan and Haslam evoke the notion of the ‘glass cliff’ to refer to a danger which involves exposure to risk of falling but which is not readily apparent. "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."
Michelle Ryan is a Professor of Social and Organisational Psychology in the College of Life Sciences at the University of Exeter. Alex Haslam is a Professor of Psychology at University of Exeter and former editor of the European Journal of Social Psychology. Their research into the glass cliff has been funded by the Leverhulme Trust
, the European Social Fund
, and the Economic and Social Research Council
.
In 2005 research into the glass cliff was shortlisted for theTimes Higher Education's Research Project of the Year. It also featured in New York Times Magazine's Top 100 Ideas of 2008.
Alex Haslam
S. Alexander Haslam is a Professor of Social Psychology in the School of Psychology at the University of Exeter. He was born in Horsforth , and educated at Felsted School....
of University of Exeter
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, in 2004.
Their research demonstrates that once women break through the glass ceiling
Glass ceiling
In economics, the term glass ceiling refers to "the unseen, yet unbreachable barrier that keeps minorities and women from rising to the upper rungs of the corporate ladder, regardless of their qualifications or achievements." Initially, the metaphor applied to barriers in the careers of women but...
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 organizational units that are in crisis or because they are not given the resources and support needed for success. Extending the metaphor of the glass ceiling, Ryan and Haslam evoke the notion of the ‘glass cliff’ to refer to a danger which involves exposure to risk of falling but which is not readily apparent. "It therefore appears that after having broken through a glass ceiling
Glass ceiling
In economics, the term glass ceiling refers to "the unseen, yet unbreachable barrier that keeps minorities and women from rising to the upper rungs of the corporate ladder, regardless of their qualifications or achievements." Initially, the metaphor applied to barriers in the careers of women but...
women are actually more likely than men to find themselves on a "glass cliff", meaning their positions of leadership are risky or precarious."
Michelle Ryan is a Professor of Social and Organisational Psychology in the College of Life Sciences at the University of Exeter. Alex Haslam is a Professor of Psychology at University of Exeter and former editor of the European Journal of Social Psychology. Their research into the glass cliff has been funded by the Leverhulme Trust
Leverhulme Trust
The Leverhulme Trust was established in 1925 under the will of the First Viscount Leverhulme, William Hesketh Lever, with the instruction that its resources should be used to support "scholarships for the purposes of research and education."...
, the European Social Fund
European Social Fund
The European Social Fund is the European Union’s main financial instrument for supporting employment in the Member States as well as promoting economic and social cohesion. ESF spending amounts to around 10% of the EU’s total budget....
, and the Economic and Social Research Council
Economic and Social Research Council
The Economic and Social Research Council is one of the seven Research Councils in the United Kingdom. It receives most of its funding from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and provides funding and support for research and training work in social and economic issues, such as...
.
In 2005 research into the glass cliff was shortlisted for theTimes Higher Education's Research Project of the Year. It also featured in New York Times Magazine's Top 100 Ideas of 2008.
Further reading
- The Glass Ceiling in the 21st Century ISBN 1433804093
- Ryan, M. K., & Haslam, S. A. (2005). The Glass Cliff: Evidence that women are over-represented in precarious leadership positions. British Journal of ManagementBritish Journal of ManagementThe British Journal of Management is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal, which was established by David T. Otley in 1990, and is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the British Academy of Management. The journal covers all main fields of management studies: from business ethics and...
, 16, 81-90.
- Ryan, M. K., & Haslam, S. A. (2007). The Glass Cliff: Exploring the dynamics surrounding the appointment of women precarious leadership positions. Academy of Management Review, 32, 549-572.
- Haslam, S. A., & Ryan, M. K. (2008). The road to the glass cliff: Differences in the perceived suitability of men and women for leadership positions in succeeding and failing organizations. Leadership Quarterly, 19, 530-546.
- Bruckmüller, S., & Branscombe, N. R. (2010). The glass cliff: When and why women are selected as leaders in crisis contexts. British Journal of Social Psychology, 49, 433-451.
- Brescoll, V. L., Dawson, E., and Uhlmann, E. L. (2010). Hard won and easily lost: The fragile status of leaders in gender-stereotype-incongruent occupations. Psychological Science, 21, 1640-1642.
- Ryan, M. K., Haslam, S. A., Kulich, C. (2010). Politics and the glass cliff: Evidence that women are preferentially selected to contest hard-to-win seats. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 34, 56–64.
- Ryan, M. K., Haslam, S. A., Hersby, M. D. & Bongiorno, R. (2011). Think crisis–think female: The glass cliff and contextual variation in the think manager–think male stereotype. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96, 470-484.