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The Glass Cliff: Women Are Set Up to Fail

Alice Bennett
A figure walking above frosted glass stairs

Alice Bennett

As women told to be more assertive and break the glass ceiling in the workplace, many have achieved the ultimate aspiration of climbing the corporate ladder. Yet, the prevalence of the ‘glass cliff’ shows even the most successful women are set up to fail. 

The glass cliff refers to the phenomenon in which women are more likely to be selected for leadership positions which are “risky and precarious”. This is the case regarding racial and ethnic minorities, making women in these groups more vulnerable.

One famous example is when Theresa May was appointed Prime Minister amid Brexit chaos. Another is when Marissa Mayer was made CEO of Yahoo in 2012, when the site was losing to its competitors Google and Facebook.

We’re often led to believe these women were simply incapable of succeeding in their jobs. But were they actually set up to fail from the beginning?

Are Men Better Leaders?

It’s easy to dismiss this trend as a coincidence, or even to suggest that men simply make better leaders.

However, the opposite may be true. There is a vast amount of evidence that suggests women make better leaders than men, particularly during a crisis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, several studies showed countries with female leaders handled the crisis better than those led by men. This is supported by earlier lockdowns and fewer COVID-related deaths.

“The main motivation for promoting women in difficult times is sexism.”

The idea that women are better leaders in crisis may be the reason behind the glass cliff.

Research by the Harvard Business Review has shown that stereotypically ‘feminine’ skills, such as encouragement and good communication skills, are what people look for in a leader during turbulent times. This could be the reason why women are frequently pushed to handle crises.

However, many researchers claim the main motivation for promoting women in difficult times is sexism. By letting men be in charge during the good times and take a back seat during the bad, it makes them look like better leaders. It also protects their reputations and claim to power. 

Why Women Fall Off The Glass Cliff

Women are constantly told that the way to succeed and overcome misogyny in the workplace is to break the glass ceiling themselves. The expectation is that working harder and not complaining is key to succeeding in business. But the glass cliff exposes the problem with this mentality: even the women who ‘play the game’ can’t win, because they’re set up to fail. 

What’s more, women are often encouraged to discard stereotypically ‘feminine’ traits for more ‘masculine’ ones. Because men are usually in positions of power, women think mimicking them will be beneficial. But studies prove ‘feminine’ traits are often more useful in leadership. Sexist stereotyping is the only reason why people think otherwise.

Regardless of whether women stay true to themselves or try to copy men, there’s no way to win. Playing the game results in failure, but so does trying to change the rules. Where does this leave the girlbosses who want to succeed in the corporate world?

The Ceiling Is Made Of More Than Glass

Clearly, the glass cliff shows the limitations of representation politics. Even women in power are not immune to society’s deep-rooted misogyny. Putting a sort of ‘token’ woman in a leadership position may meet a company’s diversity quota, but it does little to challenge the patriarchal structures of the business world.

The gender pay gap, lack of representation, and phenomenons like the glass cliff are caused by sexism. Addressing the root of the problem is the only true way to improve diversity and representation.

“Women’s issues are often decided by male-dominated institutions.”

Drastic change is needed. If nothing changes now, it will take 13o years to reach gender equality in the highest positions of power, according to UN women.

We’ve already seen the impact this inequality has on people’s daily lives. Women’s issues are often decided by male-dominated institutions. This results in influential legislature being passed, such as the overturning of Roe vs Wade, despite few women being involved in the decision-making process. Decisions about women’s autonomy being made by men are only one example of how misogyny continues to be reproduced, due to the lack of women in power.

For the time being, maybe we do need some girlbosses to step up. Just be careful of that glass cliff.

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Featured image courtesy of Christopher Burns via Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image licence found here.

I'm a recent masters graduate from the University of Nottingham and aspiring writer interested in writing about everything from neurodiversity and LGBTQ+ issues to films and gaming.

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