Cleaning up the mess...

While attending conferences, reading articles, and searching for information on leadership, I have noticed that women are most likely to find themselves in leadership roles in situations where things are falling apart. I've come across stories of women being asked to step in to save colleges with dire financial outlooks, to women being brought in to lead companies during the global pandemic. This phenomenon has been named the "glass cliff."

We have heard about the glass ceiling, but what is the cause of the glass cliff? A study was conducted and written about by the Harvard Business Review (2011). In the review, scenarios were posed where men or women entirely led companies, and either went through a period of loss or gains, and it was found that the standing of the company impacted whether individuals were more likely to choose women to lead. In cases where companies were experiencing loss, participants were 62% more likely to choose a woman to take over and turn the company around.

Learning this has left me with more questions than answers. What is it about a crisis that causes women to appear as the better-suited candidate?

Bruckmuller, S. and Branscombe, N. (2011, January-February). How Women End Up on the “Glass Cliff”. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2011/01/how-women-end-up-on-the-glass-cliff