Inclusion In Context: From The Ceiling To The Cliff

CRN columnist Cass Cooper continues to explore the cultural contextual challenges for gender inclusion in part two of Inclusion in Context. What is the glass cliff? How is it different from the glass ceiling? Who does the glass cliff impact most?

In the first installment of this series on Inclusion in Context, we learned the history of The Glass Ceiling. As a refresher, the glass ceiling metaphor functions as a description of the invisible barrier preventing people, specifically women, from entering management, senior-level or executive leadership roles. It is the barriers, spoken and unspoken, and implicit and explicit policies that maintain the barrier, disallowing advancement for those who aim to develop their careers.

The glass ceiling is often cited as the barrier to what happens next in a person’s career. The unspoken yet highly visible barrier announcing this is as high as a person of color, woman, LGBTQIA+, person with limited ability and others can achieve.

But what happens when someone in those groups does break through the glass ceiling? The assumption is that they are met with open operational support—the equitable resources required to make their role impactful. But here’s the thing about when we assume is that it makes an ... well, you know the rest.

While more women and people of color are entering the C-suite, their tenure is not as long as their over-represented white male counterparts. According to a Harvard Law report, the average tenure of women CEOs in Fortune 500 companies is just over five years whereas men tend to stay at the helm for over eight. Similarly, within the S&P 500, the tenure of men in the CEO spot outpaces women by nearly four years, averaging seven and a half and three years, respectively.

The persistent tenure gap shows the difficulty for businesses to achieve gender parity in CEO roles. It suggests that there is work to be done to not only appoint women as CEOs but also retain them in the position for the long term. The question is, what factors contribute to women being less likely to stay as CEO than men?

Enter The ‘Glass Cliff’

The “glass cliff” is a term to describe how women—specifically Black women—are more likely to be appointed to leadership roles during times of crisis or when there is an elevated risk of failure. This can be in companies, political roles or other organizations. The term suggests these leaders are put in precarious positions, like standing on the edge of a cliff, where the likelihood of failure is higher.

If things don’t go well, these leaders are often blamed for the failure, reinforcing negative stereotypes about their capabilities. The glass cliff is considered a subtle form of discrimination because it sets up those who are under-represented for failure, rather than giving them equitable chances of success as men who inherit in more stable situations.

In one commonly cited example, Marissa Mayer in 2012 was appointed CEO of Yahoo. A Stanford University graduate and former Googler, Mayer became CEO of the search engine company at a time of immense financial challenge, culminating in its sale to Verizon and her resignation in 2017.

Ursula Burns became the first Black woman to be CEO of a Fortune 500 company in 2009, serving in the role at Xerox during a time when the company was grappling with the decline of its traditional business model. She successfully worked to transition the company, facing substantial pressure while being the first Black woman in her role due to perceived exceptionalism.

In a 2021 interview with Harvard Business Review, Burns stated that for people to believe she was capable of leading, “or to be CEO, they would have to identify me as ‘spectacular’ or else acknowledge that others who look like me, who act like me, who come from where I come from, can be at the table as well.” Burns continued, stating, “I’m not amazing. I’m here because I’m as good as you.”

Understanding the glass cliff phenomenon allows organizations to recognize the ongoing challenges related to gender and racial equity in leadership. While promoting someone under-represented might seem like a positive step toward inclusion, the context in which these appointments are made often sets the individual up for failure, perpetuating stereotypes about women’s leadership or their status as being exceptional in redirecting a failing business because of their race, gender or other identity.

There are steps to be taken to mitigate the impact and effects of the glass cliff. Organizations can ensure that women of color are appointed to leadership roles in a variety of contexts, not just during a crisis but in times of affluence and growth. Second, ensure inclusive support and active allyship beyond the C-suite, creating adequate support and equitable resources to ensure everyone has the tools for success.

Lastly, recognize and address bias as it contributes to the glass cliff and ceiling. Because doing so ensures that we all remain unbroken.

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