What is the Glass Ceiling?
The glass ceiling refers to invisible barriers and systemic obstacles that prevent women, minorities, and other underrepresented groups from advancing to senior leadership positions in organizations.
It reflects pervasive gender and diversity disparities in the workplace, where qualified individuals face barriers such as discrimination, bias, and limited opportunities for career advancement despite their skills, qualifications, and performance.
What is the Glass Cliff?
The glass cliff refers to the phenomenon where women and minority leaders are disproportionately appointed to leadership positions during times of crisis or organizational decline.
These individuals are often placed in high-risk, challenging roles with limited resources and support, making it difficult for them to succeed and leading to increased scrutiny and criticism.
The glass cliff highlights the tendency to assign blame to marginalized leaders for problems that may have originated before their tenure.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do the glass ceiling and glass cliff contribute to gender and diversity disparities in leadership?
The glass ceiling creates barriers to advancement for women and minorities by limiting their access to senior leadership roles and opportunities for career progression.
The glass cliff exacerbates these disparities by placing women and minority leaders in delicate positions where they are set up for failure or face greater challenges in achieving success compared to their male counterparts.
What are some strategies for addressing the glass ceiling and glass cliff?
Implement transparent and merit-based selection processes for leadership positions
Encourage leadership training programs targeted at underrepresented groups
Establish clear career progression pathways for all employees
Conduct regular diversity, equity and inclusion training sessions for staff and leadership
Create affinity groups or employee resource groups to support diverse employees
Conduct regular audits of hiring, promotion, and pay practices to ensure equity
Foster a culture of accountability for promoting diversity and inclusion at all levels of the organization
How do glass cliff and glass ceiling manifest in the real world?
Real-world examples of the glass ceiling include disparities in representation of women and minorities in senior leadership roles across various industries.
It includes instances where qualified individuals are passed over for promotion or face discrimination and bias in hiring and promotion decisions.
Examples of the glass cliff include the appointment of women CEOs to struggling companies or leadership roles during times of crisis. A situation where they are faced with heightened scrutiny and unrealistic expectations compared to their male predecessors.
What are the top 5 real life examples of “glass cliff promotions”?
Twitter's appointment of Linda Yaccarino as CEO in 2023 amid a decline in the company's value due to advertising revenue loss and market shifts.
Marissa Mayer's leadership at Yahoo in 2012, during a period of financial difficulty and market competition with Google and Facebook.
Ellen Pao's interim CEO role at Reddit in 2014, amidst controversies and user criticism, leading to her departure from the company.
Mary Barra becoming General Motors' first female CEO in 2014, facing challenges of company recalls and reputation repair after bankruptcy.
Theresa May becoming UK Prime Minister in 2016 post-Brexit referendum, struggling to negotiate Brexit and facing political instability before resigning in 2019.
