Glass Cliffs Research Articles

Metaphors Describing the Gendered Organization in the Career Advancement of Women: An Integrative Review

Worldwide, gender equality remains a barrier for women seeking career advancement in corporations. Despite the globalization of corporate social responsibility programs, women have not achieved positional parity with men within the managerial hierarchy. The purpose of this integrative review was to investigate the breadth of the gendered organization literature, summarize the evidence, and inform future research about the career advancement of women in privately owned and publicly traded corporations. Twelve databases were searched between January 1990 and December 2023 for published evidence. Of the 1914 documents screened, 55 articles were included in this review. The gendered organization literature is slowly evolving as a critical area for management research even though fully developed substantive and formal theories are lacking. However, gendered organizations can be conceptualized for theoretical development as a constellation of metaphors embedded in the corporate culture. These metaphors include firewalls, glass ceilings, glass cliffs, glass escalators, labyrinths, queen bees and beehives, and sticky floors. Notably, few intervention studies were reported in the literature. Corporate social responsibility programs had a surprisingly limited impact on eliminating deep-seated structural attributes contributing to gendered organizations. Therefore, management scholars need to engage in theoretical development and research to advance a comprehensive theory of the gendered organization, and studies should investigate why the identified metaphors continue to adversely impact the career advancement of women despite the presence of corporate social responsibility programs. Finally, existing evidence needs to be translated into intervention recommendations for policymakers and corporate leaders.

Are Women Recognized in the Digital Economy? Experiences of Developed Economies

Abstract Data and debates about the role of women in the digital world are gaining increasing importance in the study of gender and the digital economy. This paper explores the complex relationship of the role of women in the digital economy over the last two decades. The analysis used a review of the literature of scientific works and documents of official international institutions. All available sources indicate progress in recent years, but challenges remain. Several samples were created, and quantitative analysis assessed trends over time. The general conclusions suggest that the role of women in the digital economy is increasingly pronounced and significant. The results of the study confirm global expectations that promote the role of women in the digital economy (glass ceilings), where women work in key positions (women on boards) and participate in decision-making (glass cliffs). The regression econometric model shows that the role of women in the digital economy is increasingly important to recognize women who use Internet networks to a greater extent (business, social), those with above basic overall digital skills, as well as ICT experts. The paper ends with a list of potential recommendations for the modern framework of the digital economy.

Precarious positions: glass ceilings, glass escalators, and glass cliffs in the superintendency

IntroductionThe “glass cliff” phenomenon has been observed in many fields; in these situations, women are hired into prestigious, but precarious, leadership positions. In education, little is known about the preexisting district contextual trends into which women leaders are hired, and thus whether a glass cliff might exist in the superintendency. This study explores descriptively whether evidence suggests superintendents in New Jersey might be differentially sorted into “precarious” districts across gender.MethodsOur study utilizes a newly created statewide longitudinal data set to examine descriptive trends in superintendent placement, including multiple measures of precarity. We investigate the presence of the glass ceiling by examining representation in the superintendency, the glass escalator as evidenced by leader qualifications, and the glass cliff as indicated by district characteristics.ResultsNew Jersey employs a higher proportion of women superintendents than the national average. Men and women superintendents are equivalently qualified, on average, though women tend to be paid less. We find that male and female superintendents in the state work in somewhat similar districts, though women are more likely to lead districts serving students from low-income communities and larger proportions of minoritized students.DiscussionThese findings suggest women superintendents in New Jersey are excelling despite serving communities that are often under-resourced. Thus, there is some suggestion of a glass cliff phenomenon in education leadership, as women who obtain the highest positions are also in more precarious settings.

Women as leaders: the glass ceiling effect on women’s leadership success in public bureaucracies

Purpose Much research has been conducted regarding leadership success challenges. However, few are practically oriented on whether the success of women's leadership aligns to organisational, personal and societal contexts as glass cliffs. Thus, this study aims to examine these factors and introduce how they inhibit women from leadership success. Design/methodology/approach This research examined the glass ceiling effects Ethiopian women leaders face. This research focused on adjusted clusters and a survey of 446 female employees from zones, woreda and kebeles. The data was processed through SPSS 25.0 to regress the values. Findings Breaking the glass ceiling, the glass cliffs effects on women’s income levels, the lack of an arena for self-improvement, the nature of organisation policies and challenges in teamwork were found to contribute to women’s under-representation in top leadership positions. Research limitations/implications The results focused only on the 94 public organisations in Ethiopia that were selected by adjusted cluster sampling. Practical implications Realizations of substantial change and refocusing on bringing a significant number of women to the boardrooms in the public bureaucracy, besides glass cliffs. Social implications Enhancing the importance of accepting women leaders. Originality/value To add value to the stock of literature in gender equality, this research brings a strategic focus on factors that inhibit women from top leadership positions.

How hard do women climb the ladder?

This paper reviews the literature on the glass ceiling and glass cliffs relating to female career enhancement. Two theories relevant to the issue are highlighted and four relevant issues on the predicament of female employees being promoted to the management level are presented. First, the rate of female employees promoted to a higher management position is far below than men. Second, factors that impede their career enhancement vary from personal to the organizational level. Third, women who break the glass ceiling face challenges as a leader. Fourth, this paper reviews the literature on what employers and female individuals could do to improve the situation.

Through a Glass Cliff Darkly

Abstract: After breaking through the glass ceiling, women often obtain precarious or risky leadership positions in crisis-ridden organizations ( the glass cliff; Ryan & Haslam, 2005 ). Due to women’s minority status, their appointment in a crisis can signal important changes to organizational stakeholders indicating the use of new strategies for overcoming the crisis (signaling theory; Spence, 1973 ). Our study examines whether the media visibility of organizations moderates these signaling effects in ways that either strengthen or weaken glass cliffs. We augmented the archival dataset used by Haslam et al. (2010 ) in which the glass cliff phenomenon was discovered by including data on the media coverage that the Financial Times Stock Exchange index 100 companies received between 2001 and 2005. Our analysis shows that glass cliffs were more pronounced in companies with low media visibility. This suggests that the media visibility of organizations can contribute to increased accountability regarding their personnel decisions in ways that expose women leaders to less discrimination.

Shattering Glass Ceilings: Three Black Women Surgeons Ascend to Chairs of Departments of Surgery.

Shattering Glass Ceilings: Three Black Women Surgeons Ascend to Chairs of Departments of Surgery.

Shine Bright Like a Diamond: When Signaling Creates Glass Cliffs for Female Executives

There is mixed support for the glass cliff hypothesis that firms will more likely appoint female candidates into top management positions when in crisis. We trace the inconsistent findings back to an underdeveloped theoretical link and deficient identification strategies. Using signaling theory, we suggest that crisis firms appoint female top managers to signal change to the market and argue that the effect is context-dependent. In a field study of 26,156 executive appointments in U.S. firms between 2000 and 2016, we exploit a regression discontinuity to test for the causal impact of firm crisis status on the likelihood of female top management appointments and for moderators of the effect. We find that crisis status leads to a significant increase in female top management appointments and that crisis (vs. noncrisis) firms are more likely to frame female appointments as change-related in press releases. Importantly, the presence of the glass cliff effect hinges on attributes of the signaler (absence of another female executive), signal (appointment type), and receiver (investor attention). The findings robustly evidence the glass cliff and our theoretical extensions.

Political Ideology Modifies the Effect of Glass Cliff Candidacies on Election Outcomes for Women in American State Legislative Races (2011-2016).

Research on glass cliff political candidacies shows that compared to men, women are more likely to run for office in districts where they are likely to lose. We examined if party differences in whether female candidates face these worse conditions in the United States could account for persistent and growing party and state variation in women’s representation. Using election data from 2011 to 2016, we compared Republican versus Democratic candidacies at the state legislative level. We found that women in both parties faced glass cliffs in House races, but not in the Senate. For Republican women, glass cliff conditions accounted for worse election outcomes, but Democratic women were more likely to win when these conditions were considered. Variation in party by state measures of glass cliff effects were also found to explain state variation in women’s office holding. We found that for Democrats, more women win when more women run, but for Republicans, more women win only when the seats they face are more winnable. These results point to the role of polarized traditional versus progressive political ideologies in structuring the motives which underlie glass cliff conditions for women in politics, suggesting that practical solutions be tailored to party. To overcome the growing gap in women’s representation, current efforts to increase the quantity of women running would be complemented by a focus on improving the quality of contests they face, with Republican women most likely to benefit. Further research attending to the multiple sources of variation which impact gendered election outcomes can inform more targeted solutions for advancing equality. Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/0361684321992046

Glass Cliffs at middle management levels: an experimental study

PurposeA new phenomenon called “Glass Cliff” has formed claiming that women at the higher echelons of organizations are being placed in higher risk positions when compared to men. The purpose of this research study is to examine whether this phenomenon occurs at the middle to upper middle management levels for women. If so, it can possibly be one of the many underlying reasons that contribute to the grounds of why the pipeline problem exists with female leadership at the top-level management positions.Design/methodology/approachThe design considers competing hypotheses based on the emerging, contradictory research on the Glass Cliff and the more established perspective of social norms and implicit biases. The experimental study is conducted on 202 participants to examine the likelihood of occurrence of this phenomenon at middle to upper middle management levels.FindingsCounter to the tenets pertaining to the Glass Cliff phenomenon but consistent with the implicit leadership theories, this research study revealed that when compared to the female candidate, the male candidate was more likely to be assigned to the higher risk position.Research limitations/implicationsThe subjective nature of the study can be the reason for variations of each participant and their biases since it is a specific experiment dealing with perceptions, social norms and prejudice.Originality/valueThis phenomenon is mostly studied at the executive level and can contribute to the pipeline problem for women, hence this study provides insight and examines the phenomenon at the middle to upper middle management levels to examine its likelihood.

Glass Cliffs or Partisan Pressure? Examining Gender and Party Leader Tenures and Exits

This article adds to our understanding of the gendered impact of informal rules and norms for party leaders. Specifically, it examines the gendered nature of party leader tenures and exits. Using original data collected on party leader experiences in Canada, we test for the existence of gender differences in leader tenures and exits, and examine two potential explanations for any differences. We find that leader tenures and exits are indeed gendered but only within parties with the potential to form government, ones where the political stakes are highest. Within these major parties, women’s tenures as party leaders are significantly shorter than men’s and they are significantly more likely to be forced to resign from the position. We find clear evidence of the existence of the glass cliff phenomenon in major parties but unclear evidence of its role in women’s shorter tenures. Instead, women’s shorter tenures are explained by the harsher set of standards being applied to women party leaders.

Glass Slippers and Glass Cliffs: Fitting In and Falling Off

A glass ceiling effect exists for women in male-dominated professions. Recent studies also show a glass-cliff effect where senior women can more easily fall from positions of leadership. Transplantation remains a male-dominated specialty. This study investigated gender and the perception of adverse clinical incidents in transplantation. Prospective randomised web-based survey involving five clinical scenarios presenting two versions of episodes with errors or mistakes, with either a male or female as a randomly named protagonist (Set1 and Set2). To address unconscious bias, the study was described as examining actions following clinical adverse incidents in transplantation. Each scenario was followed by 2 closed questions: (1) clinical performance rating and (2) selection of action required. Reasoning was invited (open-text comments). Responses were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods. One hundred ninety-one invitees responded; 134 completed questionnaires. There were no statistically significant differences (P > 0.05) in responses between sets for performance ratings or recommended actions. However, for "first solo laparoscopic surgery" scenario, there was some indication that "No Action" was more likely if surgeon was male (P = 0.056). Male responses rated female performance as significantly worse (P = 0.035) for the laboratory-based scenario. One hundred two participants provided open-text comments. Thematic analysis identified 7 themes. Acceptable levels of risk theme demonstrated engendered leadership beliefs, that is, when clinical judgment proved incorrect, males described as forceful but females as needing support. In cases where things went wrong, respondents were more likely to comment females should not have decided to proceed. While gender may no longer be an overt issue in perceived performance of senior staff in transplantation, respondents' use of language and their choice of words display elements of unconscious (covert) engendered views.

Glass Ceilings, Walls, and Cliffs: Gender Biases in Academia and in Practice

Arguably, gender is the source of both the most pervasive and the most impactful workplace biases. This panel symposium will explore various types of gender biases (i.e., glass ceilings, walls, and...

Women, Organizational Crisis, and Access to Leadership in International Organizations

ABSTRACTWomen who successfully break the glass ceiling have historically done so in the context of crises. Crises offer unique windows of opportunity for women because they either legitimize women as suitable candidates or create “glass cliffs” that make positions unattractive to men. This article examines four elections in the World Health Organization (WHO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), applying findings from the national to the international. First access to executive office international organizations—the breaking of the glass ceiling—is facilitated by organizational crisis; however, once broken, the importance of crises diminishes. Organizations become regendered or women become seen as acceptable candidates.

The Evolution of Empathy and Women's Precarious Leadership Appointments.

Glass cliffs describe situations in which women are promoted to executive roles in declining organizations. To explain them, some authors suggest that people tend to “think crisis-think female.” However, the root cause of this association remains elusive. Using several subfields of evolutionary theory, we argue that biology and culture have shaped the perception of women as being more empathic than men and, consequently, as capable of quelling certain crises. Some crises are more intense than others and, whereas some brew within organizations, others originate from the external environment. We therefore propose that women will be selected to lead whenever a crisis is minimal to moderate and stems primarily from within the organization. Men, on the other hand, will be chosen as leaders whenever the crisis threatens the very existence of the firm and its source is an external threat. Leadership is a highly stressful experience, and even more so when leaders must scale glass cliffs. It is imperative that we understand what gives rise to them not only because they place women and potentially other minorities in positions where the likelihood of failure is high, but also because they help propagate stereotypes that undermine their true leadership ability.

Women Leadership in South African business: Challenges and Barriers

Women leaders are acknowledged for their resonance-building leadership styles, adaptive communication skills and qualities of cooperation, mentoring and collaboration - traits that are becoming increasingly important to leadership in contemporary organisations. If women are sufficiently competent to serve as leaders, why have so relatively few reached the top of the ladder? This research project deals with the societal and organisational challenges all working women in South Africa experience, the challenges working mothers experience and the challenges women face at midlife and how these influence their careers. Gender based stereotypes influenced by the cultural value dimensions of society are seen as the major barriers to women's advancement. Despite enabling legislation in South Africa, statistics reflect the dwindling of opportunities as women reach the upper echelons of management. Career primary motivated women reported structural barriers in organisations including networking, glass ceilings and glass cliffs. Societal challenges that women face included lack of access to power in an environment that is becoming increasingly toxic, resulting in eroding of values and ethics among leaders in general. Personal challenges working mothers faced were finding balance in the social construction of their life roles and creating a meandering career path, during midlife.

Beyond the Glass Ceiling: The Glass Cliff and Its Lessons for Organizational Policy

It has been almost 30 years since the metaphor of the “glass ceiling” was coined to describe the often subtle, but very real, barriers that women face as they try to climb the organizational hierarchy. Here we review evidence for a relatively new form of gender discrimination—captured by the metaphor of the glass cliff—that women face when they obtain positions of leadership. Such positions often prove to be more risky and precarious than those of their male counterparts. We summarize evidence demonstrating the existence of glass cliffs in business and politics as well as experimental work that identifies a number of factors contributing to the phenomenon. We then discuss implications for policy and practice, highlighting the importance of understanding women's and men's experiences in the workplace rather than treating gender diversity as merely “a numbers game.”

From Glass Ceiling to Glass Cliff: Women in Senior Executive Service

The dominant paradigm that frames the challenges women face in attaining upward mobility has been the glass ceiling metaphor (Bowling, Cynthia, Kelleher, Christine, Jones, Jennifer, and Deil Wright. 2006. Cracked ceilings, firmer floors, and weakening walls: Trends and patterns in gender representation among executives leading American state agencies, 1970–2000. Public Administration Review 66 (6): 823–36; Bullard, Angela, and Deil Wright. 1993. Circumventing the glass ceiling: Women executives in American state governments. Public Administration Review 53 (3): 189–202; Naff, Katherine C. 1994. Through the glass ceiling: Prospects for the advancement of women in the federal civil service. Public Administration Review 54 (6): 507–14; Riccucci, Norma M. 2009. The pursuit of social equity in the federal government: A road less traveled? Public Administration Review 69 (3): 373–82; Sneed, Bethany G. 2007. Glass walls in state bureaucracies: Examining the difference departmental function can make. Public Administration Review 67 (5): 880–91). However, over the last decades women have made steady progress and are moving to positions of leadership. Women in leadership positions continue to face an uphill battle; they often are placed in precarious positions setting them up for failure and pushing them over the edge—a phenomenon recently termed as “glass cliff” (Ryan, Michelle K., and S. Alexander Haslam. 2005. The glass cliff: Evidence that women are over-represented in precarious leadership positions. British Journal of Management 16, 81–90. Ryan, Michelle K., and S. Alexander Haslam. 2007. The glass cliff: Exploring the dynamics surrounding the appointment of women to precarious leadership positions. Academy of Management Review 32 (2): 549–72). Using data from the 2010 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, this research examines the challenges women face in Senior Executive Service (SES) in various US federal government agencies (distributive, redistributive, regulatory, and constituent policy). The study is based on three widely discussed theories in the field of social psychology—think-manager-think-male, social role theory, and role incongruity theory. The study findings indicate that SES women in distributive and constituent policy agencies are most likely to face glass cliffs. The odds of women falling off the cliff are less when women have influence over policymaking decisions, perceive empowerment, and experience organizational equities. Address correspondence to the author at meghna.sabharwal@utdallas.edu JPART doi:10.1093/jopart/mut030 © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Inc. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory Advance Access published June 13, 2013 at U niersity of T exas at D allas on Jne 4, 2013 http://jpaordjournals.org/ D ow nladed from Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 2

Glass Cliffs and Organizational Saviors

Racial/ethnic minorities remain underrepresented in positions of authority. While ample scholarship has identified barriers to mobility, much less scholarship has explored the conditions under which minorities are promoted to leadership positions. Relying on a unique data set that includes all transitions among NCAA men's basketball head coaches over a 30-year period, we analyze the promotion probability and post-promotion trajectory of minority coaches. First, we find that minority coaches are more likely to be appointed in historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) due to bottom-up ascription. Second, minorities are more likely than whites to be promoted to losing teams, a phenomenon termed the glass cliff. And third, when minority coaches are unable to generate winning records they are replaced by white coaches, a phenomenon we term the savior effect. By testing mechanisms related to the mobility chances of minorities, this analysis advances our understanding of the processes that shape racial/ethnic hierarchies in organizations.

Glass Cliffs Are Not So Easily Scaled: On the Precariousness of Female CEOs' Positions

Adams, Gupta and Leeth (British Journal of Management, 2008) question the universality of the glass cliff after finding no differences in US companies' financial performance either before or after the appointment of male and female CEOs. We agree that glass cliffs are neither universal nor ineluctable, but urge caution in interpreting this null result. This is because the nature and significance of women's precarious leadership positions becomes more apparent when one goes beyond archival financial data and compares the broad circumstances of male and female leaders. Here multiple strands of research suggest that above the glass ceiling the playing field for men and women is far from level.