Women are more likely to be promoted to leadership positions right now that companies are changing their boards and C-suites.
Employers need to make sure they aren't unintentionally setting up new leaders for failure because of the "glass cliff" phenomenon.
A woman is promoted to a senior leadership position during a difficult time for a company, when the risk of failure is high. This phenomenon is a way for women to break through the glass ceiling and get into leadership positions. It does not always set them up for success.
Diversity in management and at the executive level is a good thing. The Boston consulting group found that increasing diversity in leadership teams increases profits. A study of 22,000 firms found that companies with more women in their board rooms were more profitable. When diversity increases, so does company performance.
The timing and manner in which women are promoted to these leadership positions is what matters. Is it possible that women will be chosen for top positions only because of precarious times? Will they get the support they need?
In November 2003 the Times in London printed an article that implied the reason why so many companies were faring poorly was because they had women as leaders.
They decided to investigate the claim. They found that women were appointed leaders when companies were struggling. The glass cliff was a concept.
If women are appointed in times of crisis, it is not that they are unable to lead, but leading in a time of crisis is more difficult and precarious than leading when everything is great, according to Ryan.
Women could be set up for failure if they are picked to lead.
We might find that these women don't last as long in these positions or that they are highly criticized because of the amount of going on. She said that it could reinforce the stereotype that women aren't good at leadership.
Ryan is looking into why women are appointed to leadership positions in times of crisis. Ryan noted that it could be coming from a number of places. Ryan thinks it could be out of good intentions. It could be that former leaders see non-white male executives as expendable and that they would get a more sympathetic response from the public. It could be a sign of more changes to come within the company, or it could be a form of diversity.
Ryan said that the last reason might be what is happening today.
It is not designed to be harmful against women and ethnic and racial minorities, but it still has the same effect.
The glass cliff doesn't mean that executives shouldn't promote diverse candidates. It doesn't mean that a non-white male leader shouldn't be in the C-suite.
It might be a while before another comes knocking at the door if women don't embrace the opportunity.
There were 100 men who were promoted to management over the course of the year. Black women's number was 58 according to research by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org. The number of Black Fortune 500 CEOs can be counted on one hand.
She said that when everything is good, women and people of color aren't being promoted.
Ensuring women and people of color in senior leadership positions have the support they need is not something organizations should do.
Company leaders need to know that diversity, equity, and inclusion is not limited to one executive.
If organizations are saying that they are going to be more diverse, you can't just put in different people. That is a form of numerical diversity. If you want a culture of diversity, it is hard to do.
Ryan is getting at inclusion. It involves a lot of things, and often requires DEI strategists to come in and help the company. It involves leaders speaking out about discrimination and taking an anti-racist stance, which encourages others in the organization to do the same. Mid-level managers need to be held accountable for how diverse their teams are. DEI strategists previously told Insider that creating a culture where difference is celebrated and making sure concerns voiced in those groups make their way to senior management is what it means to create a culture where difference is celebrated.
Throwing women and ethnic and racial minorities into senior leadership roles where there isn't a culture of diversity, where there isn't policies and practices in place that address issues of discrimination, sexism, harassment, and racial harassment creates its own.
In addition to structural changes on the part of corporate leaders, women who are appointed to senior leadership positions need to get comfortable advocating for more resources and power, according to Deepa Purushothaman.
We have been taught to be thankful for being included. We don't have a plan for when the system stops working. She writes that the system will stop us in our tracks if we push back against it.
The article was published in August 2020.
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