the stress of working on the edge
42 issue 27, winter 2006  EBF
Women are more likely than men to be given leadership roles
that are risky, precarious and stressful. Are they set up to fail?
“T
he glass ceiling” is a common metaphor
used to describe the largely invisible barrier
that women face as they attempt to
reach the upper echelons of management.
Although 20 years have passed
since the Wall Street Journal coined the phrase, it is clear that
the glass ceiling still exists, with women continuing to be
under-represented in leadership roles. However, despite this,
the number of women reaching management positions is
greater than ever before. So what happens to those women
who do succeed in breaking through the glass ceiling?
To address this question, for the past three years we have
been conducting research that examines the nature of the
leadership positions that women attain, and the circumstances
surrounding their appointment to leadership roles. Using a
combination of archival and experimental studies, as well as
in-depth interviews with women in senior positions, our
research suggests that the experience of women in leadership
Illustration:NickReddyhoff
HISTORY
LESSON
IN
DEPTH
43EBF  issue 27, winter 2006
By Michelle Ryan
and Alex Haslam,
University of Exeter
roles tends to be quite different from that of men. In particular,
we found evidence of a “glass cliff”, whereby women
are more likely to be given precarious or risky leadership
roles than men.
The precariousness of the glass cliff
In response to claims in the media that women board members
were “wreaking havoc on corporate Britain” (Judge
2003), our initial research examined FTSE 100 companies in
the UK. We investigated the share price performance of companies
both before and after the appointment of male and
female board members. In contrast to media conclusions, we
found that the appointment of female board members did not
lead to a decline in company performance. Indeed, if anything,
such appointments actually appeared to lead to an increase in
company share price.
What was more interesting was the pattern of performance
in the months prior to board appointments being made. Here
we found that men tended to be appointed to companies that
were experiencing relatively stable performance, but women
were more likely to be appointed to the boards of companies
that had been experiencing consistently poor performance.
This research points to the importance of examining the
types of positions women occupy if we are to understand their
experience in leadership roles. Indeed, based on our findings,
we suggest that women leaders are more likely than men to
find themselves on a “glass cliff”. As such, their positions
are associated with a high risk of failure, and are correspondingly
precarious.
Women as crisis managers
As it has evolved, our research has moved beyond the
boardroom to examine the existence of glass cliffs
across a diverse range of settings and sectors. One
of the key questions we have investigated is
whether women’s over-representation in risky
and precarious positions is a product of decisionmaking
processes during leader selection. We used scenariobased
experimental studies to examine people’s preferences
for male and female candidates under conditions of low and
high risk.
Across a range of scenarios the results from such studies
consistently show that when provided with details of two
equally qualified candidates for a leadership position - one of
them a man and the other a woman - respondents overwhelmingly
favour the female candidates if the opening is described
as difficult and involving a high risk of failure.
Such a pattern of results has been found in studies where
participants selected (a) a financial director of a large multinational
company, (b) a lead lawyer for a legal case that was
doomed to fail, (c) a youth representative for a music festival
experiencing declining popularity, and (d) a political candidate
contesting an unwinnable election. Significantly, the pattern
has also been found using participants who include undergraduates
in relevant fields – for example, law, politics – but
also senior business leaders.
Scenario studies like these allow us to investigate the phenomenon
of the glass cliff under controlled conditions, in
which we keep constant the factors that could be seen to play
a role in the phenomenon as encountered in organisations at
large. By this means we have been able to demonstrate,
among other things, that glass cliffs are not a reflection of
differences in the qualifications, past experience, or the age of
men and women. Moreover, our research indicates that the
patterns of preference that lead to the creation of glass cliff
positions can occur at all levels of organisational life, from
“We suggest women leaders are more likely
than men to find themselves in positions
associated with a high risk of failure”
The glass cliff: the stress of working on the edge
44 issue 27, winter 2006  EBF
IN
BRIEF
•	Women are more likely than men to be given leadership
roles that are risky or precarious.
•	While men are given safer and more secure jobs, women
at all levels often feel that they have been “set up to fail”.
•	These roles are leading to increased stress for women
leaders, and to larger numbers of women departing senior
management positions.
•	Glass cliffs may also have repercussions for organisations,
leading to poor communication and decision-making.
relatively junior positions to the most senior. Intriguingly, our
studies reveal that male and female respondents have a similar
tendency to appoint women to positions of leadership in
times of crisis.
These experimental findings are echoed in the observations
of senior women speaking about their workplace experiences.
One female executive told us: “When my company is
faced with deteriorating customer situations I often have to
assume more responsibility than was the case prior to the
situation developing. It is my perception that my male colleagues
are very happy to take the bows and credit when
everything is going smoothly, but they are quick to deny
responsibility when things take a turn for the worse. They are
quick to offload that responsibility to me.”
Teetering on the edge
To further examine the nature of glass cliffs, we have
documented the ongoing experiences of women in the workplace.
From anonymous online questionnaires, four focus
groups and 58 one-to-one interviews, it is clear that
the notion of precariousness resonates with women.
Indeed, in an international sample of senior managers,
only five per cent of women doubted
the existence of glass cliffs, compared
with 50 per cent of men.
However, as our research has progressed,
it has become apparent that feelings
of precariousness are not restricted to
leadership positions with an inherent risk of failure.
Instead, it is clear that women feel that a number of
organisational factors contribute to their leadership
positions being more risky and precarious. One of the
key factors women identify is that they are often not
included in the informal networks that exist within
their workplace.
As one woman told us: “I was placed on a project to
manage that was the ‘project from hell’. Was I set up
for failure? I don’t know. But I know it would have been
different if I was male. I would have been part of the old
schoolboy network they had going.”
Our research suggests that women may be excluded
from these informal networks for a number of reasons.
One that is commonly reported is that networks often
develop around traditionally masculine activities, such as
after-work trips to the pub or to the golf course. Furthermore,
because women are more likely to take on a disproportionate
share of childcare responsibilities, they are often not able to
become – or to stay – involved in out-of-work activities that
build into informal networks, be they traditionally masculine
enterprises, or those that are more inclusive.
One major consequence of their exclusion from informal
networks is that women often feel that they do not receive the
same amount of social support as men. In the words of one
female professional: “I may be on a glass cliff now. I often feel
there is not much support in regard to my situation, perhaps
because I am not part of the still-present old-boy network.”
Along similar lines, women commonly remark that they
are asked to take on difficult jobs without being given enough
information to fulfil their roles. As one female professional
remarked: “I was asked to take on a role without the full background
history. The vital information that was missing meant
that the sensible approach to the problems would cause a
serious backlash of unrest. I feel I was set up to fail.”
In many cases women felt that it was formal information
about the role or the task that was withheld. On
other occasions, though, they felt it was the more informal
“tips” that were not forthcoming: the sort of
information that a colleague may mention “around
the water cooler”. Trivial as such inside knowledge
may seem, it is nonetheless a crucial part of succeeding
in the workplace.
The consequences of the glass cliff for women
As intimated above, precarious leadership positions
have important consequences for the women who
occupy them. The most obvious one is that they involve
an increased risk of failure. However, even if women in
such positions manage to succeed, they may still experience
negative outcomes.
One senior manager told us: “I was personally promoted
into a difficult management role, where a previous
male manager had failed, with the hope that I would
turn it around. When I did, the ‘reward’ was to be moved
to another turnaround role - without any additional
financial reward or kudos. Meanwhile, male peers appear
to work less hard with fewer hours, in maintenance roles
45EBF  issue 27, winter 2006
- and with greater reward. I often wonder if I’m just a fool to
accept such challenges. I doubt the men would.”
Significantly, the key factors that we have identified as
contributing to glass cliff positions - such as inadequate information
and support from colleagues and superiors, inflated
job demands and a lack of control over tasks - have recently
been identified by the UK Health and Safety Executive as
major causes of workplace stress. Unsurprisingly, glass cliff
positions have been shown to be associated with high levels of
stress for the women who hold them.
This is illustrated by the following quote: ”I am a management
consultant. For my first project as ‘team manager’ I was
brought in halfway through a failing project to replace a more
experienced male manager. It was perceived that I was more
pragmatic and capable of delivering multiple complex tasks to
a demanding client under deadline. I delivered successfully,
but this was extremely stressful for me, as there was a great
deal of pressure for me to succeed.”
Such remarks are a common feature of our interviews with
senior women managers. Having made it to the top, many feel
battle-scarred by the experience and a great many report high
levels of burnout. Indeed, large-scale survey data from around
the world suggests that ten years ago women experienced
less stress in the workplace than men, but now experience
more (mens’ level of stress has remained constant over this
time). Consistent with the broad thrust of our research, this
pattern would appear to reflect the fact that as they advance
up the corporate ladder women are exposed to greater stress
than their male counterparts.
Consequences of the glass cliff for organisations
It is apparent from the above discussion that glass cliff positions
can be hazardous for the women who occupy them
because they are associated with increased risk of failure and
stress. Importantly, though, glass cliffs can also have adverse
consequences for organisations. A large body of research suggests
that as individuals experience high levels of work-related
stress they are likely to distance themselves from the organisation.
As one of our participants observed: “As I started to
realise how stressful all this was, I started to have serious
doubts about whether I was in the right place. I mean, what’s
the point of it all?”
Reduced identification of this form has been shown to have
a range of detrimental consequences. Among other things, it
has been shown to contribute to poor communication between
staff, faulty decision-making, reduced productivity and
decreased organisational citizenship behaviour. Reduced
organisational identification also has important implications
for employee commitment, and is linked both to depleted
motivation and increased turnover. In short, where the stresses
of leadership lead women to question their attachment to the
organisation they often vote with their feet. This is one reason,
we suspect, why studies have indicated that women’s tenure of
chief executive positions is considerably shorter than men’s.
As represented schematically in the figure above - what we
call the gender-stress-disidentification model - the appointment
of women to glass cliff positions damages the women
who hold them and their organisations. Furthermore, the link
between the barriers that women face in the workplace, such
as the glass cliff, and their decisions to abandon conventional
careers is an important one.
Many commentators have noted that women are leaving
the workplace at high rates - either to focus on family life or
to become entrepreneurs and establish their own businesses.
Some have argued that this exodus is taking place because
women are less ambitious or less committed than men.
Commentators also contend that because women are choosing
to leave organisations of their own accord, the under­representation
of women in management has nothing to do
with gender discrimination.
figure 1: the gender-stress-disidentification model
Female
leaders
Glass cliff
positions
Stress
Reduced
organisational
identification
Organisational
exit
The glass cliff: the stress of working on the edge
46 issue 27, winter 2006  EBF
We would argue that subtle forms of gender discrimination,
such as the glass cliff, are often a key reason why women decide
to leave organisations or why their careers stagnate. While such
discrimination may not always be overt, our research suggests
that it is often an outcome of the particular forms of stress that
women confront as they pursue their career ambitions.
This is illustrated in the experiences of a senior corporate
lawyer:
“I am frequently praised for my technical and management
skills. However, I am frequently put into situations where
I have to manage a transaction with not enough staff, whereas
the men always get all the resources they need. So it is easier
for them to shine. I am also frequently given more than one
transaction to manage at a time whereas the men seem only
ever to have one transaction at a time – again it is easier for
them to shine.”
She continues: “This is because I am a good multi-tasker
and a great people-manager - or this is what I have been told
in my reviews. But having more than one transaction to do
with few resources means that I get very stressed, which is
then negatively commented on in my reviews. Anyhow, I have
now just been given a position that involves fewer hours, less
prestige and less money. At least I have job security.”
As our research has progressed, we have been increasingly
convinced of the need to integrate the various facets of
womens’ experiences into a coherent model that speaks to the
organisational lives of both women and men, and to the ways
that these can be improved. There is a need to provide sustainable
leadership opportunities for all employees, so that
organisations can harness the distinct competencies of all
their employees, not just some.
Michelle Ryan is an academic fellow in the School of Psychology
at the University of Exeter. Alex Haslam is a professor of psychology
at the University of Exeter.
References
•	 Eagly, A. H., & Karau, S. J. (2002) “Role Congruity Theory of Prejudice
Toward Female Leaders,” Psychological Review 109: 573-98.
•	 Judge, E. (2003) “Women On Board: Help Or Hindrance?” The Times,
November 11, 21.
•	 Haslam. S. A. (2004) Psychology in Organizations: The Social Identity
Approach, London: Sage.
•	 Ryan, M. K. and Haslam, S. A. (2005) “The Glass Cliff: Evidence That Women
Are Over-Represented in Precarious Leadership Positions,” British Journal
of Management 16: 81-90.
•	 Ryan, M. K. and Haslam, S. A. (2007) “The Glass Cliff: Exploring the
Dynamics Surrounding Women’s Appointment to Precarious Leadership
Positions,” Academy of Management Review, forthcoming.
“We would argue that subtle forms of gender discrimination, such as the glass cliff, are
often a key reason why women decide to leave organisations or why their careers stagnate”
47EBF  issue 27, winter 2006