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Beyond the Glass Ceiling: The Glass Cliff and Its Lessons for Organizational Policy
Abstract
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.”
... Even after breaking through this barrier, women face additional challenges that are based on leadership-specific biases and stereotypes, including leadership prototypes. Because many men are not satisfied with having women as leaders, women may intentionally be disadvantaged in certain situations throughout their careers [16]. Therefore, to be effective leaders, women must convince men of their leadership abilities [5,17]. ...
... This phenomenon can also be explained by the sticky floor phenomenon, where women who are unable or unwilling to overcome the glass ceiling find themselves confined to low-paying, female-dominated occupations with limited flexibility and a lack of opportunities for promotion [16]. The metaphor of a sticky floor emphasizes not encountering the glass ceiling, meaning that many women may not have the opportunity to advance beyond entry-level positions. ...
... For example, social interactions in organizations may influence how female colleagues perceive and shape their behavior. That is, women with a strong feminine self-concept are more likely to adopt a transformational leadership style, whereas men with a strong masculine self-concept are more likely to adopt a transactional leadership style [16]. Thus, the leadership styles that women are more likely to adopt are explained as being based on gender stereotypes. ...
A part of diversity management is working to achieve gender equality and create a comfortable working environment for women. However, in many organizations, gender biases and stereotypes frequently occur, consciously or unconsciously, regardless of whether women take on leadership roles. In addition, women must overcome a variety of challenges when taking on leadership roles or aspiring to become leaders. Based on the above background, we review and integrate the literature on management and career studies related to the challenges that women face in the process of advancing to leadership positions in organizations. Specifically, we examine the external and internal factors that create the various obstacles that women who aspire to leadership positions in structured organizations face from a gender perspective. Based on the integrative review, we discuss the implications for practices to increase the number of female leaders.
... The glass ceiling specifically impacts people of color more than other groups. Moreover, Black women in higher education leadership seem to contend with glass ceilings built based on race and gender, cultural norms they may not be aware of, stereotypes, and negative perceptions serving as blockades to them ascending career ladders (Bruckmüller et al., 2013;Johnson & Snider, 2015). Davis and Maldonado's (2015) study on African American women's ability to move into these key leadership roles in the corporate world highlights the impact of the proverbial glass ceiling review study response. ...
... Ryan and Haslam (2007) developed the term to explain what happens when such leaders are placed in precarious situations that, more than likely, have high risks of failure. Much has been written about the problematic nature of the glass cliff and the difficulties they pose for women and minority groups (Bruckmüller et al., 2013;Cook & Glass, 2013Ryan, 2005;Smith, 2015). For Black women not only is the glass ceiling a barrier, but a glass cliff is also a stumbling block along their paths of career ascendancy. ...
Promotion equity in higher education leadership means ensuring that all people have access to, and support along, the pathways for achievement and advancement. Yet, when it comes to advancing to executive leadership positions within colleges and universities in the United States, there seem to be impediments impacting Black women’s ascendency into key leadership roles. This qualitative study used a constructivist grounded theory methodology to explore the perceptions of seven Black women who currently serve, or have served, in executive leadership positions in higher education. Utilizing a theoretical framework developed from social cognitive theories, Black feminist theories, leadership theories, and organizational theories, the research questions were designed to understand the perception of Black women’s ascendancy to executive leadership positions in higher education and the internal and external phenomena along their journeys. Using video interviews and a video focus group, data was collected and coded using a thematic analysis process. The analysis led to five themes that offer insights into perceptions and the internal phenomena (the thoughts, feelings, cognition processes) and the external phenomena (experiences, situations, and events) that impact how Black women perceive their career ascendancy journey. The results revealed the role of intersectionality on Black women’s ability to access and ascend to executive leadership, the influence of imposter syndrome as well as self-motivation, and the critical role of sponsors and networks. These results provide insights for other Black women and people of color looking to matriculate to executive leadership roles in higher education as well as provide guidance to higher education systems looking to develop, or strengthen, equitable processes and practices for promotional pipelines.
... The second consideration pertains to the specific contexts in which the glass cliff emerges. Today, several reviews and a meta-analysis affirm that the glass cliff is an observable phenomenon, yet researchers have called for further investigation due to its complexity (Bruckmüller et al., 2014;Morgenroth et al., 2020;Ryan et al., 2016). Given the boundary conditions of the glass cliff, it should not be regarded as a theory that can be proven or disproven but rather as a phenomenon requiring continued elucidation through the application of existing theories and the development of explanatory frameworks (Ryan et al., 2016). ...
... These patterns illustrate the higher likelihood of women compared to men to be appointed to leadership positions in times of crisis and instability, a tendency coined the glass cliff (Ryan et al., 2016). Existing research has mainly focused on understanding the mechanisms underlying the glass cliff, exploring the contexts in which it emerges, and addressing their negative consequences on women and organizations (Bruckmüller et al., 2014;Ryan et al., 2016). For example, candidates in glass cliff situations often experience increased stress and performance fatigue (Glass & Cook, 2020;, and promotions to glass cliffs are linked to a higher likelihood of career derailment or resignation (Ryan et al., 2007a), an effect also shown in political parties (Robinson et al., 2021). ...
Why are women and individuals from ethnic, racial, or immigration (ERI) minority backgrounds often chosen for precarious leadership positions by decision-makers? Research indicates that when change is deemed necessary, frequently prompted by a crisis, atypical candidates are more likely to be appointed to leadership roles. This mechanism results in a recurring pattern where candidates from underrepresented groups are disproportionately appointed to roles associated with a higher risk of failure, a phenomenon known as the glass cliff.
In our empirical investigation, encompassing correlational and experimental studies in political and management domains, we delved into the mechanisms influencing decision-makers’ preference for women and ERI minority leaders in such precarious contexts. We posited that, depending on the specific circumstances of a crisis, the preference for a female or ERI minority leader over a male or ERI majority leader could be driven by:
1. A perceived alignment between the crisis tasks and positive or negative stereotypes about the candidates’ leadership styles.
2. The need to signal change to appease internal and external stakeholders.
3. An inclination to act in accordance with one’s prejudice and set up these candidates for failure.
Each part of our empirical investigation focuses on one of these hypothesized mechanisms. Our findings yielded mixed findings regarding the preference for women and ERI minority candidates in times of crisis, contributing to a refinement of the theoretical framework of the glass cliff phenomenon and the development of a theoretical model of decision-makers’ motives.
... Estas posiciones suelen ser de alto riesgo, debido a la alta probabilidad de fracaso (Bruckmüller et al., 2014;Kulich, 2015b;Morgenroth et al., 2020;Sabharwal, 2015). Se ha documendo que las mujeres tienen más probabilidades de ser designadas para roles de liderazgo durante crisis o cuando el desempeño organizacional es deficiente, lo que las pone en una situación propensa al fracaso y bajo mayor escrutinio (Kulich, 2015b;Morgenroth et al., 2020;Sabharwal, 2015). ...
... Se ha documendo que las mujeres tienen más probabilidades de ser designadas para roles de liderazgo durante crisis o cuando el desempeño organizacional es deficiente, lo que las pone en una situación propensa al fracaso y bajo mayor escrutinio (Kulich, 2015b;Morgenroth et al., 2020;Sabharwal, 2015). Además, el efecto del acantilado de cristal se evidencia en ámbitos, como los negocios, la política y la educación, donde las mujeres líderes suelen enfrentarse a entornos desafiantes (Bruckmüller et al., 2014;Lasna Kabir, 2020;Timmer & Woo, 2023). una de las principales dificultades es el equilibrio entre las responsabilidades laborales y familiares de las académicas, debido a la inexistencia de políticas y estrategias institucionales de conciliación, lo que conduce a las mujeres a buscar en la esfera privada los resguardos necesarios para ejercer en sus puestos de trabajo, generándose una barrera que condiciona el ejercicio profesional de las académicas (Gaete Quezada, 2018). ...
Las mujeres en el ámbito laboral enfrentan un conjunto de desafíos, entre los que se encuentran su inserción al trabajo, las brechas en los ingresos e insertarse y ocupar posiciones de liderazgo. En este contexto, ocupar posiciones de liderazgo es una de brechas más grandes que enfrenan. En este marco, el artículo indaga en las investigaciones que han abordado el liderazgo de mujeres en Chile con la finalidad de construir un estado del arte al respecto. Se emplea como estrategia de búsqueda y análisis de las investigaciones la metodología scoping review. Los resultados dan cuenta de las persistentes brechas de género que enfrentan las mujeres en cargos de liderazgo, donde la cultura y las políticas institucionales se transforman en un facilitador u obstaculizados para ellas. Los resultados dan cuenta de las persistentes brechas y la necesidad de repensar desde el desarrollo organizacional como desde las políticas públicas el rol de las mujeres en cargos de liderazgo.
... While several field studies examining the phenomenon have found supportive evidence (e.g., Cook & Glass, 2014a;Mulcahy & Linehan, 2014), others have reported contradicting findings (e.g., Adams et al., 2009;Bechtoldt et al., 2019). For instance, a recent meta-analysis (Morgenroth et al., 2020) revealed significant variation in effect sizes, while several literature reviews reported inconsistent findings on the existence of the glass cliff and gaps in understanding this phenomenon (Bruckmüller et al., 2014;Ryan et al., 2016). ...
... This phenomenon sheds light on a critical set of challenges that organizations encounter on the journey towards achieving gender equality in the workplace. As more women break through the glass ceiling and reach top leadership roles (Eagly & Carli, 2007), glass cliff research suggests that their experiences differ significantly from those of men in similar positions (Bruckmüller et al., 2014). ...
In this research we address the ongoing debate about the existence of the glass‐cliff phenomenon by investigating boundary conditions and mechanisms influencing its persistence and decline. Drawing on signalling theory, we hypothesize that the glass‐cliff's presence fluctuates with the clarity of signals associated with appointing women board members at various stages of quota policy implementation. In Study 1, we analyzed a dataset of 258 board appointments in German‐listed companies from 2003 to 2020. We found that women executives were more likely to be appointed following periods of declining performance during Stage 1 (pre‐quota announcement) and Stage 3 (post‐quota enforcement), but not in Stage 2 (post‐announcement, pre‐enforcement). In Study 2, an experiment with 476 respondents, we tested for changes in signal clarity as an underlying mechanism. Results indicate that signal clarity associated with appointing women following performance decline is influenced by quota policies. Signal clarity was highest during stages 1 and 3, but diminished in Stage 2. These findings support the signalling explanation for the glass‐cliff, highlighting that its occurrence is influenced by country‐level policies and emphasizing that the symbolic value of appointing women to board positions as indicators of change depends on the clarity of these signals.
... These patterns illustrate the higher likelihood of women compared to men to be appointed to leadership positions in times of crisis and instability, a tendency coined the glass cliff (Ryan et al., 2016). Existing research has mainly focused on understanding the mechanisms underlying the glass cliff, exploring the contexts in which it emerges, and addressing their negative consequences on women and organizations (Bruckmüller et al., 2014;Ryan et al., 2016). For example, candidates in glass cliff situations often experience increased stress and performance fatigue (Glass & Cook, 2020;Ryan et al., 2009), and promotions to glass cliffs are linked to a higher likelihood of career derailment or resignation (Ryan et al., 2007a), an effect also shown in some political parties (Robinson et al., 2021). ...
... One-way decision-and policymakers can advance fair and diverse leadership practices are to raise awareness of the glass cliff. A systematic insight into the public's attitudes and evaluations will help assess which types of communication work best to increase support for female leaders and transparent promotion practices (see also Bruckmüller et al., 2014). ...
The glass cliff is characterized by a higher tendency for women than men to be appointed to precarious positions of power. Little research has focused on what may lead people to qualify female appointments as instances of the glass cliff. We analyzed Élisabeth Borne's appointment as Prime Minister, investigating how ideological attitudes and perceived reasons for her selection influenced the interpretation of her placement.
In June 2022, following President Macron's re-election and his selection of Élisabeth Borne as Prime Minister, we gathered observational data (N = 479) in France using an online questionnaire.
According to regression analyses, participants who were more inclined to interpret Borne's appointment as a glass cliff situation scored lower on modern sexism, tended to believe she had been chosen to signal change, and thought she had been selected for her agentic leadership. This interpretation was further supported by those who believed that the president selected her for reasons other than her political leadership competence, such as her loyalty to him, but only among those who scored low on modern sexism.
Élisabeth Borne was appointed Prime Minister during precarious times, and her tenure lasted one year and eight months. The interpretations of her appointment highlight the influence of pre-existing attitudes and perceived motives on interpreting phenomena related to gender inequalities.
... Celebrated as a progressive move towards gender empowerment and a return to reason in Turkish economic policymaking, Governor Erkan was handed the extremely challenging task to 'rebuild the [central bank] after years of mismanagement, purges, and demotions'. 9 We argue these cases follow a common thread described in feminist literature as the so-called 'glass cliff' onto which women are lifted during crises (Bruckmüller et al., 2014;Bruckmüller & Branscombe, 2010;Klugman et al., 2014;Ryan et al., 2010;Ryan et al., 2016;Ryan & Haslam, 2005). 10 Building on this literature, we hypothesise that women are more likely to be appointed to central bank leadership positions during sovereign financial distress. ...
... Still today, Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, who became Asia's first woman central bank governor in 2000, is lauded in the international central banking community for her key role in lifting the Malaysian economy from the brink of financial abyss during the Asian financial crisis and upgrading the inner workings of the Bank Negara in subsequent years. 15 In a macro-financial bureaucratic crisis, these leadership attributes, alongside women's outsider status, make women more likely to follow through with politically challenging tasks (Armstrong et al., 2023;Bruckmüller et al., 2014;Heinzel et al., 2024;Ryan & Haslam, 2005). In central banking, the ability to not give in to political pressures and bend to vested interests will form the foundation for restoring investor confidence and central bank credibility (Bauer & Faseruk, 2020;Binder, 2018;Martin, 2022;Reinsberg et al., 2021). ...
... Third, this study advances the social role theory by emphasizing the superior creative skills of women in conflict situations (Eagly and Wood, 2012;Ryan et al., 2011;Bruckmüller et al., 2014). By establishing a connection between gender, power and creativity, the study highlights the importance of empowering women in high-power positions, offering evidencebased recommendations for promoting creativity and effective conflict resolution in the workplace. ...
... Accordingly, understanding how power influences creativity in interpersonal conflict is essential for comprehending the complexities of interpersonal conflicts and their potential for innovative resolutions. Moreover, gender significantly shapes how individuals wield their power in crisis situations (Bruckmüller et al., 2014;Post et al., 2019), highlighting the importance of understanding how gender influences power dynamics and the diverse strategies and behaviors used by individuals when faced with conflict. Thus, this study built on the social role theory (Eagly and Wood, 2012) to examine the relationship between relative power and creativity in conflict, with a particular focus on the moderating role of gender. ...
Purpose
Creativity plays a crucial role in interpersonal conflict within organizations, yet little research has explored its antecedents in this context. This study investigates power and gender as the main determinants of creativity in interpersonal conflict within organizational contexts.
Design/Methodology/Approach:
Two studies were conducted. The first study involved 226 employees from various organizations (Mage = 39.39, SD = 10.39), while the second study utilized a conflict simulation with 160 participants (Mage = 36.90, SD = 10.45) forming dyads. Both studies investigated the impact of relative power (i.e., having more power than the other person) on creativity in conflict, with a focus on the moderating role of gender. Study 2 also manipulated contextual creativity, which served as an additional moderator in this relationship.
Findings:
Results largely supported our hypotheses, indicating a positive relationship between relative power and creativity in conflict. Importantly, this relationship was stronger among women. Study 2 further focused on the distinct dimensions of creativity, highlighting differences between idea originality and effectiveness.
Originality:
This research contributes novel insights into the understanding of creativity within organizational conflicts, emphasizing the interplay between relative power, gender, and creativity. Additionally, the exploration of different dimensions of creativity (i.e., originality and effectiveness) adds depth to existing literature in this area.
Practical Implications:
The findings hold practical significance for organizational leaders and conflict resolution practitioners, and they further underscore the importance of considering gender dynamics in conflict resolution processes within organizations.
... The 'glass cliff' effect refers to the appointment of women to risky leadership positions, especially when organizations are undergoing a crisis (Haack, 2017;Kulich et al., 2014;Ryan et al., 2010;Weeks et al., 2023). Because women in those precarious leadership positions often face a higher risk of failure, they are an easy target for blameshifting attempts from established insiders (Bruckmüller & Branscombe, 2010;Bruckmüller et al., 2014;Haslam & Ryan, 2008;Morgenroth et al., 2020). As such, these gendered leadership appointments reflect not greater gender empowerment but a subtle mechanism to shift blame for failure, reflecting deep-seated gender-based discrimination and biases (Morgenroth et al., 2020;Ryan et al., 2010Ryan et al., , 2016. ...
... 5 Regarding gendered cabinet appointments, Armstrong et al. (2023) find that women are more likely to be appointed finance ministers once a country faces financial turmoil. These examples illustrate a pattern long described by feminist scholars: the 'glass cliff' effect (Bruckmüller & Branscombe, 2010;Bruckmüller et al., 2014;Kulich et al., 2007Kulich et al., , 2014Ryan & Haslam, 2005;Ryan et al., 2010Ryan et al., , 2011 We argue that a similar mechanism can be observed during IMF programmes. The IMF frequently demands that governments implement economic reforms and austerity measures in exchange for bailout funding. ...
We analyse the impact of International Monetary Fund (IMF) programmes on appointing women leaders in ministerial positions. We hypothesize that women leaders are selected after an incumbent government starts an IMF programme to shift accountability to them during political and economic turmoil. This political manoeuvring of appointing women to leadership positions during a crisis is known as the ‘glass cliff’ effect. We demonstrate substantial evidence for such a ‘glass cliff’ effect using data covering all IMF programmes from 1980 to 2018. Our evidence shows that women are more likely to be appointed to austerity‐bearing ministerial positions under IMF programmes but not in positions of authority during negotiations with the IMF. This effect is more pronounced when a country displays worse societal gender norms, a higher level of corruption and a government facing a deeper economic crisis. Importantly, we verify that neither women's leadership nor a higher share of women in government predicts a balance of payments crisis triggering an IMF programme. In other words, women leaders do not govern worse; they are appointed to leadership positions in precarious, crisis‐ridden conditions.
... Consistent with glass ceiling literature, when researchers use concepts such as "established system" or "patriarchal system", the implied meaning is that men dominate the workplace and therefore they build its systems (see Al-Lamki, 2007;Cliffby, 2010). This study argues that attempting to expose the injustice from which women leaders may suffer by either singling out only gender as a factor (Bruckmuller, Ryan, Rink, & Haslam, 2014) creates a "glass prison" that confines women and surrounds them wherever they go. A glass prison is a state of mind where people convince themselves that men want to dominate the workplace and decision-making positions, while keeping women down as failed employees and leaders. ...
... Since gender in leadership is narrowly examined, men in this argument are implicated whether or not they attempt to support women in leadership positions (Bruckmuller et al., 2014). Consistent with the tradition of writing in the glass ceiling and glass cliff research, the literature blames structures and systems while implying that men create these structures and systems. ...
... While these studies mainly consider ordinary citizens, similar mechanisms might impact the evaluation of women in politics since they are most visible in fields related to traditionally "feminine" policy areas with regard to work focus in parliament, but also concerning the ministerial portfolios they lead. Additionally, in line with the glass cliff theory, experimental research from industrial organizations demonstrates that people tend to assign traits which are important for handling crisis situation to women leaders rather than men (see Bruckmüller et al. 2014 for an overview). Attributes to successfully maneuver difficult situations tend to be perceived stereotypically feminine (e.g., understanding, intuitive, tactful). ...
... The overly positive evaluation of women in government by leftist MPs after the activation of gender stereotypes might just as well lead to the emergence of a new set of stereotypes about women in politics and create an entirely different type of disadvantage for them. Such a phenomenon was first observed in the context of the glass cliff theory, which argues that women are set up to fail in leadership positions because gatekeepers perceive them as more successful crisis managers (Bruckmüller et al. 2014). Moreover, a number of studies in the legislative arena imply that, due to gender biases in selection processes, only overly talented and qualified women emerge as candidates (e.g., Anzia and Berry 2011;Fox and Lawless 2004) and those who win office perform better than men (Jenkins 2007;Milyo and Schosberg 2000). ...
This article sheds light on the obstacles that women face as members of the government by answering the questions: How does the sex of ministers shape the way MPs’ assess the quality of their work? And, how does this relationship differ depending on the political ideology of MPs? We argue that legislators assess the competencies of women ministers differently after the activation of gender stereotypes, but that the way they react depends on the ideological orientation of their party. We investigate this topic in a real-word context using a unique survey experiment with German and Austrian MPs. The evidence reveals that, while MPs belonging to right-wing parties perceive women in the executive as less competent than men ministers, their colleagues from left-wing parties actually assess them more favorably. These findings highlight the persistence of old myths about women’s lacking political skills and the emergence of new ones about women’s superior ability to govern.
... Despite increased recruitment of women and ethnic minorities, significant barriers persist in their advancement and retention (Hasan 2021). Female officers face gender discrimination, obstruction, and prejudice (Bruckmüller et al. 2014). The "heroic male" ideal marginalizes women, especially those from ethnic minority backgrounds. ...
In this qualitative study, we investigate the lived experiences of 21 Black female police officers in England and Wales, with a focus on the intersectional impacts of race and gender on their professional journeys. By employing “tokenism” as a theoretical lens, we investigate the prevalence of a “concrete ceiling”—a set of explicit and implicit barriers that obstruct the career progression of Black female police officers. The participants' narratives illuminate a complex interplay of racial segregation, gender discrimination, and a patriarchal organizational culture. These factors collectively contribute to their feelings of isolation, marginalization, and limited opportunities for advancement. Our study reveals that Black female police officers often face tokenistic treatment, leading to heightened visibility, increased pressure, and a sense of being constantly under scrutiny. The findings challenge the notion of an egalitarian culture within the police organizations and highlight an urgent need for systemic change. By emphasizing the unique challenges faced by Black female police officers, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the barriers to diversity and inclusion within the policing profession.
... Additionally, lower productivity is closely linked to the presence of female CEOs, echoing some studies (Allison et al., 2023;Islam et al., 2020) while contradicting others (Hoobler et al., 2018). In large firms, female ownership (which favors female CEO presence) and a domestic sales strategy (which disfavors it) are key factors, contradicting findings by Bruckmüller et al. (2014) and Hurley and Choudhary (2016). In SMEs, various factors influence the likelihood of a female CEO, as described in Section 4. The prevalence of women CEOs in SMEs suggests that both internal and external factors in this context increase or decrease the probability of a female CEO. ...
... Females that overcome the challenges of early career advancement and reach senior academic positions encounter a second glass ceiling exhibited by their limited representation in leadership, power, and influential roles (Bruckmüller et al., 2014;Cook and Glass, 2014). This phenomenon is presented in every region of the world (Cheung, 2021). ...
Despite constituting more than half of higher education students globally, females remain underrepresented in academic roles, particularly in leadership positions that shape the future direction of higher education and impact society at large. This study, aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 5, examines the gender gap in higher education and leadership across regional, national, and institutional contexts. Through descriptive analyses, surveys, and interviews, the research assesses female representation at various academic levels and identifies key factors influencing career progression. The findings reveal that gender parity in enrolment has been achieved, with Latin America & Caribbean leading, followed by Europe and Central Asia. However, parity in academic roles, such as teaching positions, remains unmet, with Central Asia showing higher female representation than Europe and Latin America & Caribbean. Parity in these roles is projected to be achieved well beyond 2030. Variations within regions, such as internal differences in Central Asia, emphasize the need for more granular analysis. Gender parity in senior and leadership roles is even further from being realized. Perceptions of obstacles faced by women in academia—such as work-life balance challenges and a lack of role models—are consistent across diverse regions and cultures. To address these issues, the results suggest improving visibility, offering mentoring programs, and promoting diverse leadership. Conducted across both developed and developing countries, the study concludes that achieving gender parity in leadership positions remains a distant goal, underscoring the need to reassess strategies to better align with the 2030 Agenda.
... Scholars have documented the glass cliff at appointment across time and institutional context (Bruckmuller et al., 2014;Haslam and Ryan, 2008;Ryan et al., 2010). In their study of CEO appointments in the United States' Fortune 500 over a fifteen-year period, Cook and Glass (2014a) found that women are more likely than men to be appointed CEO of weakly performing firms. ...
The current study builds upon and extends research on the glass cliff by analyzing the antecedents and repercussions of CEO dismissal. Recent research on the relationship between performance, gender, and CEO dismissal has led to contrary conclusions. We build on this nascent work by examining whether negative firm performance places women CEOs of US firms at a greater risk of involuntary dismissal relative to men CEOs. We further explore whether gender moderates market response to the dismissal announcement and replacement. Our analysis relies on data of all CEOs from the United States’ Russell 3000 index, which represents a spectrum of small to large companies, who departed their organizations between 2016 and 2022. We also rely on a novel measure of CEO dismissal, the push-out score, which overcomes previous limitations related to the nature of CEO departures. We find that women are more vulnerable than men to involuntary dismissal during periods of performance decline and that investors reward firms that replace dismissed women CEOs with white men. Our findings have implications for gender equity in the C-Suite.
... Additionally, underrepresentation from African countries, barring South Africa, is a common theme in global gender research. While Africa faces significant gender inequality challenges, particularly in leadership, this study confirms that the region remains underrepresented in academic discourse, a gap also identified by Enaifoghe and Durokifa (2023) (Bruckmüller, Ryan, Rink, & Haslam, 2014). ...
The glass ceiling continues to impede women's progression into leadership roles within Business and Management Studies. Despite increased awareness of gender inequality, systemic challenges remain pervasive. This study aims to conduct a bibliometric review to elucidate the trends, key contributors, and geographical landscape related to the glass ceiling from 1999 to 2024. A systematic review methodology was employed, sourcing data from the Scopus database using the keyword "Glass Ceiling." The results indicate a significant uptick in publications post-2017, reflecting increased scholarly attention on gender inequality, influenced by movements such as MeToo. Influential authors, including Senthil Arasu Balasubramanian and Néstor Gandelman, were identified, with the United States leading in geographical contributions, followed by Australia and Spain. New themes such as the "glass cliff" and the unique challenges faced by African women emerged, highlighting the need for a broader focus on intersectionality in future research. The findings reveal an evolving research landscape surrounding the glass ceiling, emphasizing the necessity for interdisciplinary collaboration among scholars. These insights call for targeted initiatives to address barriers to women's leadership advancement. This study offers a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the glass ceiling phenomenon in Business and Management Studies, charting the evolution of research trends and identifying key authors and geographical disparities. It provides a framework for future investigations into gender inequality in leadership.
... First, the literature has shown that perceptions of gender equality can affect people's political interest as a function of their gender and age [21], suggesting that a perception of equality in promotions within political careers could influence broader perceptions of gender equality. Thus, the existence of invisible barriers, such as the glass ceiling, which prevents women from reaching senior management positions, contributes to a predominantly male leadership dominance, suggesting that perceptions of equality in promotions are distorted [22]. ...
This study uses Ordinary Least Squares Multiple Regression with data on perceptions regarding gender equality from the Spanish general population. Overall, the results indicate that perceptions of equal treatment under the law and equality in political life are significantly associated with perceptions of gender equality. However, perceptions of discrimination in education do not seem to affect perceptions of gender equality significantly. In addition, the results show a clear association between the belief that gender equality leads to a fairer society and the perception of gender equality itself. Results also suggest that while certain perceptions related to the law, society, and political life are instrumental in shaping views on gender inequality, there remains a foundational level of perceived inequality in Spanish society. As a concluding remark, when examining the impact of female representation in leadership positions, the results provide empirical support that the presence of women in leadership positions improves the perception of gender equity in the contexts in which it occurs; this fact reflects the importance of promoting the participation of women in management positions through public policies.
... Glass ciff ou penhasco de vidro, é o fenômeno no qual consiste que a "aptidão" percebida pelas mulheres para cargos seniores tende a aumentar sob condições de crise organizacional (Vetter, 2021). Ou seja, as mulheres são mais propensas para posições associadas à deterioração e os homens são mais propensos a serem escolhidos para posições de liderança, sendo então associados ao aumento em vez da deterioração do desempenho (Haslam & Ryan, 2008;Bruckmüller et al, 2014). ...
Contextualização: A presença feminina no mundo dos negócios vem crescendo, todavia ainda existem vários obstáculos para alcançar a igualdade de oportunidades em cargos gerenciais. As mulheres têm baixa representatividade em cargos de gestão, principalmente os de alto escalão. Este estudo foi feito para analisar a representatividade feminina nos cargos gerenciais em firmas de auditoria no Brasil. Objetivo: Este estudo analisa a representatividade feminina em cargos de liderança nas firmas de auditoria Big Four do Brasil entre o período de 2016-2023. Método: Neste sentido, foi realizada uma pesquisa documental, inspecionando-se os Relatórios de Sustentabilidade GRI destas organizações. Também foram buscadas, através dos sites das empresas, as informações acerca dos programas desenvolvidos que contribuem para a ascensão da mulher na função de líder. Resultados: Os resultados demonstraram que a representatividade feminina, principalmente no cargo de sócia, ainda é baixa quando comparada com a masculina, embora tenha tido evolução nos anos analisados, progredindo de 16% (2016) a 25% (2023) no caso da firma EY e 16% (2016) a 26% (2023) na KPMG. As Big Four iniciaram políticas de equidade de gênero e desenvolvimento de talentos femininos. Conclusões: Conclui-se que o Teto de Vidro ainda se faz presente nestas organizações e está sendo descontruído aos poucos.
... Nevertheless, few studies have been conducted on the margins of women's appointment to precarious and challenging Glass cliff phenomenon management jobs (Ryan and Haslam, 2005;Acar, 2015). Moreover, previous research has commonly focused on the description of the glass cliff phenomenon and the causes of this phenomenon, specifically through the archival and experimental survey Haslam, 2005, 2007;Bruckmüller et al., 2014;Yıldız and Vural, 2019). Most previous studies were conducted in developed countries (Groeneveld et al., 2020) and, particularly, focused on the glass cliff phenomenon existence in private sector organizations (Yang et al., 2022;Groeneveld et al., 2020;DeHart-Davis et al., 2020). ...
Purpose
This study aims to develop and test a model of the antecedents, mediators and consequences of the glass cliff phenomenon through public sector service organizations in Iran to explore more insights on gender inequality in managerial positions.
Design/methodology/approach
The current research was conducted based on a mixed-method approach, using both qualitative and quantitative research designs. First, the qualitative method includes content analysis by conducting semi-structured interviews with 20 university professors and expert managers working in public sector service organizations in Iran. The outcomes of the qualitative phase lead to designing the conceptual framework and research hypothesis. Then, through a quantitative phase, 384 female managers working in public sector service organizations in Iran are selected using stratified random sampling and fill out the research questionnaire. The exploratory factor analysis was used to verify the model. Moreover, structural equation modeling, using AMOS 24, was used to test the research hypothesis.
Findings
The findings of the qualitative phase were represented in three categories including antecedents (e.g. the characteristics of women’s leadership, the selection of women based on meritocracy criteria, women’s preferences and organizational factors), mediation effect (e.g. succession planning, personal development planning and support networks) and consequences of the glass cliff phenomenon (e.g. positive and negative consequences). The results of the exploratory factor analysis show there are ten components, explaining 88.5% of variances. Moreover, the test of the structural model supports the direct effect of antecedents on the glass cliff phenomenon. The results also show the effect of the glass cliff phenomenon on consequences through mediation effects.
Research limitations/implications
There are some limitations that can be addressed by other researchers. Accordingly, the limited number of female managers in Iran prevented larger quantitative research. Moreover, the current research only found casual and mediation consequences of the glass cliff phenomenon, and potential moderators were not considered in this study.
Originality/value
The present study’s innovations may include using a mixed-method approach to investigate the antecedents, mediators and consequences of the glass cliff phenomenon in this study and examining the model constructs in some public sector service organizations. This research may provide a deep understanding of the antecedents, mediators and consequences of the glass cliff phenomenon by finding new factors using a mixed-method approach.
... When examining the gender of the last author-a position that is usually attributed to the project supervisor or a research group lead-we find a larger imbalance. This finding illustrates once again the 'leaky pipeline' problem [48] where gender bias is more pronounced in higher career stages [49][50][51][52]. While we observe a steady increase in the share of publications with the first female author, the imbalance persists for the last author position (figure 3). ...
This paper is the first to analyse the role of women authors in fostering justice-relevant topics in climate adaptation research. As representation, citation and payment patterns remain gender-biased across scientific disciplines, we explore the case of climate science, particularly adaptation, as its most human-oriented facet. In climate research and policy, there has been a recent surge of interest in climate justice topics: mentions of justice have increased almost tenfold in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group 2 reports between the latest assessment cycles (AR5 and AR6). We conduct a systematic examination of the topic space in the adaptation policy scholarship. As it is a vast and rapidly growing field, we use topic modelling, an unsupervised machine learning method, to identify the literature on climate justice and related fields, as well as to examine the relationship between topic prevalence and the gender of the authors. We find climate change adaptation policy research to be male dominated, with women holding 38.8% of first and 28.8% of last authorships. However, we observe topic-specific variability, whereby the share of female authors is higher among publications on justice-relevant topics. Female authorship is highly linked to topics such as Community, Local Knowledge, and Governance, but less to Food Security and Climate Finance. Our findings corroborate the evidence that female authors play a significant role in advancing the research and dialogue on the relationship between climate change and areas that have meaningful impact on lives of women and other marginalised groups.
... In the labor market, discrimination with gender inequalities still exists concerning women being treated differently from men and women being sorted into different jobs with lower earnings and fewer promotion prospects (Birkelund et al., 2021). Even the ranks of the labor profession to the top management professionals have a unique issue of leadershipspecific biases and stereotypes regarding discrimination against the existence of women; where men are not satisfied with having women as leaders because the negative perceptions of female leaders who do not conform with good expectations and disadvantages to handle certain situations (Bruckmuller et al., 2014;Galsanjigmed & Sekiguchi, 2023). ...
Earnings quality is formed on corporate governance. The company's internal governance mechanism consists of the president director, the finance director, the board of directors, commissioners, and the audit committee. However, there is still a lack of studies exploring the relationship between female in-board diversity and earnings quality, especially in Indonesia. It is because Indonesia has a unique corporate governance system, even though Indonesia follows a corporate governance system on the European continent, namely the two-tier boards. This study aims to determine the influence of female president directors, female finance directors, female board of directors, female board of commissioners, and female audit committee on earnings quality. The sample of this study is manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. Samples were selected using the purposive sampling method, and 70 companies were selected as research samples with a total data collection of 350 data from the research period of 2018-2022. Data analysis in this research uses multiple linear regression. The results of this study indicate that the presence of a female president director, a female finance director, and a female board of commissioner negatively affects earnings quality. On the other hand, the presence of the female board of directors has a positive effect on earnings quality. The female audit committee does not affect earnings quality. The author can conclude that the female gender still does not play an important role in the company's management to increase earnings quality because female’s behavior is more callous and not more assertive than male.
... Their research indicates that the glass ceiling can be mitigated through proactive measures such as mentorship programs and flexible work arrangements. Bruckmüller et al.'s (2014) presents a summary of experimental work that reveals several aspects contributing to the phenomena, as well as data showing the prevalence of glass cliffs in politics and business. Powell and Butterfield's (2015) reviewed key arguments, unexpected results, and implications for organizational effectiveness (which have been largely ignored). ...
The glass ceiling refers to the barriers preventing women from advancing to higher levels within organizational hierarchies. In this paper we address the question of how differences between men and women in vertical mobility are themselves created, examining factors that lead to a glass ceiling. The research aims to generate insights for practitioners and policy-makers, based on a thorough literature review followed by an analysis of existing data sets through the interpretation thereof. Major themes reveal stark discrepancies in pay, promotion rates and participation at the decision-making levels that highlight a necessity for targeted strategies to promote gender parity in employment opportunities.
... Estos rasgos se vinculan con la creencia arraigada de que el liderazgo efectivo está intrínsecamente ligado a lo masculino (Cuadrado et al., 2008;Cook y Glass, 2014;Carli y Eagly, 2016;Camarena y Saavedra, 2018). Y, por tanto, las mujeres no se adecuarían al perfil directivo necesario, pues suelen percibirse como menos capaces y hábiles que los varones para liderar una organización (Bruckmüller et al., 2014;Ryan y Haslam., 2016;Brescoll, 2016;Rincón et al., 2017). ...
Este trabajo analiza la percepción de quienes ocupan posiciones directivas de las municipalidades de la provincia de Llanquihue, Chile, sobre la existencia de segregación vertical y de manera específica, del techo de cristal en sus respectivas instituciones. Para ello se indagó si se perciben barreras internas, externas y mixtas. La muestra fue por conveniencia y estuvo compuesta por 34 directivos adscritos a 5 municipios del sur de Chile. Se utilizaron procedimientos de estadística descriptiva e inferencial para analizar la base de datos cuantitativos obtenidos a través de la aplicación de un cuestionario. Los resultados reflejan que, a pesar de la abundante evidencia empírica sobre la existencia de este tipo de segregación en la administración pública, no hubo hallazgos en esta investigación que confirmen tal percepción, en tanto, no existen diferencias significativas entre mujeres y hombres respecto a una mayor percepción de las primeras sobre la existencia del techo de cristal, con lo cual se abre un camino interesante de análisis.
... Furthermore, there is empirical evidence showing that the probability of women getting research funding is lower not because of the quality of their proposals, but because they are evaluated less favorably as principal investigators [14]. All of these factors contribute to maintaining a glass ceiling for women in science [14,15], making it difficult for them to reach senior positions which reflects in them being a smaller proportion of faculty and especially tenured faculty [16]. Addressing gender gap issues in research requires continuous and up to date data-driven analyses that help governments, funders, and institutions to implement equity initiatives based on the rigorous identification of the barriers a gender minority faces, and thus allocate resources and support that promote the same outcomes as the nonminoritized counterparts. ...
Worldwide women have increased their participation in STEM, but we are still far from reaching gender parity. Although progress can be seen at the bachelor’s and master’s level, career advancement of women in research still faces substantial challenges leading to a ‘leaky pipeline’ phenomenon (i.e., the continuous decrease of women’s participation at advanced career stages). Latin America exhibits encouraging rates of women participation in research, but the panorama varies across countries and stages in the academic ladder. This study focuses on women’s participation in research in natural sciences in Colombia and investigates career progression, leadership roles, and funding rates by analyzing data on scholarships, grants, rankings, and academic positions. Overall, we found persistent gender imbalances throughout the research ecosystem that were significant using classical statistical analyses. First, although women constitute >50% graduates from bachelors in natural sciences, <40% of researchers in this field are female. Second, women win <30% of research grants, and in turn, their scientific productivity is 2X lower than that of men. Third, because of the less research funding and output women have, their promotion to senior positions in academic and research rankings is slower. In consequence, only ~25% of senior researchers and full professors are women. Fourth, the proportion of women leading research groups and mentoring young scientist in Colombia is <30%. Our study deepens our understanding of gender gaps in STEM research in Colombia, and provides information to design initiatives that effectively target gender disparities by focusing on key areas of intervention, and then gradually building up, rather than tackling structural inequities all at once.
... And yet, cultural beliefs still create expectations about women and establish a hierarchy between men and women pushing the latter to the bottom of the gender ladder. Women are culturally perceived as less capable and less agentic, that is, less prone to take effective action (Fiske et al. 2002;Bruckmueller et al. 2014;Eagly and Miller 2016;Pardal, Alger, and Latu 2020). Inequalities between women and men concerning position, pay, and authority structures are likely to continue to fuel stereotypes and the salience of gender as a status characteristic (e.g., Heilman and Kram 1978). ...
This chapter takes stock on the knowledge created on status characteristics (e.g., gender, age, ethnic origin) and their impact on behavior and expectations. More specifically, it focuses on how gender impacts interruption patterns in a task-oriented interaction, interpreting in the courtroom. Our study analyzes the interactions taking place in the virtual courtroom, where interpreters and other court agents had to adapt to novel constraints and create novel social norms to adapt to the Covid-related changes. Specifically, they had to coordinate their turns for short consecutive interpreting in an otherwise predominantly simultaneously interpreted courtroom. We draw on the results of a questionnaire on perceived interruptions. The data from our respondents (n = 40) shows how both male and female interpreters predominantly perceived being interrupted by men in the virtual courtroom. Furthermore, results show how interpreters perceive increased interruptions in the anomy of the newly established virtual courtroom.
... This method is thought to give researchers access to people's personalities and life experiences of particular circumstances (Scheytt et al., 2003), which is one of the main goals of the present paper. Bruckmüller et al. (2014) state that it is crucial to understand what women experience while advancing to leadership roles. Their stories may inspire other women to find ways of overcoming the impostor syndrome. ...
While impostor syndrome has attracted considerable scholarly interest in the Global North, in the context of Kazakhstan, it was mainly discussed on popular social outlets. This paper explores whether female leaders in higher education in Kazakhstan have experienced impostor feelings and if so, how -if at all- they overcame it. To explore it, a narrative approach was used to interview ten female leaders working in universities of Kazakhstan. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the participants’ experience. This first study on Imposter Syndrome in Kazakhstan shows that almost all women leaders face these problems. Based on their experience of impostor syndrome, the participants provided recommendations to help cope with it.
... The glass cliff effect coined by Ryan and Haslam (2005) means that women are likely to be placed in positions of leadership in problematic circumstances of general financial downturn and downturn in firm performance. So, this organisational context makes it harder for women to perform and be perceived to perform effectively, which could be a possible explanation for the negative link between gender diversity at the board and firm performance (Bruckmüller et al., 2014). Nevertheless, several empirical studies do not support that hypothesis (Farrell and Hersch, 2005;Ryan and Haslam, 2006;Pacheco et al., 2020). ...
The relationship between gender and profitability in the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is a less studied topic in the broader context of performance determinants. Thus, the objective of this paper is to examine whether women's leadership of the firms' board of directors and senior management teams enhances financial performance. Contributing to fill this research gap and based on the agency and stakeholder theories, it is used a balanced panel data of 4,806 Portuguese SMEs for the period from 2010 to 2019. The results from the random-effects model evidence the absence of a broad significant relationship, albeit with some slight evidence of a negative relation, moderated by firm age and present in some specific sectors of activity. Given the SMEs importance in the majority of countries, the results and implications of this paper can be generalised to other economies, albeit country specific cultural and legal issues should be taken in consideration.
... Women's ideological differences contribute to their self-limiting behaviors like lack of interest and lack of self-efficacy (Teague, 2015) in leadership positions (Sartore and Cunningham, 2007). One reason for such lack of ambition and aspiration may be their poor performance as argued by Bruckmuller et al. (2014). This lack of interest may further have many contributing factors as described in this section. ...
Purpose
In the two consecutive surveys conducted by the authors in 2015 and 2018, it was found that out of a total of 810 and 1008 Indian higher educational institutions, only 54 and 63 institutions (6.67 and 6.25%) were led by women, 725 and 934 institutions (89.51 and 92.7%) were led by men and 31 and 11 (3.83 and 1.1%) were reported to either have no information about their leaders or those posts were vacant (Banker and Banker, 2017; EduShine Report, 2015 and 2018). The current study is a follow-up attempt so that the knowledge around the status of women academic leaders in Indian higher education (2021) can be upgraded. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The qualitative exploratory research approach was followed for conducting the study.
Findings
It was found that out of the current total of 1151 Indian higher educational institutions, still only 110 (9.55%) are led by women, 1031 (89.57%) are led by men and for 10 institutions (0.86%) data on leadership is unavailable. Important contextual inferences have been made in the discussion section followed by the concentrated literature around the possible reasons for such low representation of women leaders in the global higher education sector.
Research limitations/implications
One possible limitation of this study is that it does not provide an idea about why there is the highest women leadership in central institutions and the lowest in INIs. Taking the contextual factors into consideration, an extended exploration could have been made of different facilitators and barriers for each type of Indian HEI. The author invites future researchers to conduct this inquiry and come up with certain remedies, which is also one of the limitations of this study. Different enablers and disablers can be found through different primary and secondary research.
Practical implications
Increased women leadership will bring diversity in the institutions' modus operandi and impact their culture in a great way. It is the prime responsibility of women to break the glass ceiling and come out of their shells. Family responsibilities contribute to their career stress in a great way, and women may balance their personal and professional lives by creating a sound support system in their family. Utilizing domestic help services will liberate them partially from their routine and unimportant duties. This will allow women to focus on more important work related to their careers. Trending nuclear families is also one of the major contributors to low women leadership; joint family pattern may benefit women to nurture and build their career keeping their sanity intact. Institutional decision makers and other stakeholders at work will be sensitized toward different barriers experienced by not only women leaders but also women in lower positions. Men at work across the levels are responsible for creating a more inclusive and conducive workplace for women. Inclusive workplace policies will render women equal opportunities and fair rewards. Ensuring unbiased and prejudice-free work culture will have a positive impact on the self-efficacy level of women which can be validated through their performance.
Social implications
Slow and steady efforts consciously made by both men and women in the workplace for the betterment of women may progressively help overcome the social preconditioning at a macro level.
Originality/value
All the studies reported in this paper have been sequentially conducted and are unique in the Indian higher education system.
... It describes the gender disparity encountered by women who have already crossed the glass ceiling and who are designated to handle riskier situation and positions than men. (Bruckmuller, Ryan, Rink, & Haslam, 2014) Many studies have confirmed that during the crisis, interpersonally oriented leadership capabilities are most relevant such as being vicarious, sympathetic, supporting work relations, or clearly affirming an interest in helping other employees etc. Since these leadership capabilities accord with stereotypically womanly roles and behaviours, it has been anticipated that a "think crisis-think female" connotation may be real. ...
Purpose: This study intended to investigate the issues associated with the rise of women to senior leadership positions. There have been diverse metaphors or analogies used to describe these barriers. The purpose of the study was to review the major barriers that restricted the growth of woman at senior leadership positions. Theoretical framework: Women leadership has been an area of discussion since women started holding powerful positions in the corporate and to do so they face enormous challenges. There have been diverse metaphors used to describe these barriers. These metaphors viz. Glass ceiling, Glass cliff, Queen Bee and Sticky floor shall be considered as major barriers that restrict women to be at top position. (Smith, Caputi, & Crittenden, 2012) Design/Methodology/Approach: The study reviewed the different metaphors viz. Glass ceiling, Glass cliff, Queen Bee, Sticky floor and other analogies used to describe the women in power. The study also described various issues and challenges related to woman leadership. Findings: There is a lack of awareness amongst corporate leaders regarding the diverse metaphors used for women leadership and which also means that they are knowingly or unknowingly enhancing the hurdles for women at their workplaces. These challenges and situations exist around us, but people are not vigilant and are reluctant to take efforts to tackle or overcome these barriers for women. Research, Practical and Social implications: This research suggests that there is a strong urge to sensitize our corporate leaders regarding these widely used metaphors and reasons for using them, especially in a country like India. Here gender discrimination happens right from the birth of a child and continues throughout life. Originality/Value: The research contributed to describing the various issues and challenges related to women leadership. The study adds value by presenting the review of the major barriers that restricted the growth of women at senior leadership positions. The analogies express the role and intention of women to hold the strong position they acquire. Research reviewed articles related to analogies used for women leadership in different scenarios at the workplace/organization.
... The glass ceiling is an obstacle that emerges from one's gender or race that prohibits one from going further in one's career (e.g., promotion or hiring) (Bruckmüller et al., 2014). In addition, the glass cliff phenomena according to Ryan and Haslam, (2005) can place women in precarious leadership positions, increasing their chances of failure. ...
... The glass ceiling theory explains that it is difficult for women to achieve senior management positions, which is an inequality of opportunity between women and men that occurs in some countries (Wesarat & Matthew, 2017). Glass ceilings occur due to transparent barriers caused by gender stereotypes that occur in society regarding the differences in characteristics that men have and (Bruckmuller et al, 2014). However, women's tensions create barriersthese transparent barriers can be passed by women known as breaking the glass ceiling theory (Sahoo & Lenka, 2016). ...
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisa efek moderasi gender atas pengaruh struktur modal terhadap nilai perusahaan pada industri barang konsumsi di Bursa Efek Indonesia. Sampel ditentukan berdasarkan teknik purposive sampling, sehingga diperoleh 27 perusahaan sebagai sampel penelitian. Struktur modal diukur menggunakan debt to total asset ratio sebagai variabel independen, diversitas gender sebagai variabel moderasi dan nilai perusahaan diukur menggunakan price earning ratio sebagai variabel dependen. Metode analisa regresi berganda menunjukan bahwa struktur modal berpengaruh signifikan positif terhadap nilai perusahaan, kemudian didapati hasil bahwa diversitas gender dapat memoderasi hubungan struktur modal terhadap nilai perusahaan menjadi lebih kuat. Hal ini menunjukan direksi wanita dalam jajaran manajemen dapat berkontribusi dalam keputusan struktur modal yang berpengaruh terhadap peningkatan nilai perusahaan.
... Because there are fewer women in management positions than men, women are easily perceived as an exception to the managerial norm, which stresses masculinity. According to Bruckmüller et al. (2014), much research demonstrates that people who are regarded as atypical in a given group are more visible and likely to experience criticism. So, women in management positions tend to experience higher pressure and stricter appraisal than their male counterparts. ...
... Because there are fewer women in management positions than men, women are easily perceived as an exception to the managerial norm, which stresses masculinity. According to Bruckmüller et al. (2014), much research demonstrates that people who are regarded as atypical in a given group are more visible and likely to experience criticism. So, women in management positions tend to experience higher pressure and stricter appraisal than their male counterparts. ...
Purpose
This study examines how the representation of women and people of color on nonprofit boards relates to CEO gender and race.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses the 2020 data of 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in a Southeastern U.S. state. It employs the seemingly unrelated bivariate probit regression to simultaneously estimate the two equations for CEO gender and race.
Findings
The findings show that the proportion of board members of color is positively associated with having a CEO of color and a female CEO. The proportion of female board members is positively associated with having a female CEO, but not with having a CEO of color.
Practical implications
The lack of a positive connection between women’s representation on the board and having a CEO of color may be attributable to the pervasive and systematic Whiteness in nonprofit leadership. The findings suggest that nonprofit boards reflect on the current executive hiring policies and practices to address existing racial biases or barriers.
Originality/value
This study’s findings reveal that the descriptive representation of women and people of color in the governing board is closely linked to their substantive representation in the form of selecting a woman or a person of color as the CEO. The findings also suggest an interconnection between the representation of people of color on the board and having a female CEO. However, women’s representation on the board is not related to having a CEO of color.
A new method for measuring scientific productivity is proposed. Each researcher is initially associated with a cumulative score over time, reflecting the quality of the papers based on the journals in which they have published throughout their career. The second measure, an average speed over time from varying production speeds, is derived through the estimation of a two-level hierarchical Bayesian model for piecewise linear regression. These productivity indicators are validated and compared to other commonly used bibliometric indexes. The proposed method is applied to compare the productivity of females and males at different career levels in Italian academia, with a focus on statisticians. The study also contributes to the literature on the gender gap, showing that among those who remain at the lower levels of the university career hierarchy, women tend to have higher and more consistent scientific production over time compared to their male colleagues.
This chapter explores the intersection of race-ethnicity and gender in leadership focusing on Black and Asian women leaders. It discusses how their experiences are affected by race, racism, and gender discrimination, and emphasizes the importance of understanding leadership experiences of underrepresented groups. The chapter also examines established leadership styles, leadership theories by discussing Hofstede’s traditional but influential cultural dimensions model and the GLOBE model, and the influence of race and gender in leadership, particularly in political and business contexts. It advances for a deeper understanding of leadership processes and experiences through an intersectional lens.
Sexism, as prejudice and discrimination against women, can also be observed in the work environment, in an interpersonal and institutional way, especially in environments considered typically male. In this context, we believe studying sexism in the workplace is essential. We conducted a scoping review to identify and analyze studies dealing with “expressions of sexism in the workplace.” For this purpose, we performed a bibliographic search in the SciELO, PePSIC, LILACS, Index Psi, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES and Web of Science databases, selecting documents published in article format and articles with descriptors present in the title, abstract, keywords or subject, and excluding duplicate articles, articles without abstract or unavailable in full on the internet and articles that did not deal with the theme as the primary focus. Thus, we obtained a final bank of 129 articles, which were analyzed manually using the IRAMUTEQ software. The results showed a more significant number of publications in recent years, a predominance of quantitative empirical and international articles, and the topic of multidisciplinary interest, emphasizing psychology. The studies present a well-defined methodological structure and highlight the ambivalent character of sexism, its institutional manifestation, and the figure of women as victims of this phenomenon. The theme is of increasing interest but deserves more attention in the local context. This review brings significant contributions and presents limitations and suggestions for future research.
Inequality and the lack of inclusion of women in academic higher education (HE) leadership roles persist globally. While inclusivity at the top also applies to ethnicity and disability, the issue of gender is the focus of this article. More specifically, the distinct need is to examine the barriers that slow down and/or obstruct women from advancing in academia and gaining leadership positions. Thus, the purpose of this study is to provide a review of the case in Jordanian Universities. It presents the prevailing situation from the results of a desktop study and a survey questionnaire of the barriers that impede career progression for women in HE. The severity index (SI) formula is used to delineate critical barriers found in the literature in a Jordanian context through a questionnaire. Factor analysis was used to group the critical barriers, which in turn was used to derive an action plan to improve career progression for female academics. The study exposed that women’s participation in leadership was determined to be low, which is attributed to several barriers: sociocultural barriers, gender stereotypes, lack of skill and opportunities, work-life conflicts, social network obstacles, mentoring and support, and poor institutional policies that support women. As a result, several actions are recommended to support an increase in female leaders.
In this chapter, the author examines the state of women in higher education, including a discussion of roadblocks and deterrents. The author reveals deterrents/roadblocks in common recruitment practices, retainment requirements, and advancement policies. She then focuses on initiatives designed to mitigate those deterrents that act to transform institutions, starting with research and evaluation, identifying and forming pipeline initiatives designed to encourage women to apply for positions in higher education. These initiatives are classified as structures (such as childcare facilities, lactation centers, family resource centers, etc.), pipeline initiatives (equity advisors, ombudspersons/offices, etc.), programs/initiatives (peer networking, mentoring, etc.), policies (tenure clock extensions, etc.), and climate initiatives (addressing unconscious bias, bystander interventions, etc.).
The underrepresentation of women in higher education faculty positions is widely acknowledged and a complex issue that involves numerous multifaceted elements. In this chapter, the author will examine the current status of women faculty in institutions of higher education in the United States including their representation in general, across faculty ranks, and in positions of leadership. The author will then examine initiatives for advancing women in higher education, beginning with research and evaluation actions for assessing institutional gender equity climate, followed by an examination of structural and positional initiatives and policies for advancing women in academia. Finally, the author will conclude the chapter with a discussion of potential funding sources for transformative university practices and policies regarding women faculty.
The metaphor of the glass cliff is used to describe patterns whereby women are more likely to be selected for challenging leadership positions that have a higher risk of failure. This paper explores how the glass cliff metaphor contributes to a narrative of woman's fall that individualizes a leader's responsibility to avoid risks that may lead to failure. As an alternative, we introduce the leadership of refusal as a feminist resource for remaking the narrative of woman's fall. Refusal is understood as an embodied political and ethical stance that declines to recognize, rather than resists or simply opposes, masculine leadership norms. Through analysis of how three women leaders were represented by the media, former Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, former Australian of the Year, Grace Tame, and climate change activist, Greta Thunberg, we analyse key moments of refusal where these leaders breached the masculine order through their embodied performances. We argue that leadership of refusal enables an understanding of how women leaders exercise power in agentic, non‐sacrificial ways. We therefore urge leadership researchers to position refusal centrally, because first saying no in order to take risks towards achieving transformative action is, we suggest, a defining feature of leadership.
Purpose: For almost half a century, society has been aware of the existence of a glass ceiling, a term that describes the invisible barriers that hinder women’s access to power positions despite having equal or greater qualifications, skills and merits than their male counterparts. Nowadays, although there are signs of slow progress, women are still underrepresented in the upper echelons of large corporations and the risk of reversing the progress made in gender parity has increased because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper contributes to previous literature by analysing the impact that the uncertainty and cognitive effects associated with COVID-19 in 2020 had on the presence of women on the board of directors and whether this impact has been moderated by the regulatory and policy system on gender quotas in place at the time.
Design/methodology/approach: To test the authors' research hypotheses, the authors selected the major global companies worldwide with economic-financial and non-financial information available in the Thomson Reuters EIKON database over the 2015–2020 period. As a result, the authors' final sample is made up of 1,761 companies from 52 countries with different institutional settings that constitute an unbalanced data panel of 8,963 observations. The nature of the dependent variables requires the use of logistic regressions. The models incorporate the terms to control for any unobservable heterogeneity and the error term. Any endogeneity issues were addressed by considering the explanatory variables with a time lag.
Findings: The authors find that almost 30% of the companies downsized their boards in 2020. This decision resulted in more female than male directors being made redundant, causing a reversal in the fulfilment of gender quotas focussed on ensuring balanced boards with a female presence of 40% or more. This effect was enhanced in countries with hard-law regulation because the penalty for non-compliance with gender quotas had led to a significant increase in the size of these bodies in previous years through the inclusion of the required number of female directors. In contrast, the reduction in board size in soft-law countries does not differ from that in laissez-faire countries, lacking any moderating effect or impact on the number of female board members dismissed as a result of the pandemic.
Originality/value: This paper aims to contribute to current knowledge by analysing the impact that the countries' regulatory and normative systems on gender parity on boards of directors have had on the decisions made in relation to leadership positions, moderating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender equality at a global level.
Competence-questioning communication at work has been described as gender-linked (e.g., mansplaining) and as impacting the way women perceive and experience the workplace. Three studies were conducted to investigate how the specific communication behaviors of condescending explanation (i.e., mansplaining), voice nonrecognition, and interruption can be viewed as gender-biased in intention by receivers. The first study was a critical incident survey to describe these competence-questioning behaviors when enacted by men toward women in the workplace and how women react toward them. Studies 2 and 3 used experimental paradigms (in online and laboratory settings, respectively) to investigate how women and men perceive and react to these behaviors when enacted by different genders. Results demonstrated that when faced with condescending explanation, voice nonrecognition, or interruption, women reacted more negatively and were more likely to see the behavior as indicative of gender bias when the communicator was a man. Implications for improving workplace communications and addressing potential gender biases in communication in organizations are discussed.
The paper aims to understand the factors hindering and facilitating women's access to top management teams (TMTs) and boards of directors. It provides a systematic review of extant scholarly work on the antecedents of TMT and board gender diversity. Reviewing and integrating research from over 200 journal publications, I develop an integrative review of the antecedents of gender diversity for two types of research contexts—TMT and board—at three levels: person centered, situation centered, and social‐system centered. I also identify knowledge gaps and suggest areas for future research. This comprehensive review of extant research simultaneously considers antecedents of TMT gender diversity and board gender diversity, providing insights into divergent trends of TMT and board gender diversity while highlighting understudied areas. Hopefully, the review will inspire more research to advance knowledge of the antecedents of TMT and board gender diversity, areas that have received relatively little attention compared with extensive research on the consequences of gender diversity. Gender diversity in corporate leadership is a topic of great interest. The growth in board gender diversity is unprecedented, but growth in TMT gender diversity has been stagnant. I offer a synthesis of extant literature to understand the social, situational, and individual drivers of TMT and board gender diversity, providing valuable insights for policymakers, investors, executives, and directors who seek to improve corporate leadership gender diversity.
Cam uçurum fenomeni üzerine yapılan araştırmalar, kadınların özellikle kriz ve istikrarsızlık dönemleri gibi riskli durumlarda güçlü konumlara yükselme eğiliminde olduklarını göstermektedir. Buna göre kadınlar, erkek meslektaşlarına kıyasla, istikrarsızlık ve kriz dönemlerinde hatta skandalların ardından yönetsel veya siyasi liderlik pozisyonları için tercih edilmektedir. Bu tür atama ve terfiler, kadınları yüksek başarısızlık, eleştiri ve psikolojik sıkıntı riskine, dolayısıyla
“görünmez” bir uçurumdan düşme tehlikesine maruz bırakmaktadır (Kulich & Ryan, 2017: 1). Kısacası, örgütlerde sorunlar yaşandığında zor koşulların bedelini ödemek istemeyen erkeklerin yerine kadınların cam tavanı kırmalarına ve yönetimde söz sahibi olmalarına izin verilmektedir. Sonuç olarak zarara giren şirketin faturası kadınlara kesilerek onların “kötü yöneticiliği” vurgulanmaktadır. Dolayısıyla yönetici kadınlar, aldıkları terfiinin bedelini ağır ödemektedir (Yıldız
vd., 2016: 1120).
A role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders proposes that perceived incongruity between the female gender role and leadership roles leads to 2 forms of prejudice: (a) perceiving women less favorably than men as potential occupants of leadership roles and (b) evaluating behavior that fulfills the prescriptions of a leader role less favorably when it is enacted by a woman. One consequence is that attitudes are less positive toward female than male leaders and potential leaders. Other consequences are that it is more difficult for women to become leaders and to achieve success in leadership roles. Evidence from varied research paradigms substantiates that these consequences occur, especially in situations that heighten perceptions of incongruity between the female gender role and leadership roles.
The research firm Catalyst presents new findings on the barriers that keep women from advancing through the corporate ranks. Its recent survey of Fortune 500 executive women and CEOs shows wide agreement: Lack of line experience bars women from the most senior jobs.
This study compares the careers of matched samples of 69 female executives and 69 male: executives try examining perceived barriers and facilitators of advancement, self-reported developmental experiences, and career histories. Consistent with tokenism theory, women reported greater barriers, such as lack of culture fit and being excluded from informal networks, and greater importance of having a good track. record and developing relationships to facilitate advancement than did men. Career success, measured by organizational level and compensation, was positively related to breadth of experience and developmental assignments for both genders, but successful women were less likely than successful men to report that mentoring facilitated their advancement. Developmental experiences and career histories were similar for female and male executives, but men bad more overseas assignments and women had more assignments with nonauthority relationships.
In this paper we explore the "glass cliff" form of discrimination. We review archival and experimental evidence of the glass cliff and identify multiple processes as having the potential to contribute to the phenomenon. We also outline a range of potential reactions to the phenomenon, and we elaborate strategies for eliminating glass cliffs, but, as with other forms of (gender) discrimination, we argue that these depend on the capacity for disadvantaged groups to overcome resistance on the part of those who are motivated to maintain the status quo.
Since the term "glass ceiling" was first coined in 1984, women have made great progress in terms of leadership equality with men in the workplace. Despite this, women are still under-represented in the upper echelons of organizations.
In this volume, leading psychologists from the United States, Canada, and the European Union go beyond social commentary, anecdotal evidence and raw statistics to explain and offer remedies for this continued inequality, based on empirical evidence. Subtle barriers to women's advancement to and success in leadership positions are a major focus, such as women being recruited for upper-level positions that are associated with a high risk of failure or women managers being stereotyped as either competent or warm (but not both). Solutions that can be practically implemented are offered at different levels of analysis, including organizational (e.g., affirmative action), work group (e.g., diversity management), and individual (e.g., cross-cultural networking).
Other obstacles associated with breaking through the glass ceiling include more nuanced forms of gender stereotyping, tokenism, and sexual harassment. The somewhat surprising effects of affirmative action and family friendly policies are also examined. As this volume explores women's current experiences in the workplace, a critical emphasis is making visible what women encounter as their career trajectory ascends and suggesting how they can enhance their career choices and thrive in the hard-won positions they attain.
Since the term "glass ceiling" was first coined in 1984, women have made great progress in terms of leadership equality with men in the workplace. Despite this, women are still under-represented in the upper echelons of organizations.
In this volume, leading psychologists from the United States, Canada, and the European Union go beyond social commentary, anecdotal evidence and raw statistics to explain and offer remedies for this continued inequality, based on empirical evidence. Subtle barriers to women's advancement to and success in leadership positions are a major focus, such as women being recruited for upper-level positions that are associated with a high risk of failure or women managers being stereotyped as either competent or warm (but not both). Solutions that can be practically implemented are offered at different levels of analysis, including organizational (e.g., affirmative action), work group (e.g., diversity management), and individual (e.g., cross-cultural networking).
Other obstacles associated with breaking through the glass ceiling include more nuanced forms of gender stereotyping, tokenism, and sexual harassment. The somewhat surprising effects of affirmative action and family friendly policies are also examined. As this volume explores women's current experiences in the workplace, a critical emphasis is making visible what women encounter as their career trajectory ascends and suggesting how they can enhance their career choices and thrive in the hard-won positions they attain.
A single factor, seven-level, repeated measures, unbalanced experiment was conducted with 191 college undergraduates to test Boal and Bryson's (1988) assertions that: (1) there are at least two forms of charismatic leadership under crisis conditions—visionary and crisis-responsive; and (2) once the crisis condition has abated, the effects of crisis-responsive leadership deteriorate comparatively faster than other forms of charismatic leadership. The experiment consisted of four crisis condition leadership treatments (crisis-responsive, visionary under crisis, exchange under crisis, and low expressiveness under crisis) and three no-crisis condition leadership treatments (visionary no crisis, exchange no crisis, and low expressiveness no crisis) at time one followed by low expressiveness no crisis at time two. Two graduate student “leaders” who memorized carefully prepared scripts delivered the leadership treatments. Analysis consisted of 28 a priori comparisons of cell means and repeated measures ANOVA to determine significant main effects as well as interactions. We found support for our hypothesis that there are two forms of charisma (visionary and crisis-responsive) and that, in the absence of crisis, the effects of crisis responsive charisma decay faster than do the effects of visionary charisma.
A growing body of evidence indicates that organizational identification underpins a range of important organizational outcomes. However, to date, the literature has provided little empirically grounded guidance for organizations that are trying to develop organizational identification among their employees. In this article, the authors aim to address this lacuna by testing the effectiveness of the ASPIRe (Actualizing Social and Personal Identity Resources) model—a model that specifies a sequence of structured activities designed to use subgroup identities as a platform for building organizational identification—in a bespoke workshop delivered to senior military health services personnel. As predicted by the ASPIRe model, participants reported increased levels of subgroup and organizational identification as a result of the workshop and were also more supportive of the organization’s strategy.
Women continue to be underrepresented in traditionally masculine occupations. We argue that this may be explained in part by women’s perceptions that they do not fit in with the dominant identities in these occupations, contributing to occupational disidentification and an inclination to “opt out.” We tested this argument in two samples of trainee surgeons. Study 1 (N = 129 female trainees) showed that women perceived a lack of fit with the masculine surgeon prototype and that, as expected, this perception was associated with a reduction in occupational identification and an increased desire to opt out. Study 2 (N = 216 male and female trainees) showed that women’s perceived lack of fit with the surgeon prototype was greater than men’s, and that this accounted for women’s relative disidentification.
Recent archival and experimental research by Ryan and Haslam has revealed the phenomenon of the glass cliff whereby women are more likely than men to be appointed to risky or precarious leadership positions in problematic organizational circumstances. This paper extends research on the glass cliff by examining the precariousness of the cases women are assigned in a legal context. An experimental study conducted with law students (N = 114) investigated the appointment of a candidate to lead a legal case that was defined as either low-risk or high-risk. Commensurate with patterns observed in other domains, results indicated that a male candidate was as likely as a female to be selected as lead counsel for a low-risk case but that there was a strong preference for a female rather than a male appointment for a high-risk case. The study also examines the way in which participants' evaluations of candidates and their perceptions of risk and opportunity related to candidate selection. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.
The authors examine the effect of having women on the top management teams of initial public offering (IPO) firms on the organizations' short- and long-term financial performance. Looking at three different samples, the authors found that trend data indicated IPO firms were gaining in the number of women they employ in their top management teams. Using data from 534 IPO firms, results suggest one reason why the trend is growing; women appear to have a positive association with the firms' short-term performance (Tobin's Q, which is market price to book value per share), 3-year stock price growth, and growth in earnings per share. Possible reasons for the positive effect of women on performance include better innovation and problem-solving processes in more diverse top management teams and the possibility that, on average, the women on these teams are higher performers than are the men on the same teams.
The problem and the solution. Despite the rapid increase of women in both junior and middle management positions in organizations globally, women comprise a very small percentage of senior executives. One explanation for the scarcity of senior women in organizational life is that women tend to lack access to the relevant networks, which are often biased toward male membership.To reach senior executive positions, women need to either bypass or establish a way into these networks.Within these networks, the learning tends to begin as individualized incidental learning, but develops into collective learning, as women form their own networks and learn from each other in an anticipatory fashion.The authors believe that through efforts to provide more direct access to formal female networks, collective learning can take place in a more structured and efficient fashion. Providing such structured opportunities for knowledge sharing among female managers could form the lynchpin of a successful collective learning strategy.
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the phenomenon of the glass cliff, whereby women are more likely than men to be placed in precarious leadership positions. Men's and women's reactions to this subtle form of gender discrimination are examined, the identity processes involved, and the implications for organisations who must manage this change in the gender make‐up of their workforce.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is qualitative analysis of participants’ spontaneous explanations for the glass cliff, after having read about the phenomenon on an online news web site.
Findings
The research demonstrates clear differences in men's and women's reactions to the glass cliff. While women were more likely to acknowledge the existence of the glass cliff and recognise its danger, unfairness, and prevalence for women, men were more likely to question the validity of research into the glass cliff, downplaying the dangers. These patterns were mirrored in the explanations that individuals generated. While women were most likely to explain the glass cliff in terms of pernicious processes such as a lack of alternative opportunities, sexism, or men's ingroup favouritism, men were most likely to favour largely benign interpretations, such as women's suitability for difficult leadership tasks, the need for strategic decision‐making, or company factors unrelated to gender.
Originality/value
This research examines people's reactions to a new form of subtle sexism in the workplace which allows one to develop a more thorough theoretical understanding of the phenomenon and of the likely impact of practical interventions designed to help eliminate discriminatory appointment practices.
Using distinctiveness theory, research shows that the relative rarity of a group in a social context tended to promote members' use of that group as a basis for shared identity and social interaction. Relative majority group members, racial minorities and women in a master of business administration cohort were more likely to make identity and friendship choices within-group. The marginalization of racial minorities individuals' own preferences for same-race friends. By contrast, the marginalization of women resulted more for exclusionary pressures than from their preferences for woman friends.
[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 112(3) of
Psychological Bulletin (see record
2008-10512-001). Some of the numbers in the Value columns of Table 1, page 11, were aligned incorrectly. The corrected version of Table 1 is provided in the erratum.] Reviews research on the evaluation of women and men that occupy leadership roles. While holding the characteristics, except for sex, constant and varying the sex of the leader, these experiments investigated whether people are biased against female leaders and managers. Although this research showed only a small overall tendency for Ss to evaluate female leaders less favorably than male ones, this tendency was more pronounced under certain circumstances. Specifically, women in leadership positions were devalued relative to their male counterparts when leadership was carried out in stereotypically masculine styles, especially when this style was autocratic or directive. Also, the devaluation of women was greater when leaders occupied male-dominated roles and when the evaluators were men. Findings are interpreted from a perspective that emphasizes the influence of gender roles within organizational settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Mixed- and same-sex dyads were observed to examine effects of gender composition on language and of language on gender differences in influence. Ss discussed a topic on which they disagreed. Women were more tentative than men, but only in mixed sex dyads. Women who spoke tentatively were more influential with men and less influential with women. Language had no effect on how influential men were. In a 2nd study, 120 Ss listened to an audiotape of identical persuasive messages presented either by a man or a woman, half of whom spoke tentatively. Female speakers who spoke tentatively were more influential with male Ss and less influential with female Ss than those who spoke assertively. Male speakers were equally influential in each condition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This paper examines the impact of socio-structural variables (i.e. perceptions of permeability, stability and legitimacy of intergroup relations) on the extent to which professional women perceive a women's network as a collective strategy for status enhancement. A survey among network members (n=166) suggests that the extent to which women support and consider a network to benefit women as a collective is dependent on perceptions of whether individual mobility is possible (permeability of group boundaries) and beliefs that organizational conditions will improve for women in the future (stability of conditions for women). Specifically, the network is less likely to be perceived as a collective vehicle for change when individual advancement is possible (because intergroup boundaries are perceived as permeable) and status improvement in the future is unlikely. However, regardless of beliefs about the future, when female participants perceive that many barriers to individual advancement exist (due to the impermeability of intergroup boundaries), the network is considered in more collective terms presumably because the only way to challenge the status quo is through a collective effort. The practical implications for organizations that wish to or have established a women's network are discussed.
This paper analyzes the survival of organizations in which decision agents do not bear a major share of the wealth effects of their decisions. This is what the literature on large corporations calls separation of 'ownership' and 'control.' Such separation of decision and risk bearing functions is also common to organizations like large professional partnerships, financial mutuals and nonprofits. We contend that separation of decision and risk bearing functions survives in these organizations in part because of the benefits of specialization of management and risk bearing but also because of an effective common approach to controlling the implied agency problems. In particular, the contract structures of all these organizations separate the ratification and monitoring of decisions from the initiation and implementation of the decisions.
Integrating macro and micro theoretical perspectives, we conducted a meta-analysis examining the role of contextual factors in team diversity research. Using data from 8,757 teams in 39 studies conducted in organizational settings, we examined whether contextual factors at multiple levels, including industry, occupation, and team, influenced the performance outcomes of relations-oriented and task-oriented diversity. The direct effects were very small yet significant, and after we accounted for industry, occupation, and team-level contextual moderators, they doubled or tripled in size. Further, occupation- and industry-level moderators explained significant variance in effect sizes across studies.
Are women breaking through the glass ceiling only to arrive at a glass cliff—that is, being preferentially appointed to leadership roles where the chances of failure are higher? This study investigates the concept of the glass cliff, both by seeking evidence for its existence and by examining its implications. Focusing specifically on the impact of the recruiter's gender, the researchers asked professionals from a range of backgrounds to evaluate candidates for a post in a hypothetical company that was portrayed either as a success or as in decline. Taken as a whole, the results support the existence of a glass cliff. When the results from male and female recruiters were analyzed separately, a different picture emerged, however. Male recruiters showed no gender preference in the failing company context but favored the male candidate for the low-risk position. In contrast, female recruiters consistently favored a female candidate, with this preference being more marked for a high-risk role. The study concluded by looking into the possible motivations for these biases and examining their implications in informing recruitment and career decisions. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Research suggests that women are more likely than men to be selected for leadership positions when organizations are in a performance crisis, a phenomenon labeled the glass cliff. Two scenario studies demonstrate that the glass‐cliff effect is attenuated when organizational stakeholders support the decision to appoint a new leader (i.e., indicating that the new leader can rely on social resources). The glass‐cliff effect remains when this decision is not fully supported (i.e., indicating that the new leader is unable to rely on social resources). This moderation seems driven by beliefs that men are more likely to possess agentic leadership traits and women more communal leadership traits. When there is no performance crisis, these gendered beliefs are less influential, and thus, social resources do not inform people's leader evaluations. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This contribution focuses on women in leadership positions. We propose that two convictions are relevant to the effects of having women in high places. On the one hand, women as a group are expected to employ different leadership styles than men, in this way adding diversity to management teams. On the other hand, individual women are expected to ascend to leadership positions by showing their ability to display the competitiveness and toughness typically required from those at the top. We posit that both convictions stem from gendered leadership beliefs, and that these interact with women's self-views to determine the effectiveness of female leaders. We develop an integrative model that explains the interplay between organizational beliefs and individual-self definitions and its implications for female leadership. We then present initial evidence in support of this model from two recent programs of research. The model allows us to connect “glass cliff” effects to “queen bee” effects showing that both relate to the perceived salience of gender in the organization, as well as individual gender identities. Each of these phenomena may harm future career opportunities of women, be it as individuals or as a group. We outline how future research may build on our proposed model and examine its further implications. We also indicate how the model may offer a concrete starting point for developing strategies to enhance the effectiveness of women in leadership positions.
In two scenario-based studies, we found that women and men evaluate glass-cliff positions (i.e., precarious leadership positions at organizations in crisis) differently depending on the social and financial resources available. Female and male participants evaluated a hypothetical leadership position in which they would have both social and financial resources, financial resources but no social resources, or social resources but no financial resources. Women evaluated the position without social resources most negatively, whereas men evaluated the position without financial resources most negatively. In Study 2, we found that women and men considered different issues when evaluating these leadership positions. Women’s evaluations and expected levels of influence as leaders depended on the degree to which they expected to be accepted by subordinates. In contrast, men’s evaluations and expected levels of acceptance by subordinates depended on the degree to which they expected to be influential in the position. Our findings have implications for the understanding of the glass-cliff phenomenon and gendered leadership stereotypes.
We present evidence that shifting hiring criteria reflects backlash toward agentic (“masterful”) women (Rudman, 1998). Participants (N = 428) evaluated male or female agentic or communal managerial applicants on dimensions of competence, social skills, and hireability. Consistent with past research, agentic women were perceived as highly competent but deficient in social skills, compared with agentic men. New to the present research, social skills predicted hiring decisions more than competence for agentic women; for all other applicants, competence received more weight than social skills. Thus, evaluators shifted the job criteria away from agentic women's strong suit (competence) and toward their perceived deficit (social skills) to justify hiring discrimination. The implications of these findings for women's professional success are discussed.
In two experiments we show how teams can benefit from the presence of multiple sources of deep-level task-related diversity. We manipulated differences (vs. similarities) in task information and personal decision rules in dyads (Study 1) and three-person teams (Study 2). The results indicate that when both sources of diversity are present, partners and team members integrate their unique knowledge and decision rules into the collaboration and report perceptions of common interests, commitment and outcome satisfaction afterwards. This is not the case when there is just one source of diversity, causing the partners and team members to possess different information, but endorse similar decision rules or vice versa. The results are discussed in light of research on congruency and identity processes.
Despite voluminous research indicating that women and minorities have limited access to or are excluded from organizational networks, two central questions remain unanswered: (a) In what specific ways, if any, do the interaction networks of men and women and whites and racial minorities differ? and (b) What mechanisms produce those differences? The central thesis of the article is that the organizational context in which interaction networks are embedded produces unique constraints on women and racial minorities, causing their networks to differ from those of their white male counterparts in composition and characteristics of their relationships with network members. Organizational context is hypothesized to affect personal networks directly, as well as through its impact on individuals' strategies for managing constraints. A theoretical perspective that views women and minorities as active agents who make strategic choices among structurally limited alternatives is offered.
Recent archival and experimental research has revealed that women are more likely than men to be appointed to leadership positions when an organization is in crisis. As a result, women often confront a “glass cliff” in which their position as leader is precarious. Our first archival study examined the 2005 UK general election and found that, in the Conservative party, women contested harder to win seats than did men. Our second study experimentally investigated the selection of a candidate by 80 undergraduates in a British political science class to contest a by-election in a seat that was either safe (held by own party with a large margin) or risky (held by an opposition party with a large margin). Results indicated that a male candidate was more likely than a woman to be selected to contest a safe seat, but there was a strong preference for a female rather than a male appointment when the seat was described as hard to win. Implications for women's participation in politics are discussed.
Whilst the same group differences can be explained in many ways, explanations of group differ-ences tend to spontaneously figure the distinctive attributes of lower-status groups against a back-ground norm of high-status groups' attributes. We suggest that this asymmetry occurs in the explanations of scientists and laypeople who have been influenced by the history of 'disciplinary power' which works to disempower lower-status people by making them visible to the human sciences. We argue that social groups who are habitually studied first in research programs, more commonly encountered social groups, and prototypical social groups are all less likely than their counterparts to be marked in spontaneous explanations of empirical group differences. We present evidence that groups who are explicitly mentioned in such explanations are assumed to be lower in power. We describe some limitations to current knowledge about such asymmetric explanations and suggest some directions for further research, including our thoughts about how to integrate existing findings with the possibility of formulating cognitive alternatives to the status quo among minority groups.
This research is an attempt to explore and understand the prominence of the concept of leadership in our collective consciousness. In three archival studies, we examined the attention and interest in leadership as reflected in a variety of publications, in conjunction with national, industry, and firm variations in performance. In a series of experimental studies, we examined the effects of performance outcome levels on the strength of leadership attributions. The results of these studies supported an attributional perspective in which leadership is construed as an explanatory concept used to understand organizations as causal systems; results were interpreted in terms of a romanticized conception of leadership.
Confirmatory modeling was used to test models of situational and individual influences on women's and men's managerial advancement. Although an overall model fitted the data well, separate models for women and men were more explanatory. Training led to managerial advancement and was of more advantage to men than to women. Work experience and education increased training, again more for men than for women. A spouse and dependents at home reduced women's work experience but increased men's, with subsequent effects on training and thus advancement. Finally, career encouragement had a more positive effect on training for women than for men.
Many studies have demonstrated that interpersonally oriented leadership abilities such as being empathetic, supporting work relationships, or explicitly stating an interest in helping others are particularly relevant in crisis contexts. Since these leadership abilities coincide with stereotypically feminine roles and traits, it has been proposed that a “think crisis–think female” association may exist (Ryan, Haslam, Hersby, & Bongiorno, 2011). In a field study (N = 301 workers and managers) we examined this association and identified two relevant factors that may hinder the acceptance of female leaders and stereotypically feminine characteristics in crisis management: instrumental (male) leadership role models and sexist attitudes. In doing so, we provide new insights into the “think crisis–think female” relationship and illustrate the potential implications of this occurrence for gender studies and for research into work and organizational psychology.
When unknown groups and equal status groups are compared by contrasting one group (“the effect to be explained”) against another (“the linguistic norm”), the group positioned as the norm is sometimes perceived as more powerful, more agentic, and as less communal. Such perceptions may contribute to status-linked stereotypes, as group differences are spontaneously described by positioning higher-status groups as the linguistic norm. Here, 103 participants considered gender differences in status to be larger and more legitimate and applied gender stereotypes more readily upon reading about gender differences in leadership that were framed around a male rather than a female linguistic norm. These effects did not generalize to 113 participants who read about gender differences in leisure time preferences framed around either norm. Jointly, these results suggest that the effects of linguistic framing on perceived group status and power and on group stereotypes generalize to domains where there are real differences in status, and contexts in which higher-status groups are the default standard for comparison. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This study uses Kanter's token status theory to link announcements of top executives to shareholder reactions, highlighting possible gender effects. Using a sample of top executive announcements from 1990 to 2000, our results show that investor reactions to the announcements of female CEOs are significantly more negative than those of their male counterparts. Furthermore, women who have been promoted from within a firm are viewed more positively than women who come from outside. To supplement our analysis of investor reactions, we also analyze the text of popular press articles surrounding the announcements of male and female CEOs. These results show that articles about the appointment of a female CEO tend to emphasize gender, gender-related and other job or organizational considerations. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The relationship between sex role stereotypes and characteristics perceived as necessary for management success was examined among 361 male and 228 female management students in Japan and the People's Republic of China. The results revealed that males and females in both countries perceive that successful middle managers possess characteristics, attitudes and temperaments more commonly ascribed to men in general than to women in general. These results were compared with previous studies done in the U.S., Great Britain and Germany, using the same Schein 92-item Descriptive Index, and similar samples and procedures. The comparison supports the view that ‘think manager—think male’ is a global phenomenon, especially among males. Regardless of country context, there was a strong and similar degree of managerial sex typing among male management students in all five countries. Among females, the managerial sex typing hypothesis was confirmed in every country except the U.S., in which men and women are seen as equally likely to possess requisite management characteristics. Unlike those of their male counterparts, the females' pattern of outcomes varied across countries, possibly a reflection of their respective opportunities for managerial participation. The implications of managerial sex typing as a global phenomenon are discussed.
We use a sample of CEO appointments at US corporations over the years 1992-2004 to test the glass cliff hypothesis, which posits that females are appointed to leadership positions at firms that are in a precarious financial condition. Our analysis utilizes three measures of stock-price-based financial performance and two distinct control samples of appointments of males to the CEO position. We find that corporate performance preceding CEO appointments tends to favor females, implying that females (males) are appointed to the CEO position largely at times when the firm is in relatively better (worse) financial health. Disaggregating the data by appointments in up versus down markets, at high-risk versus low-risk firms, and by calendar time yield similar conclusions. There appears to be no glass cliff facing female CEOs at US firms. Our findings suggest a need for additional research to identify where and for what types of positions this phenomenon is prevalent.
Existing models of transformational change often highlight the charismatic attributes of leaders. Few approaches focus on the social preconditions which allow charismatic leadership processes to unfold. This research explores the notion that crisis is important to the emergence of charismatic leadership. The findings of a laboratory study indicate that crises foster the emergence of charismatic leaders who are then rated as more effective than group leaders who emerge in noncrisis situations. The implications for current conceptualizations of charismatic leadership processes and their role in frame-breaking organizational changes are discussed.
This paper presents a comprehensive archival examination of FTSE 100 companies in the period 2001–2005, focusing on the relationship between the presence of women on company boards and both accountancy-based and stock-based measures of company performance. Consistent with work by Adams, Gupta and Leeth this analysis reveals that there was no relationship between women's presence on boards and ‘objective’ accountancy-based measures of performance (return on assets, return on equity). However, consistent with ‘glass cliff’ research there was a negative relationship between women's presence on boards and ‘subjective’ stock-based measures of performance. Companies with male-only boards enjoyed a valuation premium of 37% relative to firms with a woman on their board. Results support claims that women are found on the boards of companies that are perceived to be performing poorly and that their presence on boards can lead to the devaluation of companies by investors. Yet the findings also indicate that perceptions and investment are not aligned with the underlying realities of company performance.
Although the social identity approach is generally used to explain the negative consequences of diversity for the formation of a common identity within organizations, we propose that social identity processes can also lead employees to evaluate their differences in a positive way. We propose norm-congruency as a central principle to understand these issues. We argue that when differences among team members in organizations are congruent with norms and expectations, diversity can become a basis for organizational identification.
Members of the public (Study 1; n = 184) and university students (Study 2; n = 101) evaluated a piece of research and indicated their support for its continuation. The research findings were held constant, but the methods that revealed those findings were attributed to either neuroscience or social science, and the conclusions based on those findings were biased either in favor of men or in favor of women. Study 1 revealed that participants were more positive about research that affirmed their gender identity and that was based on neuroscience rather than social science. Study 2 found this pattern to be apparent in more specialist samples. Indeed, participants with some scientific training were more influenced by research that affirmed the reader's gender identity. Participants with less scientific training, in comparison, were more influenced by the type of science described when making judgments about the value of the research. Contrary to popular claims, this suggests that scientific knowledge alone is no protection against the effects of bias on research evaluation. Implications for the practice and popularization of science are discussed.
There has been much research and conjecture concerning the barriers women face in trying to climb the corporate ladder, with evidence suggesting that they typically confront a ‘glass ceiling’ while men are more likely to benefit from a ‘glass escalator’. But what happens when women do achieve leadership roles? And what sorts of positions are they given? This paper argues that while women are now achieving more high profile positions, they are more likely than men to find themselves on a ‘glass cliff’, such that their positions are risky or precarious. This hypothesis was investigated in an archival study examining the performance of FTSE 100 companies before and after the appointment of a male or female board member. The study revealed that during a period of overall stock-market decline those companies who appointed women to their boards were more likely to have experienced consistently bad performance in the preceding five months than those who appointed men. These results expose an additional, largely invisible, hurdle that women need to overcome in the workplace. Implications for the evaluation of women leaders are discussed and directions for future research are outlined.