After the Glass Ceiling, a Glass Cliff

The notion of a glass ceiling – an invisible, informal upper limit that keeps women from reaching the top of organizations – has been around since the 1980s. Two decades later, two professors at Exeter University in England began to describe a related phenomenon – the “glass cliff,” whereby companies are more likely to appoint women to their boards in times of crisis. Subsequent research in the United States confirmed that the same is true for the appointment of women CEOs. The proportion of female leaders also tends to be higher in poorly performing school districts, and female political candidates...