The Glass Cliff: Why Women in Power are Undermined and How to Fight Back
The Glass Cliff is a conversation about what happens when women break the rules, and break through The Glass Ceiling.
Have you ever wondered why there are so few success stories of women in business leadership? Or maybe you’ve wondered what life is really like on the other side of The Glass Ceiling? The world of work is supposedly changing, embracing diversity – yet are the opportunities we’re giving to women really equal to those of men?
Drawing on almost 20 years of research from around the world, The Glass Cliff phenomenon - whereby women are often only hired in leadership roles when a business is already underperforming, meaning their chances of success are limited before they ever even start in the role - is well established, but little known. Until now.
This is the story of The Glass Cliff: a story of a structural inequality disguising itself as the personal failures of women. When Sophie Williams gave her viral TED talk on the subject, she was subsequently flooded with accounts of confident, accomplished women who had taken what seemed like a dream leadership role only to quickly find themselves in a waking nightmare. Without the language to describe their experiences they had been left blaming themselves. But learning about The Glass Cliff enabled them to reframe and reexamine what they’d gone through.
Once we understand The Glass Cliff – once we can stand together and face it head-first – we can start to unravel so many other false narratives about women’s leadership experiences that just don’t make sense without it. By telling one another about the phenomenon, we can affect the conversation, empower one another to overcome societal bias and, ultimately, change the world of work for women forever.
‘Every current and aspiring leader needs to read this book’ Helen Tupper & Sarah Ellis, Sunday Times bestselling authors of The Squiggly Career and You Coach You
‘Clever, brilliantly researched and vitally important’ Dawn O'Porter, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Cows & Cat Lady
‘Funny, infuriating and game-changing . . . an essential manual for every woman’ Annabel Rivkin & Emilie McMeekan, founders of The Midult
‘Timely, useful and profoundly hopeful – a warm and accessible book’ Stella Duffy, bestselling author of Calendar Girl and Money In The Morgue
‘Reading The Glass Cliff is like having a light switched on – so many of the experiences I've had and seen around me started to make sense’ Maryam Pasha, Curator of TEDxLondon
‘Compulsory reading . . . any organisation that wants to remain successful & profitable should read this book’ Donna Patterson, workplace activist and founder of Let's Talk Work
‘A hard hitting triumph . . . makes glaringly obvious how many women have been a victim of business malpractice. Masterful . . . this book arms the next generation of leaders with a vital tool to unlock true equality in the workplace for women’ Ben Pechey, author of The Book of Non-Binary Joy
‘A compelling and enlightening read . . . offers validation, empowerment, and a path forward for challenging systemic disparities in the workplace’ Blair Imani, author of Modern HERstory
‘Extensively researched, nuanced and inclusive, this defiant and definitive book is essential reading’ Hayley Nolan, bestselling author of Anne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies
‘A must read’ Naomi & Natalie Evans, founders of Everyday Racism and authors of The Mixed Race Experience
‘Thought-provoking and timely . . . enlightening and empowering’ Pippa Vosper, author of Beyond Grief