Career advancements often don’t come easily for women, what with facing gender discrimination on the job, struggling with pay inequality, and even dealing with sexual harrassment. If these obstacles were not enough, several female professionals also must confront the reality of the glass ceiling, the notorious barrier to achievement that often holds women back from reaching executive roles in corporations. Still, even for those high-performers that are able to successfully break the glass ceiling and take on top roles, far too many competent women are faced with yet another massive career challenge: the tricky paradox of the glass cliff.
The glass cliff phenomenon is best explained as situations in which capable women are appointed to leadership roles in a company during times of significant turmoil—ultimately being set up to fail. The failure does not indicate any fault of women in leadership roles, but rather that they are not given adequate support and are perhaps promoted for the wrong reasons. Evident of this fact is that women CEOs are 45% more likely to be ousted from CEO roles than men.
For women considering a precarious promotion to a leadership role, it’s worth factoring the level of risk into salary negotiations to help ensure a competitive salary, and it’s important to analyze company reports to get a good idea of industry trends. Taking the time to research and even broaching the subject with a company’s HR department prior to taking on a risky promotion may help women leaders face the glass cliff without falling off.
Check out the infographic from Fundera below for even more tips on how to navigate the glass cliff:
Please include attribution to Fundera.com with this graphic.
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