glass cliff

American  

[glas klif] / ˈglæs ˈklɪf /

noun

1. a situation in which a woman or minority has advanced professionally at a time when adverse circumstances or crises make it more likely for the person to fail at the job.

   Hired to boost sagging morale, the CEO is facing the edge of a glass cliff.

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Usage

What does glass cliff mean? The glass cliff is a metaphor for putting women and other minorities into leadership positions during times of crisis. It suggests they are getting set up to fail, as if getting pushed over a cliff.

Etymology

Origin of glass cliff

Coined in 2004 by Michelle K. Ryan ( 1948– ) and S. Alexander Haslan ( 1962– ), British psychologists, on the model of glass ceiling ( def. )

Example Sentences

This dynamic, where a talented female leader inherits a collapsing situation, is so common in the business world that experts have a name for it: The glass cliff.

From Salon • Sep. 26, 2025

Some commentators have already suggested she is poised to encounter the "glass cliff" - a phenomenon in which women reach positions of power only at the riskiest moments.

From BBC • May 28, 2023

“It’s part of an overall strategy: How do we make sure that women get into the pipeline, stay in it and aren’t on a glass cliff? Retention is hard and attrition is common,” Markgraf said.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 23, 2023

The phenomenon is so familiar it has a name: the glass cliff.

From New York Times • Aug. 11, 2021

The glass cliff overlooks a lake where the beavers built a dam about a mile and a half long in a zig-zag line, as their necessities prompted.

From From Sea to Sea Letters of Travel by Kipling, Rudyard