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

The glass cliff theory holds up in business as well as politics, and, according to a 2011 Harvard Business Review report, “does not seem to apply to organizations with a history of female leaders.”

From Seattle Times • May 15, 2023

Corporate titans hand the reins of failing corporations like Yahoo to women, just before they push them over the glass cliff, the apparent landing place after one shatters the glass ceiling.

From New York Times • Dec. 1, 2020

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