The Glass Cliff

Written By: Jillian Climie.

Most of us have heard of the term “glass ceiling,” the invisible barrier that prevents women from advancing into senior leadership roles. But have you heard of the “glass cliff”? I hadn’t either, at least not by name. But I had certainly heard the stories that illustrated it. 

The glass cliff refers to situations where women are hired into senior positions during times of crisis, instability, or organizational decline. Moments when the likelihood of failure is highest. Put simply, they’re being set up to fail.

Examples

One of the most well-known examples is Marissa Mayer, who became CEO of Yahoo when the company’s market share and relevance were already in steep decline. She was brought in to turn things around, an almost impossible task. When performance continued to fall, much of the blame was directed at her personally.

Another is Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, who was appointed during a crisis involving faulty ignition switches linked to multiple deaths. GM faced lawsuits, recalls, and a major PR disaster. Barra successfully navigated those challenges, but the timing of her appointment highlighted the pattern.

At The Thoughtful Co., I’ve heard many similar stories. Women stepping into CEO roles at companies already in significant decline, only to realize later how stacked the odds were against them. Many have shared that they felt set up to fail.

Naming this phenomenon matters. It helps us recognize it when it’s happening and better understand how it shapes perceptions of women in leadership.

Stories from Women Leaders

Several clients have graciously (and confidentially) shared their experiences. Here are a few common themes:

1. Not being told how bad it was. Many women have told me they entered a role expecting one thing, only to discover a completely different and worse reality. When leaders aren’t fully informed about the company’s true situation, it breaks the trust that’s essential between a CEO and a Board. Many have said they never would have accepted the role had they known how serious the problems were.

2. Feeling like a PR exercise. A common reflection: “Was I hired for my skills, or because the company wanted to say it was women-led?” These women often found themselves without real authority, with a Founder or Board Chair running things from behind the scenes. They felt blamed for failures but not credited for wins.

3. Missing information and limited access. Some women have shared that even after stepping into the role, they weren’t given access to key information or decision-making spaces, excluded from meetings, removed from email chains, or denied financial and strategy documents. Others have been left without the resources to succeed, such as being saddled with debt or having a significant lack of funding for core operations.

4. Unpaid or missing compensation. This one is especially frustrating to me. I’ve seen many women leaders promised salary increases, bonuses, or equity agreements that never materialized. Promises of ownership that were quietly forgotten or continuously delayed once they were in the role.

How Women Can Navigate It

The question is: When is it time to leave? Some situations are toxic and unfixable. Others are difficult but worth working through. It’s not always easy to tell the difference when you’re in the middle of it. That’s why having an external perspective, such as a coach, advisor, or trusted friend, can be invaluable. 

Ask yourself: Is this a hard role in a hard time that I can grow through? Or, was this truly a situation set up for failure?

External support is also critical for understanding your personal risks. If things are happening within the company that you don’t agree with or don’t have full visibility into, there could be legal implications, and that may be your sign to step away.

One client captured it beautifully: “We spend so much time in our brains that we forget to trust our bodies. My body knew something was wrong before my brain could name it. When I reflect, there were things that I ignored. I had sunk cost bias and was attached to the possibility of the role and title. Listen to your body.”

What We Can Do Collectively

Understanding the glass cliff and naming it is the first step. We need to recognize how it skews perceptions of women in leadership. When women are consistently brought in to lead during crises, we risk associating their leadership with failure rather than resilience.

Boards and executive teams must actively counter this by examining how they approach succession planning. Use objective, evidence-based evaluation criteria in CEO and executive searches. Ensure women, particularly women of color (which the glass cliff can impact even more significantly), are given opportunities to lead in times of strength and growth, not just when a company is in crisis.

Only then can we move from setting women up for failure to setting them up for impact.