McKinsey director demoted over ‘glass cliff’ remarks on women CEOs: What the term means and why it mattersA senior leader at one of the world’s most influential consulting firms has lost his leadership roles after questioning a theory about women in top jobs. Chris Bradley, a senior partner at McKinsey, was removed from his positions at the McKinsey Global Institute following comments he made on LinkedIn about the ‘glass cliff’ phenomenon. The controversy has since put the spotlight on a question that women in corporate leadership have long raised: are they more likely to be handed the top job when a company is already in trouble?Bradley, who is based in Australia, was among a small group of directors at the institute, McKinsey’s business and economics research arm. The firm confirmed his removal from leadership roles on October 11, following a conduct review. He remains a senior partner.“Following our conduct review process, we have removed the partner from his leadership roles, including at the McKinsey Global Institute. His public comments fell well short of the standards we expect at our firm,” McKinsey spokesperson Taylor Burns said in a statement.The controversy began with a LinkedIn exchange about the ‘glass cliff’, a term used to describe a pattern in which women are appointed to senior leadership positions when an organisation is already facing a crisis or poor performance.
What did Chris Bradley say about women CEOs?
The debate began after a friend of author Julia Carreon shared a post about the glass cliff phenomenon. Bradley responded by questioning whether the theory deserved attention at all.“This theory is a very convenient way to always be a victim in the rain and empowered in the sunshine,” he wrote, adding that he did not think researching glass cliffs ranked “in the top 1,000 problems of the world”.In another post, he questioned whether the issue was relevant in today’s corporate landscape.“We once had a problem of female advancement to CEO (chief executive officer), but now we have a new problem that the jobs they get are too hard? Is this actually a thing?” he wrote.The remarks drew criticism from people who saw them as dismissive of the challenges women can face when taking charge of struggling businesses. The posts were later deleted.McKinsey subsequently removed Bradley from his leadership positions, including his role at the McKinsey Global Institute. The firm did not say that his senior partnership had been terminated.
What is the ‘glass cliff’ phenomenon?
The glass cliff refers to a situation in which women are more likely to be appointed to leadership roles when a company is under pressure, struggling financially or dealing with a major crisis.Think of it this way: a woman finally gets the corner office, but the company she inherits is already in serious trouble. She is expected to turn things around, often under intense scrutiny, with little room for error. If things go wrong, her performance may be judged harshly. And if she succeeds, the conditions under which she took charge can still be overlooked.The term was coined in 2005 by British psychologists Michelle K Ryan and Alexander Haslam of the University of Exeter. Their research examined the performance of FTSE 100 companies before and after women joined their boards. They found that companies appointing women were more likely to have experienced poor performance in the months leading up to those appointments.The idea builds on the better-known concept of the ‘glass ceiling’, which describes the invisible barriers that can prevent women from reaching senior positions in the first place.The two terms point to different challenges. The glass ceiling concerns the difficulty of getting to the top. The glass cliff asks what kind of position women are stepping into once they get there.
Why has the glass cliff debate returned to the spotlight?
Women have made gains in corporate leadership, but reaching the top does not necessarily mean entering on equal terms. The glass cliff theory raises the possibility that some women are offered leadership roles when a business is already struggling, leaving them with a difficult turnaround and a higher risk of failure.That does not mean every woman appointed during a crisis is a victim of the glass cliff, or that every appointment is made for the same reason. The theory describes a pattern researchers have investigated, not a rule that applies to every company.Bradley’s comments have brought renewed attention to the debate, particularly because they came from a senior figure at McKinsey, a firm whose work centres on advising businesses and their leaders.At the heart of the controversy is a larger question about how companies choose their leaders, what challenges those leaders inherit, and whether women are judged fairly when they take on some of the toughest jobs in business.
