玻璃悬崖
玻璃悬崖（英语：Glass cliff）是指在风险最高或民意低迷的危机时期女性比男性有更高几率担任领导职务之现象，例如企业公司主管和政治选举候选人。[1][2]
起源
该术语由英国艾希特大学教授米歇尔·K·瑞恩和亚历山大·哈斯拉姆于2004年创造，两人在一项研究中检查了富时100指数公司在任命新董事会成员之前和之后的表现，发现任命女性进入董事会的公司比其他公司更可能在过去五个月中普遍存在企业表现不佳的情形。[3]这项研究最终发展成玻璃悬崖现象的例证，该术语类似玻璃天花板，但当中表示女性无法觉察身处透明悬崖边缘的危险，而非指女性身处玻璃天花板中看得到但实际上无法实现的高阶职位之虚假承诺。自从该术语出现以来，已不单涵盖企业界，更涉及政治界和其他领域中。
概述
米歇尔·K·瑞恩和亚历山大·哈斯拉姆的研究表明，一旦女性突破玻璃天花板并担任主管职务，她们往往会拥有与男性同事不同的经历。具体地表示女性更有可能担任不稳定的职位，因此失败的风险更高，其一是她们被任命领导处于危机中的组织，其二是她们没有获得成功所需的资源和支持。[4][5]
米歇尔·K·瑞恩和亚历山大·哈斯拉姆扩展玻璃天花板的隐喻，指出玻璃悬崖为一种暗藏危险且存在垮台风险的职务任命。[4]同时与稳定的公司相比，陷入困境的公司之CEO任期通常较短。[6]今玻璃悬崖概念也被用来描述少数族裔或身心障碍主管所遭受的就业歧视。[7]
玻璃悬崖现象已在法律领域记录在案，2006年一项研究发现法学院学生更有可能将高风险案件分配给女性而非男性的首席律师。[8]2010年另一项研究发现英国具政治学专业的大学生更有可能选择男性政治家竞选安全选区，女性候选人竞选艰困选区。[9]然在其他研究中未能证实玻璃悬崖现象的存在，如2007年对任命CEO之前之公司绩效的一项研究表明，女性高管被选为不稳定主管职位的可能性并不比男性高。[10]
解释
休斯顿大学心理学教授克里斯汀·J·安德森（ Kristin J. Anderson）表示，公司之所以会向女性提供玻璃悬崖职位，源自其认为女性“不只是消耗品，更是代罪羔羊”。她表示那些为女性提供高强度工作的组织相信，无论哪种方式阶能获利，如果女性成功，公司可以渡过危机，反之她若失败，公司不会变得更糟，而她则会遭受谴责，公司更会因平等主义和进步主义而受到赞扬，并且可以恢复过往任命男性的做法。[11]
米歇尔·K·瑞恩和亚历山大·哈斯拉姆称，他们的研究表明人们认为女性更适合领导压力大、不快乐的公司，因为她们被认为更有良好教养、直觉和创造力。[12]这些研究人员认为，女性主管不一定会改善公司的这种情况，而是被视为可以为承担组织失败责任的优秀人资主管。[13]亚历山大·哈斯拉姆曾表示，女性高管比男性更容易接受玻璃悬崖职位，起因于她们无法获得平时会警告主管风险的有用讯息和支持。[14]犹他州立大学教授阿里·库克（Ali Cook）和克里斯蒂·格拉斯（Christy Glass）称，女性和其他少数族裔认为接受高风险工作机会是她们可能获得的唯一机会。[6]
2007年的一项研究发现，英国的女性新闻阅听者比男性阅听者更容易接受玻璃悬崖的存在，并且认为此对女性主管而言是危险且不公平的行为。女性研究参与者将玻璃悬崖的存在归因于女性主管于职场中缺乏多元机会、遭受性别歧视和偏爱男性任职等因素。男性研究参与者表示，女性比男性本身更不适合担任艰难的领导人物或战略决策，当中更表示玻璃悬崖无关于性别。[15]
对女性主管的影响
玻璃悬崖职位可能会损害女性主管的声誉和职业生涯，因为当一家公司表现不佳时，人们往往会盲目指责其领导阶级，而不考虑情境背景上的不同。[3]研究人员发现，女性主管因为缺乏指导者和赞助商，导致她们一旦失败将比男性主管更难获得第二次机会，而且难以进入到相互照应的“故旧网络”。[16]然而一些研究人员则认为，与稳定的公司相比，情况不佳的公司提供女性在权力和影响力上有更多机会。[14]
参见
参考资料
- ^ Cooper, Marianne. Why women are often put in charge of failing companies. PBS NewsHour. 2015-09-22 [2016-07-11]. （原始内容存档于2017-10-14）.
- ^ Susanne Bruckmüller and Nyla R. Branscombe, How Women End Up on the “Glass Cliff” （页面存档备份，存于互联网档案馆） Harvard Business Review, JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2011
- ^ 3.0 3.1 Ryan, Michelle K., and S. Alexander Haslam. The Glass Cliff: Evidence that Women are Over-Represented in Precarious Leadership Positions. British Journal of Management. 2005-02-09, 16 (2): 81–90. S2CID 154790353. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8551.2005.00433.x.
- ^ 4.0 4.1 The Glass Cliff. University of Exeter. [2015-08-04]. （原始内容存档于2011-07-27）.
- ^ BBC NEWS | Magazine | Introducing... the glass cliff. [2022-09-08]. （原始内容存档于2007-08-27）.
- ^ 6.0 6.1 McCullough, DG. Women CEOs: Why companies in crisis hire minorities - and then fire them. The Guardian. 2014-08-08 [2014-10-18]. （原始内容存档于2014-10-09）.
- ^ Cook, A., A.; Glass, C. Glass Cliffs and Organizational Saviors: Barriers to Minority Leadership in Work Organizations?. Social Problems: 168–187. doi:10.1525/sp.2013.60.2.168.
- ^ Ashby, Julie S.; Haslam, S. Alexander; Ryan, Michelle K. Legal work and the Glass Cliff: Evidence that Women Are Preferentially Selected to Lead Problematic Cases. William and Mary Journal of Women and the Law. Fall 2006, 13 (3): 775 [2014-10-18]. （原始内容存档于2022-09-08）.
- ^ Ryan, Michelle K.; Haslam, S. Alexander; Kulich, Clara. Politics and the Glass Cliff: Evidence that Women Are Preferentially Selected to Contest Hard-to-Win Seats. Psychology of Women Quarterly. March 2010, 34: 56–64. S2CID 143553874. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.2009.01541.x.
- ^ Adams, Susan. Are Female Executives Over-represented in Precarious Leadership Positions?. British Journal of Management. 2009, 20 (1): 1–12. S2CID 55283475. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8551.2007.00549.x.
- ^ Rivers, Caryl, and Rosalind C. Barnett. When Wall Street Needs Scapegoats, Women Beware. Women's eNews. 2013-11-02 [2014-10-18]. （原始内容存档于2015-07-19）.
- ^ Haslam, S. Alexander and Michelle K. Ryan. The road to the glass cliff: Differences in the perceived suitability of men and women for leadership positions in succeeding and failing organizations (PDF). The Leadership Quarterly. 2008, 19 (5): 530–546 [2014-10-18]. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2008.07.011. hdl:10871/8362
. （原始内容 (PDF)存档于2013-12-25）.
- ^ Ryan, Michelle K.; Haslam, S. Alexander; Hersby, Mette D.; Bongiorno, Renata. Think crisis-think female: the glass cliff and contextual variation in the think manager-think male stereotype. Journal of Applied Psychology. May 2011, 96 (3): 470–84. PMID 21171729. doi:10.1037/a0022133. hdl:10871/18856.
- ^ 14.0 14.1 Trop, Jaclyn. Is Mary Barra standing on a glass cliff?. The New Yorker. [2014-05-23]. （原始内容存档于2014-07-19）.
- ^ Ryan, Michelle K., and S. Alexander Haslam, Tom Postmes. Reactions to the glass cliff: Gender differences in the explanations for the precariousness of women's leadership positions. Journal of Organizational Change Management. 2007, 20 (2): 182–197. doi:10.1108/09534810710724748.
- ^ Hewlett, Sylvia Ann. The Glass Cliff: Are Women Leaders Often Set Up to Fail?. Harvard Business Review. 2008-08-05 [2014-10-18]. （原始内容存档于2014-10-19）.
参考书目
- Gunter, Barrie. Why Women Should be Taken More Seriously in the Boardroom (Routledge, 2017).
- Oyster, Carol K. "Perceptions of Power: Female Executives’ Descriptions of Power Usage by 'Best' and 'Worst' Bosses." Psychology of Women Quarterly 16.4 (1992): 527-533.
- Ryan, M. K. Managing Diversity and the Glass Cliff. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. 2007-09-01. ISBN 978-1843981909.
- Ryan, M. K.; Schmitt, M. T.; Barreto, M. The Glass Ceiling in the 21st Century. American Psychological Association. 2009. ISBN 978-1-4338-0409-0.
- Ryan, M. K.; Haslam, S. A. The Glass Cliff: Evidence that women are over-represented in precarious leadership positions. British Journal of Management. 2005, 16 (2): 81–90. S2CID 154790353. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8551.2005.00433.x.
- Ryan, M. K.; Haslam, S. A. The Glass Cliff: Exploring the dynamics surrounding the appointment of women precarious leadership positions. Academy of Management Review. 2007, 32 (2): 549–572. doi:10.5465/amr.2007.24351856.
- Haslam, S. A.; Ryan, M. K. The road to the glass cliff: Differences in the perceived suitability of men and women for leadership positions in succeeding and failing organizations. Leadership Quarterly. 2008, 19 (5): 530–546. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2008.07.011. hdl:10871/8362 .
- Bruckmüller, S.; Branscombe, N. R. The glass cliff: When and why women are selected as leaders in crisis contexts. British Journal of Social Psychology. 2010, 49 (3): 433–451. PMID 19691915. doi:10.1348/014466609x466594.
- Brescoll, V. L.; Dawson, E.; Uhlmann, E. L. Hard won and easily lost: The fragile status of leaders in gender-stereotype-incongruent occupations. Psychological Science. 2010, 21 (11): 1640–1642. PMID 20876882. S2CID 7911994. doi:10.1177/0956797610384744.
- Ryan, M. K.; Haslam, S. A.; Kulich, C. Politics and the glass cliff: Evidence that women are preferentially selected to contest hard-to-win seats. Psychology of Women Quarterly. 2010, 34: 56–64. S2CID 143553874. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.2009.01541.x.
- Haslam, S. A.; Ryan, M. K.; Kulich, C.; Trojanowski, G.; Atkins, C. Investing with prejudice: The relationship between women's presence on company boards and objective and subjective measures of company performance. British Journal of Management. 2010, 21: 484–497. S2CID 55178206. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8551.2009.00670.x.
- Ryan, M. K.; Haslam, S. A.; Hersby, M. D.; Bongiorno, R. Think crisis–think female: The glass cliff and contextual variation in the think manager–think male stereotype. Journal of Applied Psychology. 2011, 96 (3): 470–484. PMID 21171729. doi:10.1037/a0022133. hdl:10871/18856.
- Kulich, C.; Ryan, M. K.; Haslam, S. A. The Political Glass Cliff: Understanding How Seat Selection Contributes to the Underperformance of Ethnic Minority Candidates. Political Research Quarterly. 2014, 67 (1): 84–95. S2CID 154053541. doi:10.1177/1065912913495740.
- Cook, A.; Glass, C. Women and Top Leadership Positions: Towards an Institutional Analysis. Gender, Work & Organization. 2014, 21 (1): 91–103. doi:10.1111/gwao.12018.
- Cook, A.; Glass, C. Glass Cliffs and Organizational Saviors: Barriers to Minority Leadership in Work Organizations?.. Social Problems. 2013, 60 (2): 168–187. doi:10.1525/sp.2013.60.2.168.
- Wilson-Kovacs, D.; Ryan, M. K.; Haslam, S. A.; Rabinovich, A. 'Just because you can get a wheelchair in the building doesn't necessarily mean that you can still participate': barriers to the career advancement of disabled professionals. Disability & Society. 2008, 23 (7): 705–717. S2CID 145621518. doi:10.1080/09687590802469198.
- Vincent, Annette, and Judy Seymour. "Mentoring among female executives." Women in Management Review 9.7 (1994): 15-20.
- Zenger, J., & Folkman, J. "Are Women Better Leaders Than Men?" Harvard Business Review 15 (2012): 80-85. online[失效链接]