JARP 3: LEADING AT THE TOP

Leading at the Top

Glass, C., Cook, A. (2016) Leading at the top: understanding womens challenges above the
glass ceiling. The Leadership Quarterly, 51-63.

Deidre R. Bradley
Fort Hays State University
Dr. Joy Martin
LDRS 811
http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.fhsu.edu:2048/science/article/pii/S1048984315001034

Leading at the Top

There have been numerous articles about the glass ceiling. The term refers to barrier for
women and minorities from advancing in a profession. This article is about the challenges that
women, in particular, face once they make it past that ceiling.
The authors analyzed two areas. First, they wanted to see what condition women were
promoted to top positions in leadership. Second, they reviewed what these women faced postpromotion. They collected data on both men and women who served in the capacity as CEO of a
Fortune 500 company.
The term, glass cliff, was used in this article several times. The meaning of this term
refers to the concept that women are more likely to be put into a high-risk or precarious
leadership role than their male counterparts. At first glance, this idea may come across as a
positive, in that female leaders have proven their skills so much so they are asked to head up a
sinking ship. However, taking on an organization that is in crisis can cause women to start their
tenure with a deficit.
The overarching discussion of the article looked at the scrutiny that female leaders face
once they get their dream job. With such intense pressure to thrive, look and/or act a certain way,
and general lack of support, many women end up with less job satisfaction and increased
turnover in their role.
The authors research suggests that women are much more likely to be appointed as CEO
in a struggling company as opposed to men. On the other hand, many women viewed the risk as
a golden opportunity to build their career, even while knowing that messing up could derail their
career.
This article was very interesting for me. In all of the jobs I have had over the last 30
years, I have had both male and female bosses. I have typically reported to a senior leader, (i.e.

Leading at the Top

director, vice president or CEO). I was blessed that the males I worked for pushed me to get
better at my craft while also appreciating that I had a family to care for and were supportive.
Nearly three years ago, I joined an all -female leadership team that has been wildly
successful. Currently, we have four very strong women and one very strong man on our team. I
work in healthcare, so it is a predominantly female environment. We have won multiple awards
based on strategy and results.
While I do believe we have come very far with putting the right person in the job, rather
than the right gender, I cant help but notice there are still plenty of top seats in organizations all
over the world that have very few women or minorities. The article did suggest that with
millennials being so open to diversity, we will probably see a big shift in the current paradigm of
it being a mans world.
I am hopeful that we will just look at talent and not skin or gender one day very soon!

Leading at the Top

Reference
Glass, C., Cook, A. (2016) Leading at the top: understanding womens challenges above the
glass ceiling. The Leadership Quarterly, 51-63.

Hi Deidre,
Interesting discussion this week. I certainly do believe that the tide is turning in regards to
the glass ceiling, but also recognize that we have a long way to go as a society. Depending on
the industry that you work in women and minorities may face additional challenges. Over
the course of the last ten years I have worked primarily as a field archaeologist and in
museums. Interestingly I found that field archaeology was was dominated by an "Old Boys
Club" mentality. I saw many individuals in leadership roles who viewed women as unwilling
to meet the demands of physical outdoor work. The truth was that they were not being
provided the same opportunities to do the work. I was very fortunate to secure a position
working for one of the largest Cultural Resource Management firms in Florida. It just so
happened that the firm was owned and operated by two pioneering women in the field. They
started the firm in the early 70's during a time when there there were very few women doing
that kind of work. They were in fact two of the best bosses that I ever had and provided very
equal opportunities, which until recently was not the norm in the field.
During this time period I also worked in museums as a curator for a number of projects.
Interestingly the museums that I had experience with were all led by very strong women.
Women made up the majority of the Board of Directors and were often in the position of
Executive Director. I wonder of this is more the cultural norm because it is arts and
humanities based.
The fact that women are more likely to be placed into highly precarious positions of
leadership seems to indicate that women are more often times offered up as the sacrificial
lamb so to speak. It is very unfortunate that anyone would be placed into a sink or swim
type position, but for many individuals that is their opportunity to make a splash. Looking
to the future I truly believe that this will change as equality becomes more of a cultural
norm. Further women are achieving college degrees at a increasingly higher rate than men

Leading at the Top

in recent years, which will continue to make them more qualified than male counterparts.
The future will be interesting to see.
Ryan P. Murphy