Key Points
- Several women in Australia have made history in recent months with high-profile leadership appointments.
- Experts have warned this could be an example of the 'glass cliff' phenomenon, and say they could be set up to fail.
- The 'glass cliff' refers to women being promoted to leadership roles in times of crisis and then being blamed.
This year, the three women have all been promoted to lead powerful organisations, heading up Qantas, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), and X respectively.
They are also all the first women to hold their positions, and have all stepped up during tumultuous periods for their respective organisations.
While some have heralded the promotions as monumental steps forward in their fields, experts have warned the women are teetering on the edge of a 'glass cliff', and could be set up for failure.
What is the 'glass cliff' and why is it a problem?
The 'glass cliff' phenomenon refers to women and members of minority groups being placed in leadership positions during times of crisis, and was uncovered by Michelle Ryan and Alex Haslam.
Ryan, who is also director of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at the Australian National University, said it builds on the 'glass ceiling' metaphor.
"We're sort of drawing on that to look at what happens once women do break through that glass ceiling and take on senior leadership roles," she said.
"And what our research suggests is that women are more likely to take on leadership roles in times of crisis when things are difficult, when there are either share prices going down or there's reputational damage, or generally when an organisation is in crisis."
When things go downhill, the new leader is then 'pushed off the cliff' and held responsible, often facing professional and personal consequences.
Ryan says these women are effectively set up to fail.
"If women only get positions in times of crisis, the chance of failure is high, so (it is) problematic for those women themselves," she said.
"But also, (there's) the idea that maybe women aren't good at leadership positions."
Are these examples of the glass cliff?
Hudson is stepping into the role of Qantas CEO after her predecessor Alan Joyce moved his retirement two months early amid a wave of criticism and public backlash against the company.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is over allegedly misleading customers.
Qantas has also been criticised for delays and prices, and come under pressure over COVID-19 payments and board members' high bonuses.
On Thursday, Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie said she hoped Hudson had a "big mop" to clean up the "mess" left by Joyce.
"Incredible, the number of times very good women are asked to come in and clean up a very large mess left by, shall we say, a guy," she said.
"This is not a new story. I hope it ends better for her than it does for others."
The RBA, which Bullock will start leading on 18 September, has also been under scrutiny over its implementation of 12 rate rises since May 2022.
Her predecessor Philip Lowe was for the repeated rate rises, which have contributed to a cost of living crisis and left many Australians struggling to pay their mortgages.
In the United States, social media platform X, , has been embroiled in chaos and controversy since it was purchased by billionaire Elon Musk.
Musk was acting as CEO, but in December 2022 he asked users to vote in a poll on whether or not he should step down.
57.5 per cent of respondents voted Yes, and Musk said he would resign as soon as he could find somebody "foolish enough" to take the job. Yaccarino was later appointed.
Elon Musk hired Linda Yaccarino to be the new CEO of social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Source: AAP / Rebecca Blackwell/AP
In the cases of both Qantas and the RBA, the new bosses have been working in the organisations for years in other senior roles.
"The women have been there increasingly over the years, and when they have got into the driver's seat ... many have excelled in ways their male counterparts have not, because they have brought a different kind of experience," she said.
"I think there is still a presumption of male merit at the end of the day which leads to good females, strong, powerful females ... not being counted as being in the same league as men."
Crooks believes there is a subconscious bias and "blind spots" when it comes to appointing women to top jobs.
She said women often bring different attributes into leadership than their male counterparts, which can be beneficial in times of crisis.
"As a general rule, women are more likely to be collaborative, they are more likely to be stronger in the empathy stakes, and they're more likely to hold onto accountability which is a fairly serious virtue in running the show."
How common are female CEOs?
As of April, there were 41 female CEOs of companies listed on the S&P 500, the 500 largest companies listed on stock exchanges in the US.
Australia has slightly better representation, with 21 companies, or 10.5% in the ASX200 run by women, according to analysis by The Australian Financial Review.
How can we protect women from the 'glass cliff'?
Ryan said being on the glass cliff does not have to mean inevitable failure.
"There's always ups and downs and crises that need to be dealt with," she said.
"But I think what's really important is ... don't just put women in those roles; make sure that women get leadership positions when things are going well, as well as when things are in crisis."
She said organisations and companies should provide resources and support for women in glass cliff situations to enable them to succeed.
"Whether it's giving them the resources that they need to bring about change, whether it's about giving them time and appropriate evaluations for their performance, (and) acknowledging that crisis is there as well," she said.
"I think all of those things can help make the glass cliff less precarious."
