By putting all responsibility on the individual, the glass cliff metaphor often cited in media reinforces the stereotype of women leaders unable to navigate risk. A new feminist perspective on the traditional narrative reveals a different trajectory, one highlighted by women leaders’ refusal to accept male norms, biases, and expectations.
The “glass cliff” is a well-known metaphor that describes how women are set up for failure by being put in leadership roles when organizations are in crisis.
A research team of three feminist scholars push back on the metaphor, arguing that it perpetuates gender inequalities by placing the responsibility for negative outcomes on the individual female leader while ignoring the masculine-dominated context and environment in which she is operating. The glass cliff, with its rise-and-fall arc, thus echoes in some way the traditional male-biased narratives of women, beginning with Eve, whose inability to negotiate risk leads to failure.
In their study, the researchers analyze media characterizations of “glass cliff” situations and consequences between 2004 and 2022, demonstrating the popularity of the metaphor when depicting the trajectory of women leaders.
They then focus specifically on the trajectories of three women leaders former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, former Australian of the Year and sexual abuse activist Grace Tame, and climate change activist Greta Thunberg to offer an alternative narrative of the falling leader that they call the “leadership of refusal.”
The leadership of refusal reveals the non-sacrificial agency of women leaders who refuse to succumb to masculine leadership norms and expectations a refusal that generates intense opposition, which range from misogynistic insults to active campaigns to bring down the leader. This refusal is not only communicated through words and actions, but is also embodied by the leader through different visual codes, including physical (e.g., inclining towards an audience as opposed to standing erect), dress (e.g., downplaying her femininity), interpersonal (e.g., refusing to shake hands, refusing to smile and act nice), and spatial (e.g., keeping a distance from authority figures or symbols, such as a flag).
As the first female Australian Prime Minister, for example, Gillard faced an uninterrupted barrage of vulgar misogynist comments and insults during her tenure as well as the desertion of male voters from her party. Intense media focus on several physical falls solidified the narrative of Gillard’s precarity. She was eventually replaced by her own party with a male leader.
As Prime Minister, Gillard exemplified the leadership of refusal, most notably with here famous “misogyny speech,” in which she bluntly attacked the misogyny of the opposition leader and his supporters. “When Julia Gillard… cut the opposition leader to pieces in Parliament on Monday with the lethal skill of a sashimi chef, women around the world stood on their chairs and punched the air,” noted one observer in London’s The Times.
Throughout the speech, Gillard visually conveyed femininity and authority: physically, she stood relaxed and calm, her beautifully manicured hands in constant motion; in dress, the professionalism of a blue-tailored suit was highlighted by the femininity of a deep pink t-shirt underneath; interpersonally, as she stood authoritatively at the dispatch box, the opposition leader grinned sheepishly before becoming stony-faced, and the jeers of the opposition fell silent; spatially, her performance filled the hall as the members sat squashed together on benches.
Although Gillard eventually stepped down as Prime Minister, she has become a global leader fighting for the rights of women leaders. Tame’s and Thunberg’s trajectories, described in detail by the researchers, are equally illustrative of the leadership of refusal, from their take-no-prisoners speeches to their refusal to be gracious and smiling when interacting with authority figures they disdain to their rejection of honours or other rewards for their activism.
The strength of metaphors in visualizing and simplifying complex situations can also be their weakness: the metaphor becomes entrenched and over time the complexity of situations fades away. The glass cliff metaphor powerfully evokes precarity, but these scholars challenge the implied helplessness of women when faced with risk. For women leaders, this challenge can motivate a different attitude towards crisis situations, one based on agency as well as the refusal to bend to biased norms and expectations. “Saying no in order to take risks towards achieving transformative action,” the researchers write, “is a defining feature of leadership.”
Emma Bell’s profile at LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-bell-51a024330/?originalSubdomain=se
Amanda Sinclair’s profile at University of Melbourne Business School
https://mbs.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty/amanda-sinclair
Sheena Vachhani’s profile at University of Bristol Business School
https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/persons/sheena-j-vachhani
A Leadership of Refusal: Remaking the Narrative of the Falling Leader. Emma Bell, Amanda Sinclair, and Sheena J. Vachhani. British Journal of Management (October 2024).
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