For years, female CEOs appointed to lead struggling companies have been described as being perched on a “glass cliff.” The term describes a phenomenon where women are more likely to be appointed to leadership roles in times of crisis, setting them up for failure. Yet, new research shows that women are not more likely to be appointed to CEO during times of crisis, potentially altering views of female leaders.

The study, published in The Leadership Quarterly, analyzed CEO appointments in all publicly held U.S. companies listed on major exchanges from 1998 to 2022. Researchers examined data on 10,348 CEOs, including 526 women, and found that women are no more likely than men to be appointed CEOs at struggling companies. In fact, the study revealed the opposite: as a company’s financial stability improves, the likelihood of a woman being appointed CEO increases.

Read more at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2025/01/13/study-debunks-the-glass-cliff-phenomenon-for-female-ceos/