Most people are aware of the concept of the "glass ceiling" - that is, the invisible barrier to career advancement, usually because of unrelated things such as gender. But researchers are identifying a new phenomenon: the glass cliff. They define it as the place where women rise to leadership positions in companies, only to find themselves in a position of almost guaranteed failure, and are subsequently replaced by a facsimile of the old regime.
The glass cliff comes about for many reasons, but is mostly seen when women are promoted for "transformational purposes", after the business is pushed in the direction of untested change, thereby setting the new leader up for failure.
But just like the glass ceiling, there are ways for women to fight against this system.