BBC Radio 4 Women’s Hour’s Jenni interviews Dr Micheline Sheehy-Skeffington, grandaughter of Irish suffragette Hanna Sheehy Skeffington, following her Equality Tribunal Success. Dr. Sheehy-Skeffington speaks about why she chose to pursue the case against the National University of Ireland, Galway, in a special segment on Gender Discrimination.
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| Reasons for the glass cliff as given by women vs. men (Ryan, Haslam & Postmes 2007). |
Today’s talk by Professor Michelle Ryan of the University of Exeter at the Fogg Lecture Theatre on the glass cliff led to the following conclusions (from her final slide):
- women’s experiences in the workplace are very different from their male counterparts;
- equal opportunity is about the nature of leadership positions as well as the numbers; and,
- it is important to note that the quantity of women given senior positions is low, but also that the quality of those positions is typically low too.
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| Motivation for Ryan’s glass cliff project: Times article, “Women on Board: Help or Hinderance” (Judge, 2003) |
Motivation for her glass cliff project came from a 2003 Times article, ‘Women on Board: Help or Hindrence’ (Judge, 2003) that claimed companies with women in their board rooms tend to underperform, thus women leaders must be wreaking havoc on organisations’ performances. Subsequent systematic research revealed that women tend to be disproportionately appointed to leadership positions when companies are failing, and that companies that appointed women during financial downturns actually experienced marked increase in share prices.
More on her work can be heard on BBC Radio 4’s woman’s hour archive:
From The Glass Cliff project website (psychology.exeter.ac.uk/research/glasscliff):
“Extending the metaphor of the glass ceiling, the glass cliff describes the phenomenon whereby individuals belonging to particular groups are more likely to be found in leadership positions that are associated with a greater risk of failure and criticism.”
Hear about the glass cliff from Professor Michelle Ryan at the next SBCS Athena SWAN seminar Thursday, 20 Nov, 1pm-2pm at the Fogg Lecture Theatre.
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The School of Biological & Chemical Sciences at QMUL, Athena SWAN Seminar
Professor Michelle Ryan
Professor of Social and Organisational Pyschology, University of Exeter
Thursday 20 November 2014, 1.00pm to 2.00pm
Fogg Lecture Theatre, Fogg Building, Mile End Campus, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS
While women are breaking through the glass ceiling in increasing numbers, there may be additional subtle barriers for them to face. Michelle will present a program of research examining the types of leadership positions that women tend to occupy and the precariousness of these roles.
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| Professor Michelle Ryan, U of Exeter |
Michelle Ryan is a Professor of Social and Organisational Psychology at the University of Exeter, UK and a (part-time) Professor of Diversity at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. At the University of Exeter she is the Dean of Postgraduate Research and Director of the University of Exeter Graduate College. She currently holds a British Academy mid-career fellowship examining the role of identity in determining perception of work-life balance. She is involved in a number of other research projects. With Alex Haslam, she has uncovered the phenomenon of the glass cliff, whereby women (and members of other minority groups) are more likely to be placed in leadership positions that are risky or precarious. Research into the glass cliff has been funded by the ESRC and the European Social Fund. In 2005 it was short-listed for the Times Higher Education Supplement Research Project of the Year and was named by the New York Times as one of the top 100 ideas that shaped 2008.
The National University of Ireland, Galway, is ordered to promote a lecturer overlooked over gender following a tribunal that found that “while on paper the promotion appeared to be a fair process based on definitive criteria, in practice it fell short.” See Ruadhán Mac Cormaic’s report in the Irish Times.
Nick Bryant of BBC News New York writes: “Long an all-male enclave, the UN Security Council now has a record number of women. Does that influence how diplomacy gets done at the highest levels?”
“I think we listen well … I notice that the women tend to take more notes.” ~ Samantha Power, US Permanent Representative
“Women have greater and deeper and more profound insights into how to resolve problems.” ~ Joy Ogwu, Nigeria’s Ambassador
“Women tend to discuss more, to want to find solutions … Faced with problems, we say: ‘Well you know we should do something. This is not proper. We should do something.’ There’s this desire to find these solutions. I don’t know whether it’s the mother factor, or what, but there is that aspect that I noticed in the council.” ~ Dina Kawar, Jordan Permanent Representative
Read more at www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30012139 .
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| Illustration of the gender pay gap by Robert Neubecker in the NYTimes (14 Nov 2014) article: “Vigilant Eye on Gender Pay Gap“ |
Follow link to see a New York Times article that advocates for thoughtful fixes to the gender pay gap: “Vigilant Eye on Gender Pay Gap” by Tara Siegel Bernard.
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| Richardson-Heron, Napier, Miller, and Ming —four women interviewed in NYTimes (13 Nov 2014) article “Executive Women, Finding (and Owning) Their Voice“ |
In a New York Times article posted on 13 November 2014, Adam Bryant interviews four executive women—Dara Richardson-Heron, M.D., Chief executive of the Y.W.C.A. USA; Sharon Napier, Chief executive, of Partners + Napier (an ad agency); Jody Greenstone Miller, Chief executive of the Business Talent Group; and, Jenny Ming Chief executive of Charlotte Russe. The four women speak on women and leadership: the importance of taking stands, and of making sure they are heard.
Follow this link to see the article: Executive Women, Finding (and Owning) Their Voice
Jody Greenstone Miller, chief executive of the Business Talent Group, speaks on flexible work environments—www.nytimes.com/video/business/100000003229855/corner-office-the-metrics-of-success.html.
Dara Richardson-Heron, M.D., C.E.O. of Y.W.C.A. USA, speaks on setting expectations of leadership to Adam Bryant and Blaine Novak—www.nytimes.com/video/business/100000003229913/corner-office-leading-to-the-goal-line.html.
The European Space Agency’s successful landing on the Rosetta comet is an amazing achievement.
As a side effect, it has also led to a lot of discussion around the representation of women in science. Here’s a great clip to keep in mind of Professor Monica Grady, who “was in on the Philae lander project from its earliest days and jumped for joy when she found out the news.”