The Glass Cliff بقلم Sophie Williams ... 'The Glass Cliff is a conversation about what happens when women break the rules, and break through The Glass Ceiling.' Have you ever wondered why there are so few success stories of women in business leadership? Or maybe you've wondered what life is really like on the other side of The Glass Ceiling? The world of work is supposedly changing, embracing diversity – yet are the opportunities we're giving to women really equal to those of men? Drawing on almost 20 years of research from around the world, The Glass Cliff phenomenon - whereby women are often only hired in leadership roles when a business is already underperforming, meaning their chances of success are limited before they ever even start in the role - is well established, but little known. Until now. This is the story of The Glass Cliff: a story of a structural inequality disguising itself as the personal failures of women. When activist Sophie Williams gave her viral TED talk on the subject, she was subsequently flooded with accounts of confident, accomplished women who had taken what seemed like a dream leadership role only to quickly find themselves in a waking nightmare. Without the language to describe their experiences they had been left blaming themselves, until Williams gave them the tools to reframe and reexamine what they'd gone through. Once we understand The Glass Cliff - once we can stand together and face it head-first - we can start to unravel so many other false narratives about women's leadership experiences that just don't make sense without it. By understanding the phenomenon, and by telling one another about it, we can affect the conversation, empower one another to overcome societal bias and, ultimately, change the world of work for women forever.
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Sophie Williams
Sophie Williams is a dedicated anti-racism advocate and activist. Outside of her online platform she has spoken on panels for Reuters, Afrovisibility, WeAre Stripes and Girls Talk London, discussing Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace, and black representation in advertising, both on screen and in agencies. Professionally, Sophie has had a long career in advertising, particularly in social agencies, where she was most recently COO. In 2019 Sophie left traditional agencies to set up her own businesses, working directly with clients such as Netflix on marketing for shows like Sex Education, The Crown and The End of the Fucking World.