Dismissing The Struggles Of Female Executives
Consultancy firm McKinsey & Co. removed senior partner Chris Bradley from his leadership roles. He made highly controversial LinkedIn comments dismissing the “glass cliff” facing women executives. The firm confirmed their decision on October 11 following an internal committee review. Bradley served as a director at the McKinsey Global Institute. He served the prominent consultancy firm for over 27 years. He remains a senior partner based in Australia currently. A spokesperson for McKinsey stated the comments fell well short of expected standards. Bradley called the glass cliff a very convenient way to play the victim.
Questioning A Proven Phenomenon
He publicly questioned whether the concept exists at all in the modern workplace. He asked whether women faced a new problem because their jobs were too hard. He added that researching the issue would not make his list of top 1,000 problems. Co-author Julia Carreon accused him of willful ignorance online. Bradley subsequently deleted the controversial posts from his profile. The exchange began under a LinkedIn post promoting a book about the glass cliff. Academics introduced the glass cliff term back in 2005. It describes women receiving CEO jobs more often when companies are struggling.
Data Supports The Glass Cliff Theory
Data from researcher Exechange points in the exact same direction. Women CEOs left after an average of 6.2 years over the past decade. Male CEOs lasted an average of 8.9 years in comparable corporate positions. Women were also significantly more likely to be forced out. Only one in 10 S&P 500 companies has a female chief executive currently. The criticism centered heavily on the contradiction with McKinsey’s own published work. The firm has published a “Women in the Workplace” study for a decade. A 2020 McKinsey healthcare report explicitly cited the glass cliff phenomenon. Understand the evolving trends shaping corporate culture and business leadership. Read more comprehensive business analysis today on The WAU.
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