Research Spotlight: You’ve heard of the Glass Ceiling. There’s also a “Glass Cliff.”

(This series highlights studies relevant to aspiring female entrepreneurs. Written by Isabel Hirama)

For decades, we’ve known about the infamous “glass ceiling” that gets in the way of women rising to high-level positions.  Unfortunately, it’s not the only invisible force that’s sabotaging women’s careers. Research has also revealed a “glass cliff” phenomenon: women who do reach top leadership roles are more likely than men to lose this status and fall from their positions. Read on to find out if you could soon be teetering on the edge of a glass cliff, or worse, pushing someone off it.

What they did:

In 2010, researchers from Yale and HEC Paris proposed a theory that could explain the glass cliff phenomenon. Their theory was that for women in stereotypically “male” roles, small mistakes are judged more harshly and can quickly make them lose reputation and status.

To test this theory, the researchers created fictional scenarios with main characters who were police chiefs or CEOs of aerospace engineering firms – jobs traditionally associated with men. They had participants read various versions of the scenarios. In the different versions, the main character was either male or female, and he or she either completed a job-related task without making a mistake, or completed the same task but made a mistake.  The participants then rated the characters for competence and how much status they deserved.

What they found:

The researchers’ first comparisons were encouraging: in scenarios where no mistakes were made, male and female characters were given equally high ratings. Characters that made a mistake were given lower ratings, overall.  Fair enough.

The damaging “glass cliff” effects became obvious when comparing the mistake scenarios.  While ratings dropped somewhat for male characters that made a mistake, they plunged for women, even though the fictitious mistakes were identical.  Female characters that made mistakes instantly lost far more perceived competence and status than their male counterparts.

What this means:

Clearly, there is a double-standard at play here. When participants read about male characters making a mistake, it seems that they wrote it off as an exception. When females made one, they assumed it was the rule. It seems that high-profile women are perilously perched at the edge of the cliff, and a small slip can lead to a great fall.

So are men safe from the glass cliff? According to this study, no. When the researchers switched the profession in the scenarios to a traditionally female job (president of a women’s college), the results flipped. Women who made a mistake were rated only slightly lower, while the ratings men who erred took quite a tumble.

Here’s another surprise: throughout the study, these biased responses came from both male and female participants. This means that it is not just men pushing women off the cliff, or women pushing men. Neither are immune to this bias. This makes the work of organizations like GirlsUp especially important. Not only do we help girls climb to great heights, we must make sure we’re not unintentionally pulling each other back down.

This study reminds us of the dangerous power of assumptions, and challenges us to reexamine our perceptions. Everyone makes mistakes, including competent, brilliant leaders – male and female. When they do, let’s allow them to dust themselves off and carry on, defying the threat of glass cliffs, glass ceilings, and anything else that tries to get in their way.

You can read the full text of the study, “Hard Won and Easily Lost: The Fragile Status of Leaders in Gender-Stereotype-Incongruent Occupations” here, published in the September 2010 edition of Psychological Science.