Even if the glass cliff does exist, the cancellation cliff is more dangerous

In tough times, people become nostalgic for the good old days. Which is why, I suppose, the kids are so into ’90s fashion these days. In case you missed it, a very 2018 vintage of cancel culture made a come-back this week, when a McKinsey partner got dumped from his leadership position in the firm’s global think tank for challenging the notion of the “glass cliff”.

The glass cliff is the idea that women are only handed leadership roles when an organisation is in some kind of crisis – and about to tip into the abyss.

Now, there are a couple of issues here. The first is the slavering cowardice of the management consultancy in responding to the incident by relieving a highly competent leader of a role he was demonstrably succeeding in because of a what should have been a reasonably innocuous social media dispute. Another is whether the concept of the glass cliff is based on such rock-solid evidence that it is uncontestable.

I know the consultant in question professionally and personally. He won’t talk about what happened, to the great frustration of the media. But I can tell you that any woman who has encountered Chris Bradley, personally or professionally, will know that he treats women with the utmost respect – that is, entirely as equals. And that to be an equal to Chris, who is a formidable thinker, is no small thing.

I should make it clear that I wrote this without contacting him. It was an immediate gut reaction to defend someone who I know for a fact has championed women, backed them in, and treated them well. As though challenging a concept were the same thing as mistreating or disrespecting women.

It is obviously not. Bradley stands accused of none of those things. Female friends had messaged me with similar outrage when news of his removal from the role broke. Nobody, not one person, suggested that this may have been a case of gangster Al Capone finally getting done on tax fraud. The since-deleted social conversation is, to everyone’s knowledge, the extent of the “harms” Chris Bradley has inflicted upon womankind.

Instead, the fact that questioning the glass cliff concept created such a strong kneejerk reaction makes me wonder why challenging the notion should be a punishable crime. The onus is now on those who argue for it to explain why challenging the notion should be a punishable crime.

I hadn’t thought about it a great deal before, to be honest. There does seem to be a point at which roles are given to women because men believe taking them on would be a poor career move – but, as women, these fearful men unwittingly present us with magnificent opportunities. Leading well in disaster is a skill worthy of immense admiration and a source of invaluable experience.

I think most women can remember a moment when they rolled their eyes and invoked the glass cliff. When Kristina Keneally became the first female leader of the NSW Labor Party in time to take the corruption-riven, decrepit Labor government to an inevitable loss. Or when Sussan Ley became the first female leader of the Liberal Party after a demoralising federal election loss. Observers and colleagues agreed they were accepting a hospital pass. But they took the roles knowing exactly what they were stepping into.

While Keneally predictably lost the election, her performance was well regarded and she was chosen for a Senate vacancy. So was it really a glass cliff, or a golden opportunity? Later, the way was cleared for her to enter the lower house (though she lost that on her own merits to the firecracker independent Dai Le).

Energy Minister Chris Bowen has appointed Ley to a lucrative board post overseeing the ailing Snowy Hydro 2.0 project. It may be gilded, but stewarding that over budget fiasco could prove a steeper glass cliff than the Liberal leadership was.

Sure, women sometimes choose to compete for positions, or accept nomination for them, when they know that it’s not going to be a cakewalk. But is the glass cliff statistically a thing? I started to wonder, after all this kerfuffle. After all, there are surely more men called David or John than women who’ve taken the helm of organisations in strife, amirite?

A meta-study of the concept found that the glass cliff exists, but the effect is small and dependent on sector. A study of the cancellation cliff facing men who treat women as capable of competing on their merits, and say so out loud, is still pending.

Parnell Palme McGuinness is an insights and advocacy strategist. She has done work for the Liberal Party and the German Greens and is a senior fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies. She is also an advisory board member of Australians For Prosperity, which is part-funded by the coal industry.