A Cultural Perspective of The Glass Cliff Phenomenon

Year 2019, Volume: 19 Issue: 3, 309 - 321, 30.07.2019

Sebahattin Yıldız , Mehmet Fatih Vural

https://doi.org/10.21121/eab.451162

Cited By: 8

Abstract

The purpose of
this paper is to reveal whether the phenomenon of the glass cliff, a concept
related to gender discrimination, is valid in Turkey, where the level of
femininity is relatively high. While the sampling method used was convenience
sampling, the data collection tool was a questionnaire. The study was conducted
with 240 managers in the business world and the appointment to a glass cliff
position was assessed in terms of “suitability, leadership, and trust”
dimensions. The findings revealed that managers did not opt for a female
executive candidate as the CEO, using a scenario in which the “company performance
is poor.” Accordingly, in consideration of contextual fundamentals, it can be
suggested that the concept of the glass cliff, a term coined by psychologists
Ryan and Haslam in the United Kingdom, where masculinity is predominant, may
not be valid for Turkey, where the level of masculinity is relatively low. 

Keywords

Human resource management , career management , gender , gender discrimination , glass cliff

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