The Glass Cliff – WOW Festival

A HUGE thank you to The WOW Foundation for having me chair a panel about The Glass Cliff – the reason that we see so few leaders *successfully* take on top leadership positions when they don’t hold the dual identities of whiteness and maleness. Essentially the story of what happens to people when they manage to break through the Glass Ceiling.

This has been a passion subject for me since I first came across the phenomenon when researching my second book – so much so that it became the subject of my TED Talk. It’s always such a joy and a privilege to bring the subject to a new and wider audience, and to help people to understand the systemic elements at play when they feel the most isolated and unsupported.

The appetite for this conversation was so much more than I ever imagined – we filled out the room, had people standing at the back, sitting on the floor and on the window ledges, and *still* needed to turn away dozens of people who we just couldn’t fit in.

The conversation was fantastic, and the audience Q&A was incredible. It was amazing to hear from women who are experiencing the Glass Cliff in real time at the moment, and to be able to offer some reassurance, guidance and support.

It’s been a dream of mine to speak at the Southbank Centre, and this session made it come true in the best way.

If you want to learn more about the Glass Cliff, my TED Talk is a deep dive into the subject, through an intersectional lens.
https://lnkd.in/ey_9hpTS

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