I am the author of three books, Anti-Racist Ally (2020), Millennial Black (2021), and The Glass Cliff (2024)
The Glass Cliff
‘The Glass Cliff is a conversation about what happens when women break the rules, and break through The Glass Ceiling.’
Have you ever wondered why there are so few success stories of women in business leadership? Or maybe you’ve wondered what life is really like on the other side of The Glass Ceiling? The world of work is supposedly changing, embracing diversity – yet are the opportunities we’re giving to women really equal to those of men?
Drawing on almost 20 years of research from around the world, The Glass Cliff phenomenon – whereby women are often only hired in leadership roles when a business is already underperforming, meaning their chances of success are limited before they ever even start in the role – is well established, but little known. Until now.
This is the story of The Glass Cliff: a story of a structural inequality disguising itself as the personal failures of women. When activist Sophie Williams gave her viral TED talk on the subject, she was subsequently flooded with accounts of confident, accomplished women who had taken what seemed like a dream leadership role only to quickly find themselves in a waking nightmare. Without the language to describe their experiences they had been left blaming themselves. But learning about The Glass Cliff enabled them to reframe and reexamine what they’d gone through.
Once we understand The Glass Cliff – once we can stand together and face it head-first – we can start to unravel so many other false narratives about women’s leadership experiences that just don’t make sense without it. By understanding the phenomenon, and by telling one another about it, we can affect the conversation, empower one another to overcome societal bias and, ultimately, change the world of work for women forever.
Anti-Racist Ally
Anti-Racist Ally; An Introduction to Action and Activism is a book for everyone who wants to be the best anti-racist ally they can be, but doesn’t quite know where to begin, or how to take it to the next level. This pocket-sized book offers actionable advice on what allyship is, how to be as impactful as possible, and how to build anti-racist allyship into your work, home, community and economic life.
Anti-Racist Ally; An Introduction to Action and Activism addresses the most common anxieties or barriers that prevent people from beginning their allyship journeys and offers ways to overcome them.
This deliberately small book is designed to be as accessible as possible, with a low price point to encourage those who want to use it as a gift, or a way to begin difficult conversations.
Anti-Racist Ally was published as a hardback, ebook and audiobook by HQ (Harper Collins) in October 2020. Order here.
Millennial Black
Millennial Black is a ‘fresh and original business manifesto for Black women, and the businesses they work in’.
Millennial Black looks at how Black women’s intersectional identities (Blackness PLUS womanness) shape our experiences of work. It looks at the unique challenges we face, and what can be done to make our professional lives better and more successful.
The business benefits of a diverse team at all levels, particularly management and leadership have been shown over and over again, but businesses are still slow to make the necessary changes to develop and retain diverse talent.
All too often the emphasis for making change for the better is put solely on the shoulders of Black women. Millennial Black shows how both black womxn and the businesses that hire them can make positive steps and the potential benefits to both.
Millennial Black was published as a hardback, ebook and audiobook by HQ (Harper Collins) in April 2021. Order here.
