Pilita Clark, in her column “Why are women still being cast off the glass cliff?” (Business Life, March 4), rightly highlights that the practice of appointing women as chief executive simply to ensure they are the ones who take the fall when times are tough is utterly unacceptable. Setting women up to fail in this way is evidence of a corporate culture that views female talent as expendable.
This is echoed in the shockingly low numbers of female CEOs.
The Pipeline’s most recent “Women Count” report found that just 9 per cent of FTSE350 companies had a female CEO, up from a woeful 4 per cent in 2019.
Tellingly, just one in five of the commercial roles on executive committees — those with profit and loss responsibility that are traditionally stepping stones to CEO — was held by a woman.
When asked about barriers to career progression, senior female executives have often mentioned the “woman tax”, where women — not their male peers — are given additional tasks to perform alongside their day jobs.
Businesses need to examine their workplace culture, to ensure that their promotion procedures are truly equitable and merit-based.
They also need to invest in leadership development to help women succeed at the highest level.
Only then will we be able to put the glass cliff where it belongs — in the history books.
Professor Geeta Nargund
Chair, Executive Pipeline,
London EC4, UK
