They testify
- Corinne Hirschvice-president of the Equality Laboratory and professional equality expert
- Sarah Saint Michellecturer at Paris-Dauphine PSL University
- Khera Defamiecoach and creator of the Féminine Leader program
Appointing women to power when everything goes wrong: chance or deliberate act?
Corinne Hirsch
“I am a follower of benevolent understanding. No one gets up in the morning saying “hey, we’re going to pay women less”, or “we’re going to sabotage her career by appointing her to this very exposed and difficult position”. So no, in my opinion, we do not appoint women on purpose when a company is in crisis or undergoes crises. We are in a society of stereotypes guided by unconscious biases.poses Corinne Hirsch, vice-president of the Equality Laboratory and expert in professional equality.
When the positions are “ugly” and less well paid, men apply less. “The competition is less. So statistically, the chances of women being recruited increase. And conversely, maybe women think they have a better chance of succeeding, because no one will want the job”she adds.
The female CEO, the ultimate symbol of innovation?
“In companies in crisis, it is also quite possible that we do a little strategy. Let us think about the processes and the organization by wondering about the delays in terms of diversity, CSR… for example”, supports Corinne Hirsch. And giving power to women, who basically are not the best placed in the race for power, would be a way to boost the whole company towards more diversity.
The mechanism is the same for women and minorities: appointing a woman or a person from a minority as its head would allow the company to improve its image. This would be proof to customers, employees and the market that it has taken the issue into consideration.
“Plus, there’s this old stereotype that women know how to deal with shit, misery and problems. They would have the necessary qualities of patience, resilience and humility and are sometimes considered (rightly or wrongly, that is not the question) as more cooperative and loyal: good little soldiers ready to accept the most ungrateful »
Laetitia Vitaud, author and speaker on the future of work in a forum.Sarah Saint Michel
“By appointing women, the members of the board of directors say to themselves that they will bring something different, a different management. However, there is no major differences between women and men. Just behaviors effective or notregardless of gender, insists Sarah Saint-Michel, lecturer at Paris-Dauphine PSL University.
A big risk of falling from the “glass cliff”
Khera Defamie
Once in place in the turmoil, what happens to these women at the helm? Not having a magic wand, they find themselves confronted (like men) with almost insoluble situations. “Women faced with difficulties who do not feel supported, develop shame and, in order to defend themselves, activate processes of isolation. They dare not ask for help because at this level of responsibility, it would be perceived as vulnerability”observes Khera Defamie, coach and creator of the Féminine Leader program.
After the glass ceiling that they think they have broken by accessing responsibilities, they risk falling from the “glass cliff”.
What does the expression “glass cliff” mean?
This expression refers to highly perilous promotions offered to women (or other minorities usually excluded from power) in companies facing insoluble or at least perilous difficulties. The term “glass cliff” appeared in 2005 in the work of Professors Michelle Ryan and Alex Haslam from the University of Exeter. The “cliff” evokes the idea of dangerousness and falling, while the “glass” – echoing the expression “glass ceiling” – indicates the invisible nature of the phenomenon, in other words the fact that it is socially integrated .
Indeed, they did not see coming the slippery and dangerous nature of the mission incumbent upon them. “In responsibility, women like all people from minorities are closely watched and expected at the turn. Their first appearances, their first missteps… especially when speaking in public, their looks are commented on…”, insists Corinne Hirsch of the Laboratory of Equality. And then, as long as these women are not of the seraglio, that they do not frequent the good networks, “People feel more free to soap the board of a woman than of a man from the same body. And this, whether the company is in difficulty or not elsewhere”, she adds.
A political classic
By naming women in heavy weather (even unconsciously), would there be the search for a scapegoat. ? “A “goat-emissary”, assures Corinne Hirsch. This phenomenon has existed for a long time in politics. “It’s not uncommon for women to lose ridings where they have little chance of winning. And behind, their detractors reproach them for not winning, ” illustrates Sarah Saint-Michel, leadership specialist. In business, the fact of appointing women to untenable responsibilities then authorizes those who were against this alternation in favor of diversity, to point out that, definitively, this woman, therefore suddenly, women, do not have the bump of leadership . The famous “we told you so”.
Natural leaders in all weathers
And once we’ve said that, what do we do then? Should women decline positions of responsibility undermined? ” Especially not. The worst would be to refuse these positions. They remain inspiring role models for other women. They encourage them to grant themselves the right to apply for this type of responsibility,” insists our lecturer. And the more women there are at the helm of companies in difficulty and growth, the less the question of their legitimacy will arise. Let’s hope that the Rixain* law, imposing quotas for women in governing bodies, does not take 10 years to be respected. But above all, that women are increasingly demanding CEO positions.
* About the Rixain law:
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