The glass‐cliff: women's career paths in the UK private IT sector

Abstract

Purpose Not enough is known about the challenges faced by women professionals who possess the credentials, skills and knowledge that would allow them to be considered, alongside their male counterparts, for top‐rank positions. While, statistically, figures show an increase in women's representation in the Science, Engineering and Technology domain, academic research is yet to explore in greater depth both the reasons for women's continuing under‐representation at senior levels and their work experiences. This paper sets out to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach The paper examines the concept of the glass cliff, which seeks to explain what happens to women as they advance to senior positions. The analysis is based on qualitative research on women managers in the SET domain in the UK. Using career mapping and in‐depth ethnographic interviews, it discusses two case studies of senior women based at a leading multinational IT company with a range of supportive diversity schemes. Findings The investigation illustrates some of the opportunities offered, barriers raised and ways in which those interviewed sought to overcome them. Practical implications While specific in its focus, the study demonstrates the importance of understanding how women make sense of their careers and use organisational initiatives. The article also highlights the need to inspect the effectiveness of such programmes in particular work‐settings in order to identify best practices, and to draw effective equal opportunities policies. Originality/value The article presents further evidence to support the idea that women's representation at top‐ranking levels is fraught with difficulties and calls for fine‐tuning of both policy design and implementation and academic research.