It Can Be Shaky Up There: The Political Glass Cliff for Women and Minorities

• In Event: 512 - Section on Sex and Gender Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 11. Shifting Gender Ideologies

Abstract

Ryan and Haslam (2005) put forth the thesis asserting that as women have been breaking through the glass ceiling, a new obstacle has appeared limiting their success: the glass cliff. Their theory suggests that women are more likely to be appointed or nominated to positions in which there is a high risk for failure. Subsequent research by them has shown support for the thesis as applied to both the economic and political sectors in the U.K. And while research has been forthcoming in the U.S., it has largely centered in corporate sphere. Our research applies the theory to women and minorities in the U.S. House of Representatives; thereby, extending Ryan and Haslam’s work to U.S. politics. Our research draws on data from America Votes and candidate websites for the election years: 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010. We assess whether women and minorities are nominated to run for a hard-to-win seat, and if they win, are their seats harder to hold onto. Our initial results indicate that the glass cliff theory does not hold up for ethnic and racial minorities, but does for women, especially Republican women.

Authors

• Peter Martini, University of Nevada-Reno

• Cheryl Maes, University of Nevada-Reno

• Angela Lee, University of Nevada-Reno