“A very convenient way to always be a victim in the rain.”
That was the quote that a director at McKinsey wrote to a female academic referencing her work on the glass cliff. The glass cliff is the idea that women are more likely to get the top job at companies once the company is in trouble.
This director lost his job quickly, but this is not a one-time mistake by one man. This is a symptom of a much larger problem.
That a smart man, and let’s be honest, a total idiot is not ascending to partner at McKinsey, feels comfortable putting something like that in writing is a sign that we have taken our foot off the gas pedal.
Just as we achieve some progress, we risk regressing because we lull ourselves into the belief that the problem is no longer a problem.
As a woman in the workforce, I can say with confidence: we have not solved the problem.
Women earn more than half of all college degrees, yet they make up roughly 10% of the top jobs at Fortune 500 companies. That is a problem. And it is not an accident.
Women are not behind because they are less capable or less ambitious. It is much more complicated.
Almost a decade ago, I found myself having a lively conversation with an older woman at a wedding. Her peak career years had been in the 80s and 90s, and she started talking about how hard it was to be a professional woman back in the day.
The conversation started with familiar details about always being asked to fetch the coffee, take meeting notes, or make copies, even after she was promoted to senior roles.
Then the conversation turned dark.
She shared how during a business trip, a male co-worker tried to assault her. She managed to escape before anything happened, locked herself in her hotel room, barricaded the door, and spent the rest of the night alert, terrified that he might come back and try to force his way in.
The next morning, the co-worker acted like nothing had happened. She reported his behavior to HR. Nothing came of it.
She concluded her story by saying that even though it had been awful, she was happy because it had paved the way for women today to have equality in the workforce.
I debated whether to nod in agreement, but I had to say it.
“Actually, we have not achieved equality just yet.”
I then shared my own story as a professional woman. My experience was nothing like hers. I have always felt physically safe at work, even in rooms full of men. But inequality has many forms.
I had been working at a company for a few years, waiting for a transfer. Year after year I was told to wait. Wait for the new budget to arrive. Wait for an open headcount. Wait until the new team is fully trained. Wait to complete the newest implementation.
I waited. And finally, years in, there was an actual opening at the department I wanted to transfer to. Someone had given his two-week notice. Within hours, the position was filled with an outside candidate.
I couldn’t even understand how this could happen. This was a company that took months to hire for even the most junior of roles.
The person who received my role was the accounting intern from the previous summer. While I had years of experience inside and outside this company, this kid was signing up for his first job out of college. I also had a master’s degree and a couple of certifications on him.
I was not going to take this without a fight. I marched to the department manager and asked him straight: how could he give away MY role.
Without hesitation, he simply said that the intern was a “really fun guy.” He even had a pilot’s license and had promised to take the whole team to Las Vegas and show them a really good time.
That’s it.
That’s why after years of hard work, patience, and loyalty, I was passed over for my dream job.
I related this story at the wedding. The woman sitting across from me said something like: “This happened to you? But you are so young.”
She couldn’t understand how this was still happening to women.
She excused herself to go to the bathroom, and I never talked to her again during the rest of the wedding.
She probably had enough of me challenging her worldview.
But it has to be said. Even though women have accomplished great things and won many battles when it comes to professional opportunity, we have not won the war.
I am the first person to admit that my professional journey has been much better than my mother’s. And if I had a daughter, I would like to believe that she would experience an even brighter future.
But we can’t fool ourselves into compliance.
The McKinsey director was punished, and there was universal condemnation of his comments. However, the real goal is to get to a point where we don’t have to.
