The glass precipice

The government of the Generalitat, presided over by Salvador Illa, is made up of sixteen departments, nine of which are occupied by women. A parity celebrated by those who advocate for equality in decision-making spaces. But in recent months, political and social criticism does not seem to be distributed equally. Parliamentary pressure has concentrated in a surprisingly asymmetric way on the female flank of the executive: reprimands for Sílvia Paneque and Núria Parlon, calls for the resignation of Esther Niubó and Olga Pané, and demands for the dismissal of Mònica Martínez from social entities, unions, and citizen platforms.

No male councilor of the current Government has been reprimanded or has received, to date, a formal request for resignation approved by Parliament. It is true that Josep Lluís Trapero, as director general of the Catalan police, has; but if someone were to limit themselves to reading headlines or listening to certain discussions, they might come to think that at the highest level only women govern and that, moreover, they do so badly.

Perhaps it is a coincidence. It is possible that the women in this government are less competent than their male colleagues. But scientific evidence suggests that other factors may be involved, some unconscious and others deeply structural.

We know, for example, that women often access power in particularly difficult circumstances or in precarious positions. Several studies show that they are more likely to be appointed to lead organizations in crisis or areas that accumulate long-term problems. That is to say, they arrive when things are already going badly.

Iceland became the paradigmatic case. After the outbreak of the 2008 financial crisis, triggered internationally by the failure of Lehman Brothers, the country suffered one of the most spectacular banking collapses in the world. The three major banks collapsed in a matter of days and the government fell under enormous social pressure. In that context of maximum risk, several women took on the responsibility of rebuilding the financial and political system. Two of the main nationalized banking entities were left in the hands of female executives, and in 2009 Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir was appointed prime minister.

International press turned those decisions into symbols of a new era. The Financial Times summarized the general sentiment with the phrase: "Iceland calls for female bankers to clean up the mess of young men." In New Zealand, they spoke of "Viking women" fighting to save the nation. A joke as witty as it was revealing even circulated: if instead of Lehman Brothers we had had Lehman Sisters, perhaps the crisis would not have existed. It seemed that, finally, female talent in leadership positions was being recognized.

But behind that apparent recognition, there could be another reality. What if women were chosen precisely because the risk of failure was very high? What if they occupied positions that no one else wanted to take on? Psychologists Michelle Ryan and Alex Haslam gave a name to this phenomenon –glass cliff – after studying more than 100 organizations. According to them, women have more options to reach power when the chances of success are low and those of failure are high.

We must be alert because it is a mechanism as subtle as the glass ceiling and fueled by the same stereotypes. If the areas of education, health, social services, or housing have accumulated decades of tension, underfunding, and deterioration, perhaps the results do not depend exclusively on the talent of the female councilors who lead them today. Perhaps they also depend on the available resources, the real room for maneuver, and the time needed to rebuild what has been worn down over years. Public services can deteriorate rapidly; recovering them is a much slower task. And rebuilding public trust is even more so.

Therefore, it is advisable to observe carefully which positions are offered to women and under what circumstances: positions of power, yes, but also those that have real prospects of success and triumph.

However, the future is not written. Iceland also teaches us this. Contrary to what the glass cliff theory predicts, Sigurðardóttir's government managed to stabilize the country and implement important reforms. Women were not simply sacrificed to absorb failure. The glass cliff exists. But sometimes, against all odds, the women called when the house is already burning end up being the ones who manage to put out the fire.