A glass cliff is a term coined by Prof Michelle Ryan and Prof Alex Haslam of Exeter University, United Kingdom, in 2004.

　　Glass cliff(玻璃悬崖)这个词是由英国埃克斯特大学的两位教授米歇尔？莱恩和亚历克斯·哈斯兰姆在2004年创造的。

　　Their research demonstrates that once women break through the glass ceiling and take on positions of leadership they often have experiences that are different from their male counterparts. More specifically, women are more likely to occupy positions that can be described as precarious and thus have a higher risk of failure - either because they are in organizational units that are in crisis or because they are not given the resources and support needed for success. Extending the metaphor of the glass ceiling, they evoke the metaphor of the 'glass cliff' to capture the subtlety to the phenomenon and feeling of teetering on the edge.

　　这两位教授研究发现，女性在穿过玻璃屋顶担任领导职务之后所经历的事情跟同等职位的男性多有不同。具体来说，这些女性所处的职位“危险性”较高，也就是说她们工作过程中遭遇失败的风险较高，出现这种情况的原因可能是她们所在的公司机构本身就陷于危机之中，也可能是她们没有得到必要的资源和支持。Glass cliff将glass ceiling(玻璃屋顶)的比喻意义进一步延伸，以此来表现女性领导者的处境以及她们在职场边缘岌岌可危的生存体会。