Failure and Women in Business

From WA Today:

After years of slogging it out, you've finally got the position you've always felt you deserved. There is just one problem - the job description demands you do the impossible.

Sound familiar? If you're a woman - or in fact anyone except a white, middle-aged, able-bodied man without child-care responsibilities - it may indeed ring a bell. Crashing through the glass ceiling is one thing, surviving the so-called "glass cliff", where you are promoted to a job where you are likely to fail, is quite another.

One reason for this, says Jayne Chace, chief marketing officer at software company Acision, is because women still find it hard to get to the top level. When they are offered a senior role they will grab the opportunity, however difficult the role is. For men, there is more choice over what positions to take.