Pan Macmillan signs Williams’ ‘urgent manifesto on society’s treatment of female leaders in the workplace’

Pan Macmillan has acquired Sophie Williams’ “urgent manifesto on society’s treatment of female leaders in the workplace”, The Glass Cliff: Why Women In Power Are Undermined – And How To Fight Back.

Ause Abdelhaq, editor, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Milly Reilly while she was at JULA, before her recent move to Colwill & Peddle.

Macmillan Business will publish The Glass Cliff in hardback, trade paperback, e-book and audio on 7th March 2024, one day in advance of International Women’s Day.

Inspired by the author’s viral TED talk on the same subject, the book is described as “the first commercial exploration of the social phenomenon known as The Glass Cliff".

The publisher goes on: “Looking at women’s experiences after breaking through The Glass Ceiling, by drawing on a huge dataset which analysed the hiring and retention policies of FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies over an incredible 15-year period, Sophie Williams reveals a shocking pattern of hidden bias against women throughout.

“For fans of data-led manifestos like Invisible Women (Chatto & Windus) and The Authority Gap (Doubleday), Williams gives readers the language and expertise to stand up against The Glass Cliff, an invisible ledge which means that women are more likely to be hired into leadership roles when the business hiring them is already in a state of chaos, thereby dooming them to failure before they even begin.”

Abdelhaq said: “Sophie’s analysis is urgent and unapologetic, and the language she introduces will spark a cultural conversation, and give generations of women the power and knowledge to fight against and ultimately eradicate The Glass Cliff. I couldn’t be prouder to be Sophie’s editor, and we couldn’t be happier to have her as a lead author on the new Macmillan Business list. I cannot wait to bring this incredible book to as broad a readership as possible.”

Williams is an ex-global leader at Netflix, and has held the titles of c.o.o. and c.f.o. in London advertising agencies. She is the author of Millennial Black and Anti-Racist Ally (HQ).

She said: “I’m so happy to be able to introduce the world to The Glass Cliff, and tell the story of women’s experiences once they’ve broken through The Glass Ceiling. Up until now, without the language to recognise and contextualise The Glass Cliff experience, women have been left to feel that the struggles they have faced in leadership forums are due to personal failings – The Glass Cliff shines a light onto the real, structural and societal issues at play.”