The Abramson Effect

by Debora L. Spar

With her shocking dismissal in the spring of 2014, former New York Times editor Jill Abramson can now be added to the list of women who have been hired to run large, prominent corporations (see: Meg Whitman, Carly Fiorina, etc.) – only to be publicly fired soon thereafter. This troubling trend, often referred to as the glass cliff, raises important questions about the challenges that confront women and minorities in the workplace, and the prejudices that still surround those who make it to the top. In The Abramson Effect, Barnard College president Debora Spar explores how far women have come from the days when career options were limited to secretary, teacher, and nurse, but also, as illustrated by Jill Abramson’s case, how far we have left to go.

Debora L. Spar is the president of Barnard College, the women's undergraduate college affiliated with Columbia University. She received her doctorate in government from Harvard University and was the Spangler Family Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Spar is the author of numerous books, including Ruling the Waves: Cycles of Discovery, Chaos, and Wealth from the Compass to the Internet and The Baby Business: How Money, Science, and Politics Drive the Commerce of Conception. Her most recent book, the New York Times-bestselling Wonder Women: Sex, Power, and the Quest for Perfection, will be out in paperback in October 2014.

Cover design by Hannah Perrine Mode.

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, Gender, Social Justice, Sociology

18 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 18, 2014

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Abramson Effect is a brilliant expose related to gender inequality and the rights of professional working women who have either reached the top of the workplace hierarchy, (CEO status) or are striving to do so. Author Deborah Spar refers to this as the "glass cliff/ceiling", which suggests arriving at the top, may not be quite as spectacular as it appears to be.

When Jill Abramson the executive editor of the NY Times (since 2011) was fired on May 15, 2014 after working for the Times for 16 years, the immediate media reaction was intense and went viral. All things about Abramson were openly discussed from her work place attitudes and behaviors, her salary, supervisors, professional status/achievement, also things from the sound of her voice, to her dog, the tattoo on her shoulder, and a terrible car accident which almost claimed her life.
When Ron Johnson the CEO of JC Penney was fired in April of 2013, after losing $1 billion dollars in attempts to increase retail profitability, there was a "brief furry" of media comments.. then, Ron Johnson wasn't mentioned again, and faded from public memory.

Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique" (1963) started a cultural revolution also known as "Women's Liberation". From 1967-2009 women in the work force increased from 29% to 44%. Opportunities for women in the highest levels of employment/management have always remained at the same and unchanged levels of 15%-20%. There are many reasons for this, many are related cultural attitudes and expectations. Spar creatively and impressively illustrates her theories metaphorically using the Disney fairy-tale film "Frozen" (2013). Spar also uses commentary, studies, articles, reports, and many references supporting her thoughts on gender bias and raises awareness for change.

Debora Spar earned her PhD in government studies at Harvard. She is the President of Barnard College, and is the author of "Wonder Women: Sex, Power, and The Quest for Perfection" (2013).

[Sneha Bollepalli · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hard hitting write-up.

The author clearly told a true story of working women at the top ranks and their difficulties in a male dominated work place. Enough of fairy and fantasy tales about top rank working women, it's time we understand why they are brought into the top of the cliff at difficult times as a saviour and then thrown from the glass cliffs more often than the male counterparts. Is it just a coincidence and are they really thrown down for their inefficiency or is there a prejudice and patriarchal influence? Deborah L. Spar says it all aptly.

[Lauren Matakas Arita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the point, but I really hated the way adding frozen as a point of comparison trivialized the idea. Otherwise, well written and interesting as an essay.

[Carol El Hawary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding but depressing.

[Alexi Lawless · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truth is, while everyone acknowledges the glass ceiling still exists-- no one really wants to acknowledge there's also a significant glass cliff female executives fall off of (or are pushed off of) when they produce less than stellar results, regardless of the industry.

I'm tempted to write my own biography after reading this... perhaps something called "Confessions of a Corporate Runaway." Ms. Spar's premise is that for women, it's almost doubly difficult to have your corporate cake and eat it too. And when things begin to go awry, it's usually highly-visible/high-potential women who are scapegoated for a variety of seemingly justifiable reasons. And why is that? Well, you need to read this book.

What I also found interesting (And accurate based on my own experiences climbing the upper rungs of that ladder), is that women are judged that much more harshly not only by men but perhaps more dreadfully, by other women, for being ambitious, driven and determined. There's almost a glee when they're imperfections are discovered, or when goals are only just missed.

Whatever your thoughts or experiences on the matter (as a man or woman), this book is a fast, factual and well-thought out read. I'd recommend consuming this along with "Knowing Your Value" by Mika Brzezinski. Armed with both, it's a good way to think about how you want to approach your upcoming annual performance review.

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick essay that examines potential reasons for the lack of female leadership in high roles in the corporate world, The Abramson Effect does a nice job detailing a convincing argument concerning a multifaceted issue of gender inequality. Spar suggests that not only that subconscious prejudices on female physique and mental capacity work against women in the work place, but that corporate females also display enhanced feelings of guilt and insecurity regarding their careers, internal struggles regarding the perceived need to constantly prove oneself as both a successful employee and a strong domestic/nurturing force at home, and increased expectations of perfection derived from societal attempts at female encouragement intended to counter sexism at work.

(And as an aside, the author attempts to use female characters from Frozen to further illustrate female perceptions and expectations regarding corporate success; although, not having seen the movie, I'm not entirely positive how successful she was on this front.)

[Mark Robison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Kindle single about the “glass cliff” for women. The author notes that while women are beginning to outnumber men in traditionally male-dominated fields, this is only at the entry level and they still make up a small portion of top positions. An interesting twist to this, she says, is that women are often picked to lead a company only when it is near collapse and everything else has been tried so they are often doomed to failure. She also details how once a female CEO is ousted, she is treated way differently than men: with her voice, her personality, her clothes, her age, her looks and her makeup dissected in the aftermath, whereas men seldom face similar post-firing scrutiny. Good statistics throughout. Could've used more on-the-record interviews with female CEOs. Grade: A-

[Mark Abrams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 18 page read was an eye opening nonfiction work about the "Glass Ceiling" and why it affects women disproportionately. Being a male, I never really thought about this, but I had to admit that it was surprising but very true. In this short piece, Ms.Spar make her case very eloquently and logically. I was very impressed and will never think about the corporate workplace in quite the same way.

I would highly recommend this little book to people in the corporate world or those just interested in social justice and gender in the workplace.
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[Véronique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tough, but Accurate

It's difficult to acknowledge that there are still some striking disparities between how women and men are evaluated and judged in modern corporate kingdoms, but Ms. Spar cuts quickly to some of the biggest issues concisely. This fast read is a well-written, well-researched book that provides great food for thought as one comes to a year-end review and begins planning the future. It may not be a level playing field, but at least this book helps to identity the mines.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, excellent piece on the glass-cliff phenomenon faced by women in high profile, high power jobs. Very to the point, with the added benefits of: using the feminist theme of Frozen as a motif, reminding me again how grateful and lucky I am to work in an industry where male leaders are an outlier, and female attainment and power are the norm.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The glass cliff

Opinion paper on why there are so few women in top positions and how and why they fall or fail more frequently then men. Also discusses the hoopla surrounding the dismissal of women that does no occur when men are dismissed. Interesting.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short & crisp on (some) challenges facing women in the workplace.

[Ang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid. I wish it had been longer. I could have read about this stuff for much longer.