the term was coined in 2004 by british professors michelle k. ryan and alexander haslam of university of exeter, united kingdom. in a study, ryan and haslam examined the performance of ftse 100 companies before and after the appointment of new board members, and found that companies that appointed women to their boards were likelier than others to have experienced consistently bad performance in the preceding five months. this work eventually developed into the identification of a phenomenon known as the glass cliff— analogous to the concept of a glass ceiling, but implying the inability to perceive the dangers of the cliff's transparent edge rather than the false promise of elevated organizational positions which can be "seen" through a ceiling of glass but which are actually unattainable. since the term originated, its use has expanded beyond the corporate world to also encompass politics and other domains.