A few months after buying Twitter, Elon Musk declared that whoever became the company's CEO "must like pain a lot" and that he'd step down after finding someone "foolish enough" to want the job.

Although some parts of the world have gone past gender norms and archaic ways—where men are the sole breadwinners, while women remain homemakers—there is still a gender disparity in the workforce today. And on the topic of replacements, statistics on US-based companies have shown that as of 2019, only 22% of all available CEO positions are refilled by women, compared to 78% of CEO replacements who are male.

As for the industry, apparel companies have seen the highest percentage increase in CEO replacements with 67%, while real estate came second at 42%, financial services at 24.5%, and the food industry at 23%.

The worst part? Women are 45% more likely to be fired than males in CEO positions, according to male versus female CEO statistics in 2019. Women are also more likely to get the boot, whether or not the company is performing at a high rate.

How does all this come into play? For one thing, news of Elon Musk stepping down as Twitter's CEO has gone viral. Even more so the news about his replacement, who will be starting as Twitter's new CEO in about six weeks.

In this article, we analyze the glass cliff phenomenon and whether Musk is really setting this new leader up for failure.

Twitter's Change in Command

On May 12, 2023, Musk made the announcement—and on Twitter, no less—that he has hired a new CEO, while he will take on the new role as executive chairman and chief technology officer, where he’ll be focusing on “overseeing product, software, and [system operator] sysops.” And while he didn't initially reveal who at first, one word stuck out: "she."

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