What happens when a major airline faces multiple scandals, supermarket giants are called to front inquiries over their conduct, or a political party records one of its worst electoral performances?

A woman is appointed to lead for the first time.

In sporting parlance it's called 'a hospital pass'.

The leadership appointments at Qantas, Woolworths, Coles and the Liberal Party are high-profile examples of a phenomenon known as the "glass cliff", but world-renowned gender equality expert Michelle Ryan says it's discreetly happening in many workplaces.

Professor Ryan coined the term following years of research to describe situations where a woman is given a leadership position in times of crisis, when precarity and risk within the role is high.

"It's not an obvious thing, necessarily, it'

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