When Sussan Ley made history as the first woman to take the reins of Australia's Liberal Party, she insisted this was a pivotal moment for the party – or what was left of it anyway.
She had broken through the glass ceiling: an invisible, patriarchal barrier which keeps women from positions of power.
But to many, Ley's glass ceiling looked an awful lot like a "glass cliff", and it felt like it was only a matter of time before she lost her grip and slipped off it.
The glass cliff describes a phenomenon where women and other minorities are promoted to leadership roles during times of crisis, setting them up for a high risk of failure. In essence, it says that when women are finally allowed to ascend to the top, it's frequently so they can take the fall.
Elected as leader after the most resounding election defeat in the history of the modern Liberal Party and amid internal party chaos, Ley didn't even survive a year.
