Michelle Ryan (academic)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Michelle Kim Ryan (born March 1973) is an Australian psychologist and academic, whose research focuses on gender and gender differences. she is professor of social and organisational psychology at the
University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...
. She is known for coining the term "
glass cliff The glass cliff is a hypothesized phenomenon in which women are more likely to break the " glass ceiling" (i.e. achieve leadership roles in business and government) during periods of crisis or downturn when the risk of failure is highest. Other ...
" with co-researcher
Alex Haslam Stephen Alexander "Alex" Haslam (born 1962) is a professor of psychology and ARC Australian Laureate Fellow in the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland. His research focuses on areas of social psychology, organisational psych ...
, to describe how the experiences of women who have broken through the
glass ceiling A glass ceiling is a metaphor usually applied to women, used to represent an invisible barrier that prevents a given demographic from rising beyond a certain level in a hierarchy.Federal Glass Ceiling Commission''Solid Investments: Making Ful ...
differ from those of their male counterparts.


Early life and education

Michelle Kim Ryan was born in March 1973. She completed her undergraduate and a Ph.D. study in psychology from
Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...
in 2004 for her thesis ''A gendered self or a gendered context? A self-categorization appraisal of gender differences''.


Career

Ryan is professor of social and organisational psychology at the University of Exeter. In 2007 she undertook a visiting professorship at the
University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; , abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen, Netherlands. Founded in 1614, th ...
in The Netherlands.


Research

Ryan research focuses on gender and gender differences, particularly the impact of gender in the workplace. Together with
Alex Haslam Stephen Alexander "Alex" Haslam (born 1962) is a professor of psychology and ARC Australian Laureate Fellow in the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland. His research focuses on areas of social psychology, organisational psych ...
, she coined the term "
glass cliff The glass cliff is a hypothesized phenomenon in which women are more likely to break the " glass ceiling" (i.e. achieve leadership roles in business and government) during periods of crisis or downturn when the risk of failure is highest. Other ...
" to describe how the experiences of women who have broken through the
glass ceiling A glass ceiling is a metaphor usually applied to women, used to represent an invisible barrier that prevents a given demographic from rising beyond a certain level in a hierarchy.Federal Glass Ceiling Commission''Solid Investments: Making Ful ...
differ from those of their male counterparts.


Fellowships and other activity

In 2004 Ryan was awarded a
Research Councils UK Research Councils UK, sometimes known as RCUK, was a non-departmental public body that coordinated science policy in the United Kingdom from 2002 to 2018. It was an umbrella organisation that coordinated the seven separate research councils ...
academic fellowship. She was associate editor of the ''
British Journal of Social Psychology The ''British Journal of Social Psychology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the British Psychological Society. It publishes original papers on subjects like social cognition, attitudes, group proces ...
'' between 2010 and 2012. In 2014 she undertook a
British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...
Mid-Career Fellowship to examine the role of identity in explaining perceptions of work-life balance. At the University of Exeter she has held the roles of Faculty Associate Dean (Research), Dean of Post-graduate Research and inaugural Director of the Exeter Doctoral College. She holds a
European Research Council The European Research Council (ERC) is a public body for funding of scientific and technological research conducted within the European Union (EU). Established by the European Commission in 2007, the ERC is composed of an independent Scientific ...
Consolidator Grant examining the way in which context and identity shape and constrain women’s careers. Ryan was appointed director of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at the Australian National University, with effect from 1 July 2021. She remains in the position


Recognition

In 2006, Ryan was a runner-up in the
ESRC The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), formerly the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) funded by the UK government. ESRC provides fundin ...
's Michael Young Prize (2006). Haslam and Ryan's research into the glass cliff was shortlisted for the ''
Times Higher Education Supplement ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The THES''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...
'' Research Project of the Year in 2005, and in 2008 their idea was named by the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' as one of the ideas that shaped 2008. The term "glass cliff" was shortlisted as Word of the Year by the ''
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...
'' in 2016.


Selected publications

* Ryan MK, Branscombe NR (2012). ''The Sage Handbook of Gender and Psychology.'', Sage. * Barreto M, Ryan MK, Schmitt M (2009). ''The Glass Ceiling in the 21st Century: Understanding Barriers to Gender Equality.'' , APA. * Ryan MK, Haslam, S.A. Wilson-Kovacs, M.D. Hersby, M.D. (2007). ''The Glass Cliff: Precariousness beyond the Glass Ceiling. A CIPD Executive Briefing.''  London, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. * Ryan MK, Haslam SA, Morgenroth T, Rink F, Stoker J, Peters K (2016). Getting on top of the glass cliff: Reviewing a decade of evidence, Explanations, and impact. ''Leadership Quarterly'', ''27''(3), 446–455. * Morgenroth T, Ryan MK, Peters K (2015). The motivational theory of role modeling: How role models influence role aspirants' goals. ''Review of General Psychology'', ''19''(4), 465–483. * Steffens NK, Haslam SA, Reicher SD, Platow MJ, Fransen K, Yang J, Ryan MK, Jetten J, Peters K, Boen F, et al (2014). Leadership as social identity management: Introducing the Identity Leadership Inventory (ILI) to assess and validate a four-dimensional model. ''Leadership Quarterly'', ''25''(5), 1001–1024.


References


External links


Michelle Ryan
- staff profile at Exeter University {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Michelle K. 1973 births Living people Academics of the University of Exeter Australian National University alumni Australian women psychologists 21st-century Australian psychologists