Earlier this week, I wrote about Safra Catz’s exit from Oracle’s CEO position. She was leaving on top, with the tech giant’s stock up 500% since she became sole CEO in 2019—and with the company poised to soar to new heights amid an AI boom.
We have terms for when a women can’t get the top job (glass ceiling) and when she gets the position only when it’s a lost cause (glass cliff). But I wasn’t sure what to call this scenario: when a female CEO steps aside at the peak of her influence.
Thankfully, some of you wrote in with suggestions and shared them with me on LinkedIn. Below, the best candidates for this, for now, still outlier scenario.
Glass elevator
The glass handoff
The glass ladder
(Maybe these three work when the person taking over is also a woman.)
The crystal bridge
“Something strong and shiny and inviting for her successor to step onto.”
A glass..of champagne
Glass castle
She hands over the keys to something she built.
A queen’s exit
The diamond exit
No “glass” here.
The golden handoff
Not to be confused with golden handcuffs.
Tell me your favorite!
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
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ON MY RADAR
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PARTING WORDS
"We will play for each other and we will give everything for each other on Saturday."
— Alex Tessier, Canadian rugby player. The team was crowdfunded—and now it's in the World Cup finals.
