Michelle Ryan

Michelle Ryan is a Professor of Social and Organisational Psychology at the University of Exeter. Her research focuses on gender inequality, leadership dynamics, and workplace identity, with notable contributions including the groundbreaking concept of the glass cliff, which examines the precarious leadership positions disproportionately assigned to women and minority groups.

• European Research Council Consolidator Grant recipient for work on context and identity in women's career choices
• Collaborative projects span gender trouble, ambition, workplace intersectionality, and men's support for gender equality

Her research has been recognized internationally, including being shortlisted for the Times Higher Education Supplement Research Project of the Year (2005) and being named by the New York Times as an influential idea (2008). Current work explores identity complexity, gendered status systems, and leadership succession through interdisciplinary collaborations.