Professor Michelle Ryan is the inaugural Director of the Global Institute of Women’s Leadership at The Australian National University in Canberra and a leading authority on gender inequality in the workplace. She also holds positions as Professor of Social and Organisational Psychology at the University of Exeter and a Professor of Diversity at the University of Groningen.

Professor Ryan coined the term ‘glass cliff’ with Alex Haslam to explain how women in leadership positions are often set up to fail. In 2005, her research into this phenomenon was shortlisted for The Times Higher Education Supplement Research Project of the Year, and in 2008 it was selected by The New York Times for its annual Year in Ideas list.

Professor Ryan has written over 80 journal articles, chapters, and four books on her extensive research into gender inequality and workplace discrimination.