Women in Leadership training in Lugano · canton of TessinWomen's leadership in the canton of Ticino: how can women be considered for succession before a crisis?
In Ticino, where banking, fashion, trading and Italian-speaking family SMEs coexist, succession planning can affect both business continuity and relationships with the Italian market. For SHR's “Women's Leadership” programme, this raises a specific question: are prospective women leaders considered during ordinary transitions, or mainly when a break with the past becomes necessary?
What the literature establishes: appointments can be precarious
Michelle K. Ryan and S. Alexander Haslam (2005, British Journal of Management) observed that, in British listed companies, women's appointments to boards were more likely than men's to follow poor share-price performance. This foundational study of the “glass cliff” draws attention to the conditions under which people gain leadership responsibilities, rather than simply the number of appointments. It does not demonstrate that every woman appointed inherits a deteriorating situation.
A mechanism: crisis changes the preferred leadership profile
Susanne Bruckmüller and Nyla R. Branscombe (2010, British Journal of Social Psychology) used experiments to examine how a crisis and an organisation's leadership history influence the selection of its next leader. Their findings show that a preference for a woman during a crisis depends in particular on previous leadership and the characteristics associated with the candidates. An appointment may therefore reflect a desire to break with the past rather than consistent recognition of leadership potential.
The hasty conclusion: avoid difficult positions
Concluding that women should refuse difficult successions would go too far. Leading a turnaround can be a responsibility someone actively wants and that fits their professional experience. The question is whether women are also considered when continuity is working and succession can be planned without urgency. (our executive and employee training programmes)
The limits: neither a diagnosis of Ticino nor a single explanation
An analysis of appointments in listed companies and experimental selection studies do not directly describe succession in Ticino's family SMEs. Proximity to Lombardy, cross-border workers and openness to the Italian market are relevant contextual features, but these studies do not establish their effects on appointments. Family relationships, sector experience and individual preferences also need examination, without turning a hypothesis into a local diagnosis.
A practical check in Lugano
In a hypothetical teaching case for the “Women's Leadership” programme, a family-owned trading SME in Lugano prepares its leadership succession before commercial difficulties arise. For each succession considered, it dates the initial candidate list, sets out professional criteria and records whether the situation is an ordinary transition or a crisis, using criteria defined in advance. The measure is the proportion of lists containing at least one woman who meets the criteria, calculated separately for the two situations and retaining the underlying counts. This verifiable record helps examine when women emerge as candidates, without claiming to prove discrimination from a handful of cases. To go further: explore the Women in Leadership training in Lugano in the canton of Ticino, or browse our executive and employee training programmes in Switzerland.
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