Vice President Kamala Harriss presidential campaign is officially underway. And though she has already smashed fundraising records, she still faces a daunting glass ceiling and glass cliff that many Black women encounter at work.The term glass ceiling refers to the invisible barrier that women come up against in their attempts to climb the professional ladder; the term glass cliff reflects the precarious circumstances encountered by women from historically marginalized and excluded communities. Often moved into roles in times of chaos or crisis, these leaders are often not equipped with adequate resources or support to succeed. Having broken through the ceiling, they are thrust into positions teetering on the brink of failure and into structures committed to misunderstanding them.To better understand the challenges that Harris must overcome as she seeks election to become the President of the United States, we can assess the hurdles that Black women in corporate America face every day.The corporate leadership gapI have often told people that it is unlikely I will ever be your CEO. My response is not self-deprecation, but a reluctant acknowledgment of the current reality.According to a recent paper by professors Li He and Toni Whited, there are three main common explanations as to why so few women become CEOs. First, there is a stereotype that women possess more soft skills while men possess more hard skills. For instance, its commonly said that women are better at teamwork and communication while men are better at analysis, strategy, and execution.Second, the career paths of women are more affected by the balance between work and family responsibilities, which can make it harder for women to advance in careers. This results in fewer women in managerial positions, making it more difficult to find qualified female candidates for CEO roles.Lastly, there is a belief that company boards might prefer men over women for leadership roles, even if this choice negatively impacts the companys performance. This bias can prevent women from being promoted to top positions.As a result, women are underrepresented in the top management seats of U.S. companies and boardrooms. And, while gains have certainly been made, the momentum is difficult to maintain. According to The Conference Boards March 2024 report, Corporate Americas boardrooms are significantly more gender diverse than its corner offices. Today, 33% of board members at S&P 500 companies are women, an eight-point increase since 2019. By contrast, just 9% of CEOs in the S&P 500 are women, up four points since 2019. This rise in female leadership is important because female CEOs tend to be appointed by more gender-diverse boardsbut this may soon change.The numbers become even more disheartening when you account specifically for the plight of Black women. Approximately 10.4% of Fortune 500 companies are led by women CEOs. But Black women hold just two of those positions: Thasunda Brown Duckett, CEO of TIAA, and Toni Townes-Whitley, CEO of SAIC. This means Black women represent a mere 0.4% of Fortune 500 CEOs, despite Black women making up about 7.7% of the American population.These barriers are indicative of the struggles faced by Vice President Harris in this years presidential campaign. As she navigates a landscape marked by glass ceilings and glass cliffs, her journey mirrors that of Black women in corporate America and the challenges we encounter. And I believe this underscores the need for systemic change to ensure that Black women can also rise to leadership positions.Silent alliesSilent allies are those individuals who identify as supporters of DEI efforts but, too often, do not take tangible or sustained actions to support Black colleagues when it matters most. This lack of active support can be a significant hurdle in the corporate journey of Black women, and a barrier to forward momentum.For instance, white allies were painfully quiet this Black History Month and there was a noticeable drop in invitations for Black professionals to speak and participate in programming. And in just the past month, a conservative activist has effectively pushed Deere & Co. and Tractor Supply to walk back DEI initiatives.By co-opting the DEI conversation and framing DEI efforts as anti-white, some conservatives perpetuate a misleading narrative that spurs fear among corporations about legal repercussionsespecially following the Supreme Courts decision to overturn affirmative action. And when it came time for allies to push back against this backlash, many have been absent. This phenomenon is what I coined the Red Rover Effect, in which those who once counted themselves as allies tend to retreat and become apathetic to the cause when confronted with opposition or the reality of the task at hand.This shift in the legal landscape is bound to gain traction with conservative talking heads and state legislations creating an environment of fear around DEI initiatives. For instance, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton sent letters to 51 law firms and 10 recruitment firms urging them to step back from engaging in DEI initiatives. In May 2024, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds banned DEI in state universities. In fact, 85 anti-DEI bills have been introduced in 28 states and in Congress, as tracked by the Chronicle of Higher Education. These retreats by purported allies are harmful to the advancement and support of Black women and other marginalized groups, who know that the systems in place were not built with us in mind.To that point, according to a Women in the Workplace report by McKinsey, Black women are less likely to have strong allies on their teams. They are also less likely than white women to say senior colleagues have taken important sponsorship actions on their behalf, such as publicly praising their skills or advocating for a compensation increase for them. This disconnect highlights the disparity between perceived and actual allyship.Active allyship will be an important part of Vice President Harriss campaign. As she strives to break ground in an unprecedented race for the presidency, any lack of vocal and actionable support from allies could hinder her progress, much like it does for Black women in corporate America. Vice President Harriss journey brings to the forefront the need for sustained support if meaningful change is to be achieved.BurnoutBlack women in corporate America often face both burnout and exploitation, carrying the burden of being overqualified, resilient, and self-sacrificing. Many Black women find themselves in roles where they are expected not only to excel in their day-to-day responsibilities, but also to drive DEI initiatives without adequate support or resources. This dual burden can lead to significant stress that extends beyond the scope of employment, leading to serious mental and physical health issues. Nearly 40% of Black women have left their jobs due to feeling unsafe, according to Exhales The State of Self-Care for Black Women report. Black women are, biologically, 7.5 years older than white women and three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes.This stress is exacerbated by systemic racism and workplace inequities. In addition to phenomena like the glass cliff and glass ceiling, Black women are often derailed before our corporate journeys begin. Known as the broken rung, this term describes the first step from entry-level positions into management roles that often evades our grip. Progress for early-career Black women has significantly regressed after peaking in 2020 and 2021, according to McKinsey.Still, these realities have not dampened Black womens ambitions. McKinsey reports that roughly 80% of women aspire to be promoted to the next level, compared with 70% in 2019. Women of color have proven to be even more ambitious, with 88% desiring promotion. Black women have previously been found to be more ambitious than all other women, with 59% wanting to be top executives.While Vice President Kamala Harriss path to the presidency mirrors the broader struggles of Black women striving for leadership roles, it also serves to highlight the heights our ambition can reach when we are given access to opportunity. Addressing the barriers we face in corporate America requires an active approach from committed allies, sustained support for DEI programs, and a willingness to acknowledge and dismantle systemic barriers. Only then can we create an environment where Black women can lead without the additional burden of navigating unnecessary cliffs, ceilings, and constraints.