Reddit's Ellen Pao is latest female CEO blamed for inherited woes, experts say

As Pao steps down following a petition and death threats, sociologists and other observers point to a 'glass cliff' for female executives

Female chief executives like Ellen Pao may reach the pinnacle in business only to discover that they have risen to the top of a precarious "glass cliff".

That was the analysis of one expert in the aftermath of Pao's decision to resign from Reddit late on Friday, after almost a week during which users hurled insults, hate mail and even death threats her way over the firing of a popular site administrator.