“It’s very rare for female CEOs to get a second chance,” Glass says. “It’s a double whammy for female CEOs: these crisis appointments may be the only opportunities they have, and by accessing them, they are putting their future leadership careers at risk.”

But, Glass says, women are often best positioned to help right the ship. Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, managed to bring the company back from the brink of failure after the financial crash of 2008. Anne Mulachy took over as CEO of Xerox when it was struggling, making it profitable, before retire in 2009.

Yaccarino’s chances of success, says Sandra Quince, CEO of Paradigm for Parity, an organization that addresses the gender gap in business, will depend in part on how much time and freedom she is given to redress the situation. rod. Board support and Musk’s willingness to truly let go of the reins could be crucial.

Musk said that with Yaccarino as CEO, he would become executive chairman of Twitter’s board as well as the company’s CTO. He is also CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, whose president and COO, Gwynne Shotwell, is responsible for day-to-day operations.

“She will need the board to support her vision for the organization,” Quince says. “She’s going to need someone to provide air cover. In times like this, when trying to understand, no one is perfect and mistakes can be made.

It may be tempting to view Yaccarino’s appointment as the cynical last gasp of a bankrupt company. But Brown, of the Athena Alliance, says Yaccarino’s courage should be applauded, whether Twitter proves salvageable or not.

“We shouldn’t say publicly that this was designed to fail, but that she decided this was her chance to try something a little heroic,” Brown says. “Most people think it will fail. But wouldn’t it be cool if she took it off? If Yaccarino pulls it off, it could be the most surprising twist of all in the spiraling story of Musk’s takeover.