Male or Female Boss? There's a Difference!

Filed in archive Operations , Organization on June 24, 2010

© Kumar Appaiah

When asked about their gender preferences regarding their bosses... 34 percent of men and 40 percent of women still prefer having male bosses.

This compares to 10 percent of men and 26 percent of women preferring a female boss. Clearly, this must mean that male and female bosses are still being viewed differently, although the difference seems to be sharper among male than female employees.

There are still culturally instilled gender stereotypes among employees even these days. The model for a leader is still quite masculine for most people. They are thought of as being dominant, competitive and confident. Such qualities are still more often attributed to men than women. Women are still generally described as nice.

Yet, many women who try to adapt such "masculine" traits are faced with more hurdles as they lead in the corporate world. Female subordinates tend to distance themselves from women who display more assertiveness in the workplace. For example: female bosses have to be more careful about being overly competitive than male bosses do. Such women are still often viewed as power hungry and are disliked more than their male counterparts.

The key to being a more successful female boss, it appears, is to stay being a woman. It makes the female boss appear more authentic. And having an air of authenticity around you earns more respect from the subordinates.

And more often than not, female bosses will feel the most resentment from female juniors. This is particularly true in companies where there are very few women at the top. Most female employees fail to identify with the more senior women on the basis of shared gender.

Female bosses also always come across the stress of being a token. They always feel greater performance pressure and are a lot more visible than the men. There's really no data to indicate that women are worse bosses than men. They are just perceived as such.