Workplace “Queen Bees” claim more affinity with men than women and distance themselves from other women. If the Queen Bee isn’t dead yet, I would like to accelerate her demise! Gender diversity in leadership is good for business. And women won’t reach the upper ranks of business in sufficient numbers to deliver the upsides without the full support of their own.
Women often complain about having a bad woman boss, generalizing their criticism to all women. In a difficult relationship between a woman boss and female subordinate, there is often a generational difference. While inter-generational differences can play a role, I think, the conflict is mostly based on deeply rooted gender issues. Women are less comfortable in a hierarchical relationship with another woman. And women share a culturally-based sense that men deserve top positions more than women.
When experts name reasons why women are not proportionally represented in business leadership, they include women not supporting other women. Catalyst reports that the Queen Bee is less and less a factor. A Queen Bee is a woman who likes being one of few women in a group and prefers working with men. Some sabotage or bully other women. I hope to make such women aware of their behavior, aware of the business value of gender diversity and aware of the strengths of feminine ways of working–and thus make the Queen Bee extinct!
