Queen Bees: “They assaults harm careers and leave no fingerprints.”
A reader sent me this WSJ article entitled “The Tyranny of the Queen Bee”:
Women who reached positions of power were supposed to be mentors to those who followed—but something is amiss in the professional sisterhood….
A 2007 survey of 1,000 American workers released by the San Francisco-based Employment Law Alliance found that 45% of respondents had been bullied at the office—verbal abuse, job sabotage, misuse of authority, deliberate destruction of relationships—and that 40% of the reported bullies were women. In 2010, the Workplace Bullying Institute, a national education and advocacy group, reported that female bullies directed their hostilities toward other women 80% of the time—up 9% since 2007. Male bullies, by contrast, were generally equal-opportunity tormentors.
A 2011 survey of 1,000 working women by the American Management Association found that 95% of them believed they were undermined by another woman at some point in their careers. According to a 2008 University of Toronto study of nearly 1,800 U.S. employees, women working under female supervisors reported more symptoms of physical and psychological stress than did those working under male supervisors.
The article points out that Queen Bees often assault careers in ways that leave “no fingerprints.” I find this interesting; I think that men are more direct in their tactics, often women tend to be more manipulative so that they do not have to take responsibility for their actions and can deny or disown them. And their victims barely know what hit them. Men’s directness is easier to spot and criticize, women’s tactics, not so much. It is more difficult to “prove.”
I'm just struck by the grammar in the headline. "They assaults..."? Ouch.
“They assaults harm careers and leave no fingerprints.”
Shouldn't that be "Their assaults..."?
I'm just struck by the grammar in the headline. "They assaults..."? Ouch.
“They assaults harm careers and leave no fingerprints.”
Shouldn't that be "Their assaults..."?
Thanks JymG (formerly JimG - had to re-register with new name on this new format)
Thanks JymG (formerly JimG - had to re-register with new name on this new format)
And, you're right. Any male boss - whether type "A" screamer or a cerebral type "B", they have always been direct when they wanted something, were irritated by something I did, or just in general day to day operations.
Women, on the other hand, while more organized (generally) were horrible people managers. The worst was a director that hired me, gave me a start date, then went on a vacation starting that day. When she arrived, two weeks later, we had a brief meeting, then she went off to a conference for another three weeks. I spent a month starting at the walls of a cube like in the movie "office space". In the three months I lasted, she talked to me twice. She'd take all the female staff out for lunch once a week, leaving her two male... (show more)
And, you're right. Any male boss - whether type "A" screamer or a cerebral type "B", they have always been direct when they wanted something, were irritated by something I did, or just in general day to day operations.
Women, on the other hand, while more organized (generally) were horrible people managers. The worst was a director that hired me, gave me a start date, then went on a vacation starting that day. When she arrived, two weeks later, we had a brief meeting, then she went off to a conference for another three weeks. I spent a month starting at the walls of a cube like in the movie "office space". In the three months I lasted, she talked to me twice. She'd take all the female staff out for lunch once a week, leaving her two male reports in the office. Miserable.
With a male boss, you'll be called on the carpet (or more often than not, out for a beer) and told off. With a woman, you'll be called in the office to sign a paper reprimand. (show less)
Trey
Trey
The ironic part was, like many cheaters, she could have been successful without cheating; she was smart and had the attributes of a good salesperson, but deviousness was a game to her.
The ironic part was, like many cheaters, she could have been successful without cheating; she was smart and had the attributes of a good salesperson, but deviousness was a game to her.
But now that the cat is out of the bag, here's my two cents: this new comments format is a disaster. The old format was one of the reasons PJMedia was one of my regular stops. Often the comments were as good and sometimes better than the articles to which they were responding.
So PJMedia just decided to throw them all away. Should be on that old SNL sketch, "What Were You Thinking?"
But now that the cat is out of the bag, here's my two cents: this new comments format is a disaster. The old format was one of the reasons PJMedia was one of my regular stops. Often the comments were as good and sometimes better than the articles to which they were responding.
So PJMedia just decided to throw them all away. Should be on that old SNL sketch, "What Were You Thinking?"
The best principal I ever worked under was a male. This man walked the halls during every passing period and he went into every classroom twice a day. He was strict. If you filed a discipline report on a student, he would personally drive that student home and tell his or her parents to come to the office the next day. Needless to say, we didn't have discipline problems.
But the woman? She never left her office. She just sat there, collecting a paycheck, while flirting with her illicit lover. Illegally, I might add. We had more discipline problems at that school than you can imagine.
Never once did she come... (show more)
The best principal I ever worked under was a male. This man walked the halls during every passing period and he went into every classroom twice a day. He was strict. If you filed a discipline report on a student, he would personally drive that student home and tell his or her parents to come to the office the next day. Needless to say, we didn't have discipline problems.
But the woman? She never left her office. She just sat there, collecting a paycheck, while flirting with her illicit lover. Illegally, I might add. We had more discipline problems at that school than you can imagine.
Never once did she come into my classroom. Never once did she patrol the halls. And this qualifies her to evaluate me as a teacher how?
She gave me the worst evaluation in my career. He gave me the best.
Go figure. She was a queen bee. He was a boss. Big difference. (show less)