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Do women prefer women or male bosses? Or is gender and leadership an irrelevant question today?
A few weeks ago, a reader sent me this comment after reading a piece that I wrote for Women’s Web on how the marital status of a woman is still the subject of much debate and discussion as far as the job market is concerned.
This reader said that his wife was in the process of hiring household help and that one question she would ask without fail was whether the woman was married or not. Surprised, he asked her what difference it made and she replied that, ‘If she is unmarried, she will spend most of her time attending to calls from her lover or would be soon married off.’
While on the surface this seemed to be a common enough sentiment, it got me thinking.
Are we women, actually the biggest obstacles to other women? Do we make it harder for other women to succeed in the work place, no matter what the nature of the job is? And as employees, do women prefer men or women as bosses?
I’ve mostly worked with female bosses and I’ve always found them to be mentor like. The couple of male bosses that I have had were not exactly bad either. So finding it hard to write an article on the same from my personal experience, I decided to crowd-source my research.
So on Twitter and Facebook , I posted this question and waited for the responses to come in.
“Do women prefer male bosses or female bosses? Does gender matter?”
While, I was looking at responses from women, the first few came in from men via Twitter and they were all on the same page.
‘Women prefer men as bosses,’ all of them responded. And when I asked them why they thought so, most of them said that there was a perception that female bosses tended to be tougher and that men were more sympathetic and considerate towards their female employees.
However, the responses from the women were overwhelmingly contradictory to what the men thought. Most of the women who pitched in by sharing their personal stories and experiences categorically stated that gender did not matter and that it depended on the bosses’ individual style and personality. Most of them also said that as long as the bosses respected their work and them, it hardly mattered whether their boss was male or female. There were also those who said that they had often found female bosses to better leaders overall and even mentors.
But then there was also a small minority of women who responded saying that they had had better experiences while working with a male boss.
‘Female bosses can be petty and bitchy,’ they said. ‘Male bosses have always worked better for me,’ another said.
Now, according to this very recent survey done in the United Kingdom, only 6% of 800 female workers said that they want to work with a female boss.
A 2009 study claimed that most women prefer working for men as well, as men are less prone to moods. However there are studies that claim the exact opposite as well and that most employees prefer to work under female bosses.
There are either hardly any studies done on this topic in India and the sub-continent or if done, they are not accessible to people like me who have been trawling the Internet for data of any kind on the same. However based on the responses I received, I would say that in theory at least, gender does not matter to most working women as long as they are led well and the work they do is respected.
I would love to hear from the working women out there on whether they have any gender preferences as far as their bosses are concerned and why.
Your turn, ladies.
Image: Shutterstock
Shweta Ganesh Kumar is a writer, blogger and creator of the modern Indian parenting blog ‘The Times Of Amma’,and 'Inkspire' - the digital platform for aspiring Indian writers. She was awarded the prestigious UN Laadli read more...
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People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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