She Hates Working For Women, Really?

You can’t make this up, yeah. She hates working for women bosses, REALLY? I was meeting with some women discussing my upcoming Women’s Forum (visit www.4-DPerformance.com). I asked the question on whether they believed women lead differently than men. The conversation was going well, until one professional woman stated with assured confidence, “I hate working for women.” I sat down my coffee, adjusted my suit and asked why. She shared with me that women are bitches, sometimes. I asked her whether she knows why. I could see by her blank stare that she didn’t and that no one has ever challenged her thought on this subject. As a woman leader who loves supporting women and seeing career progression, I was a little hot: maybe hotter than my cup of coffee. I shared with her some research around the psychology of women and how it is very difficult to be a woman leader without the support of other women. I asked her where did she think her past women bosses received their support. I said, men often get the support of their wife/girlfriends, they have the good ole boy clubs and get support, men even support one another which they learned from playing team sports, they get support from society, and the list goes on. A woman rarely gets the level of support that a man receives so she is often isolated, and can then direct her frustration inappropriately or she lacks the understanding of true leadership and treats people, i.e. women the way she was treated. “The oppressed will become oppressors”, Paulo Freire. So, to make this short…I stated that if a woman forsake marriage to climb the ladder she certainly doesn’t have anyone at home to cry on their shoulder, she is more than likely a first generational success so she can’t rely on her parents, i.e. mom to share with her strategies or to have an understanding of what she is faced with, and if she is an executive there will be few other women to turn to in the board room. I speak from experience. I was often one of the few women on the golf course, in the boardroom, etc. as a CEO. I owned and operated a multimillion dollar company in the US. Sometimes I was difficult to work with, but my employees had no clue what I had to do to make sure they had health benefits, a competitive salary that I paid, and the fights I had to have to win and keep multimillion dollar contracts, and so forth. And, I was married, but that was even a challenge since my wasband (ex-husband) worked for me. In short, I needed someone to pour into me as much as I poured into others. But, as the leader, people assume that you don’t need their support. I’m here to tell you, WE DO, and saying things like I hate women leaders/bosses doesn’t help us move further up on the global stage. I never hear a man say…I hate working for men. Instead of hating, try supporting by understanding and… For more information visit www.4-DPerformance.com or contact me directly.