The Devil Wears Prada perpetuates a useless stereotype.

main

I get what you say, Meghan, about the benefits of broadening the range of publicly-noted female roles beyond those old standbys, “nurturer” and “supporter.” But I can’t share your pleasure in the finding that 40 percent of workplace bullies are women. After all, isn’t “bitch”—or even “office bitch”—just as much a stereotype as “nurturer”? Judging from The Devil Wears Prada and Working Girl, two of many fictional studies in the vicissitudes inflicted by female bosses on their (ultimately triumphant) female underlings, this particular stereotype is well established in the cultural consciousness. We even know without thinking what these witchy characters look like, right down to the thin lips and the pointy, expensive shoes.

This is part of what Catalyst found in Damned if You Do, Doomed if You Don’t, its report on the challenges faced by women trying to ascend the corporate ladder. Viewed as either too soft or too tough depending on their willingness to practice stereotypical feminine—read “nurturing”—behaviors as opposed to more aggressive, stereotypically masculine ones, the report notes that women have great difficulty avoiding the perception that they’re either nice but not very competent or competent but not very nice, especially in the rarefied upper echelons of the corporate world. (Another striking Catalyst finding: only 2 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are women).

In light of the bullying study, though, I think Catalyst may be letting women off easy by suggesting that they’re tagged as aggressive, tough or mean simply because they act male. It seems likely that the awkwardness for women of finding comfortable and acceptable ways to operate in male-dominated fields contributes to their bullying. But at base, women who bully are just women behaving badly—something for which they should be criticized, not cheered. While I’ve been lucky enough to work with many supportive women, few things in my professional life have been more upsetting than encountering women, usually in positions of authority, who seemed determined to keep other women down. (It should be noted that, as the study suggests, they did not exhibit the same behavior toward men.) These women’s reasons were no doubt many and various, but their meanness was unmistakable, and it felt like a particularly exquisite betrayal.

Tags: bullies, work, workplace

VIEW THIS CONVERSATION

Vanessa M. Gezari Journalist and traveler

Comments

تحميل برامج تحميل برنامج

By: beckham_250 | Sun, 09/20/2009 - 06:59

تحميل برامج تحميل برنامج تحميل برامج نوكيا برامج
تحميل ماسنجر تحميل موبايل موقع دليل مواقع

Igniting Change: Activating Alliances for Social Justice!

By: Lauren | Thu, 05/14/2009 - 12:17

Images of women and gender in popular culture, such as the nurturer and the witch, are definitely deserving of closer scrutiny and more discussion. These issues as well as other strategies for women’s advancement will be key themes explored at our annual conference June 10-12 at CUNY Graduate Center, NYC. Register today at wwww.ncrw.org – don’t miss out!

Bullying female bosses

By: lawyer-mom | Wed, 05/13/2009 - 23:34

One female partner at a law firm where I worked several years ago (it was a several hundred persons national law firm) was working part time (she had two young children), and was promoted to partner from a part-time position. When I started working at that law firm, I assumed that she would be a great mentor and gravitated toward her. It later turned out that she gave terrible reviews to all female associates who worked for her and did her best to sink their careers. In contrast, middle-aged and older male partners were very understanding of my need and wish to spend time with my toddler and accommodated my schedule as much as possible.
That experience taught me that in my career, I could not make assumptions about who would be a good and sympathetic mentor based on gender or parental status.

bully bosses

By: lunamander | Wed, 05/13/2009 - 21:19

Some senior women are terrible bosses, some are great. I wouldn't confuse behaviors that are direct and assertive, which I am fine with, to the same emotionally immature mean-girl bullying behaviors you'd expect in junior high...I just got out from under one of those who made my life wretched for year. It's true that the range of successful leadership behaviors allowed for women in the workplace continue to be narrow and like walking a tight-rope. Is she too strong to be likable or accepted, too soft to be competent? Etcetera, ad nauseum. Constantly under the microscope in ways men are not. But the mean-girl syndrome is in its own category that seems more related to shortcomings in the person than overall challenges women face in the workplace.

Say No to Mean Girls—and Women

Comments

تحميل برامج تحميل برنامج

By: beckham_250 | Sun, 09/20/2009 - 06:59

Igniting Change: Activating Alliances for Social Justice!

By: Lauren | Thu, 05/14/2009 - 12:17

Bullying female bosses

By: lawyer-mom | Wed, 05/13/2009 - 23:34

bully bosses

By: lunamander | Wed, 05/13/2009 - 21:19

DoubleX

The Root

The Big Money

Good Morning America

Washington Post

Newsweek