Managers....do you prefer male or female?

watna

I wanted to ask this here, not in work and jobs to get the ladies opinion.

I’ve had a few managers/bosses in my time and I’ve found that having a female for a boss much harder then having a male boss. I find this disturbing as I’ve always firmly believed that women are just as capable as men in the workplace and we need to push through the glass ceiling and get more women in senior positions in companies.

However, I’ve been thinking recently that in my experience women are much harder to work under. That maybe they think they have to be bitches to get to the top. I’m thinking of two females team leaders I’ve had in the past who’ve been a nightmare to work under, constant criticism, no praise, inconsistent directions, lack of interest in doing tasks themselves but expecting you to do them, sharp sly comments, unwilling to take criticism themselves or listen to your opinion etc.

I’ve also had two male bosses who were very easy to work for, always going out of the way to say please and thank you when you do something, praising you on a job well done, getting involved in a hands-on way and listening to your input. They were also both more laid back about “process” and “best practice, giving you a chance to do things your way as long as it got the job done.

I’ve asked a few people what they and most people (especially the females) have agreed that female bosses are more difficult to deal with. The boys don’t have as much of a preference. Are women leaders harder on other females in the office?

What do you think? My experience is limited and I don’t want to tar everyone with the same brush. Do women have to be harder and more controlling to get ahead and get respect in the workplace? What experiences have you had with team leaders? Do you think it's the person, not what gender they are?

The reason I’m interested is that I’m sure I’ll lead a team one day so wanted to hear people’s experiences.

LouOB

I have worked with both in different jobs and found that the best 'bosses' are those who have children - either male or female. I find them much more compassionate.

Single unmarried women into their 40's and 50's I have found to be v bitter to work with.
Single unmarried men in same category - lovely uncle figures but nasty on bad day but dont know it

Married with children best

Peared

Yeah Id prefer to work for men anyday. Obviously it comes down to the specific person yadda yadda but generally I would. Also have a male doctor, would want a male driving instructor and find it easier to get on with men in general. Not sure if this is just a personality thing, you know the way women are supposed to be mens women or womens women. I love the girlies too though

Susipoo

I thought I was alone in thinking this! I've always found it much easier to work for men. This biggest difference is approachability I find.

WindSock

In my experience so far, Women have been the hardest to work under. And I have done a lot of different jobs.

ParkRunner

Have to agree that men are easier to work under. I have had great bosses both male and female and also terrible bosses of both genders but from my experience men have been the better all around managers

metaoblivia

Have to agree. I've had good bosses of either sex, but when I think of the bosses I've had and really disliked them - all women.

Tree

women can be alright to work for, but they can turn at the drop of a hat. the lads tend to be more stable and predictable to work for.

also, NEVER WORK IN A JOB WHERE THERE ARE ONLY WOMEN, it's the most horrible bitchy environment ever.

Mr. Presentable

Women. Not used to the power, so abuse it

Silverfish

Women are much harder to work for I've found. General cattiness and mind-changes, and more indirect.


I currently work with all men, thirty technicians and four straight-talking no-bull**** managery type blokes, and its the most awesome working environment ever.

cazzy

I find it depends on the person not whats between their legs !
Worked with some really good women and some really good men and had some terrible men and some terrible women as bosses also.#
I really couldnt generalise.

Malteaser!

LouOB wrote: »

I have worked with both in different jobs and found that the best 'bosses' are those who have children - either male or female. I find them much more compassionate.

Single unmarried women into their 40's and 50's I have found to be v bitter to work with.
Single unmarried men in same category - lovely uncle figures but nasty on bad day but dont know it

Married with children best

That's very true actually, I've never thought about it like that!!!

Saruman

I have had some nice single women in their late 30's early 40's as a boss, also had some bitches Same with men.
I think on a whole though, women have more to prove because there is still a divide in the workplace, well established workplace.... newer companies i do not think have any differences.

_Kaiser_

Women are definitely harder to work for, and more prone to running things based on their emotions and influenced by the things watna mentions.

Example: I once witnessed a female manager stroll into her office with her (all female) team leaders in tow, giggling like a schoolgirl about her new "Sex in the city" skirt. :rolleyes: The same one would be heard (loudly) waffling about utter ****e on the phone to her mates during the day.

DAWNRISER

:Woman are definitley the hardest to work for.
They feel the need to dominate and PROVE something.
And then theres the whole female jealousy thing.
Give me a male boss anyday

SarahSassy

My last two bosses have been women and I much prefer working for men... My current boss is a dose and not a good team person or a good manager... Men all the way.

Clare Bear

I've worked under 2 women, both bitches, you never knew where you stood with them. Men are so much easier to work for, if you fook up just pull the silly girlie routine, works a charm everytime. I get away with murder Having said that I've always had really sound male bosses who I've had a laugh with so I've been lucky. I don't think I'd take a job if I knew the boss was a woman...too much hassle. In my experience.

smartypants

in my experience i have seen more women mangers being complained and bitched about by both sexes than men. I always found that more women tend to feel the need to micro manage (which is a very annoying trait) than men

im a bloke and not being biased, this is purely from experience

SubjectSean

This thread would seem to furnish ample anecdotal evidence that men are better than women. Women are bitches to work for would seem to be the consensus. Good job that women have contributed so strongly throughout the ages towards so many of our major inventions or I'd start to think they are only useful for making babies

Maple

i had a female manager who was a complete sow. she would walk all over you, berate you in public, didn't allow for traffic or public transport delays. i quit the day she expected me to take teh falll for one of her mistakes. she actually wrote an email to a client from my account making me out to be an incompetent fool. i was completely demoralised leaving.

my next manager was also female and was extremely fair and had a great business sense about her, very levelheaded and approachable.

my current manager is a male and he's great, you can have a good laugh with him and he never minds if you're a few minutes late. however he can be somewhat inconsistent in his orders and there are times where i'm frustrated and think " for gods sake manage it!"

think its person dependentt really but overall sometimes women feel they have more to prove and ride rough shod over other women.

simu

If people are árseholes, it's because of their own personality rather than their gender, thus rendering the original question meaningless. Me, I'd rather work for no boss but for myself tbh.

Clare Bear

Yes but "in general" people here are saying from their own experience that women are harder to work under than men...you get exemptions to the rule in many cases obviously...

simu

Clare Bear wrote: »

Yes but "in general" people here are saying from their own experience that women are harder to work under than men...you get exemptions to the rule in many cases obviously...

Why do that though? Do the women posting itt and giving out about female bosses want such generalisations to come back and bite them when/if they become bosses some day?

spurious

I've worked with both female and male managers. The women without exception worked much harder than the men.

More moaning went on about the women though, often from other women. It was almost as if they expected them to work even harder, while not having the same requirements of the men.

cazzy

Maybe it also depends on the profession - i.e. that a certain gender make better managers in some professions etc but in my experience I cant see a difference - worked with good and bad of both sexes.

Pigletlover

I think men are definitely easier to work under. Women are unpredictable and let their emotions get the better of them. I have found aswell that women try to hard to be liked and feel they need to be your friend. Of course, this isn't true for all women and there are good female managers/bad male ones but generally speaking I think men are easier to work under.

SarahSassy

simu wrote: »

Why do that though? Do the women posting itt and giving out about female bosses want such generalisations to come back and bite them when/if they become bosses some day?

Nope because I will definitely do it differently. I am learning from her what NOT to do and how NOT to treat people.

I wish my female bosses were better than the male ones I have had but they just havent been....

WindSock

SarahSassy wrote: »

Nope because I will definitely do it differently. I am learning from her what NOT to do and how NOT to treat people.

What if that is what every woman tells themselves?
What if it is just in our nature to be shite bosses :eek:

I was on the phone to around 150 different businesses today, and most of the people I was on the phone to were Women. Some of them were just so hard to deal with over the phone, they were rude, abrupt and really not the kind of person you would want fronting a company. Whenever I got a Man answering, I found them more friendly and business like.
Most of the Women that were clueless and rude did seem to sound like they were probably over 45ish and unprofessional.
Ahh, I don't know, maybe if it were more men answering than women, then I would be having a rant about Men

Wibbs

In business I prefer to deal with women in general. All my contacts in suppliers etc are women. I find them less likely to bullshít funny enough and find them better to deal with. More craic. For a start you can have a chat with them and they can keep working at the same time. That multitasking lark women seem to have. That said I've seen the self same women deal with other women under them or on their level and they're difference in attitude. Some to a surprising degree. Maybe because I'm a bloke I don't get it so much aimed at me.

I will say that I find women in general to be much more competitive(socially at least) than men and also more aware of the nuances of social interaction. Maybe that's why they can come across as being "bitchy" as something that just went over my head completely has been spotted by them. The interactions are definitely more subtle when compared to men's which are generally more direct.

Could be a holdover from when we were cavemen(I'm goin somewhere with this I swear ). Men may be more direct, basically because an argument between men has the possibility of serious injury at least in theory. Women have a lot less restraints in that case by comparison. Don't believe me? Listen to some of the things women may say to even close friends if a big argument kicks off. Things that if one man said to another would result in punches being thrown at the very least so men have to be more circumspect and direct.

Obviously not all women or men are like this, but there are some diffs. I do think the expectations put on women are higher. Usually from other women. Same with looks and fashion etc. It's not so much the men driving all of that as women. Women dress for themselves and other women before men. Maybe it's the same thing that makes some women difficult as bosses. I've also heard far more women complain about female bosses than men do.

pretty*monster

Hmm, I'm a bit suprised by this thread.

I have a biased opinion on this because I've only ever worked for women but I've never had any problems with any of my female bosses. I used to work in a hospital which as you can imagine was a completely female dominated workplace, there was a certain ammounbt of bitchiness I suppose, but no more than I would imagine exists in any normal work place.

watna

Thanks for all the responses everyone. Tis very interesting. I'm in a newish job and my female boss is lovely but I've had a lot of bad experiences in the past and she seems to be an exception! i was just wondering was I alone in my experiences, I guess I'm not.

I feel bad though that women in leadership positions seem to have such a bad reputation. I hope I can remember what I didn't like in a manger if I'm ever in a leadership position.