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

Peared

We can be our own worst enemies, we really can. Not just in relation to work either. The one thing I really think women do more than men is let their own insecurities colour their view of fellow women. We are probably all guilty of this at one time or another even though it can be hard to admit to. Its the worst sounding cliche but really, we need to stick together a bit more. I think the work environment gives a situation where there is power and/or a pecking order so these traits are more visible

DublinWriter

I find men easier to work for, but I find wimmins easier to work with.

I've also been in nightmarish team lead situations finding myself managing women much older than myself. You're in a no-win situation to begin with.

Dimitri

First off let me agree with the poster who said that it is entirely down to the individual as to whether thay are an idiot or not as opposed to a gender bias. But to address the perception that women are generally harder to work for then men one must ask why they are in the position in the first place. In the public sector there is a quota attached to new promotions which must be filled by women. This means that in a number of cases women are being promoted not for their ability or skills etc but simply for being women. As a result there has been a large increase in the levels of bullying across the board, the theory goes that if someone isn't cut out for the job and still gets it they are going to be frustrated because they don't know what they are meant to be doing, invariably this is taken out on the staff working below them. This theory applies to men as well as women but seeing as there is a trend to promote women not because they are the best applicant but so as to advertise just how equal an equal opportunities employer the public sector really is. Sadly if this trend is maintained over a long period of time then the perception will become ingrained once more that only men should be in positions of power which will be an awful shame for the women currently in the work who are well trained well educated and aree currently building experience in their chose fields.

tampopo

To add to the broad sweeping generalisations, I've found it worse to work for a woman.

My wife's a teamleader in her company. Mostly girls on her team. When recruiting a newbie, she won't hire a woman with children, a newly wed, and if she could get away with it, a woman of childbearing age.

I was horrified when she told me what she was up to. She's not Irish. I said "you can't do that, you can't do that, it's completely illegal. You can't ask if anyone has children."

She smiled slyly at me and said that her manager taught her a trick, ask people about themselves and it comes out whether they've children...as people love to talk about themselves.

I was gutted. She'd be the first to throw the gender-card in any situation, and here she was discriminating, herself.

Amazotheamazing

It shouldn't be a problem for people to admit that certain male traits can make men better managers, after all, no one denies that being better at multi-tasking makes women better than men at certain jobs.

laughin'joe

I have worked with both men and women and to be honest I think women have this point to prove, when you think about the whole show was run by men up till a good few years ago "equailty" came in...but I find women since it has come in they have got worse. I mean their just very hard on people in general and never admit when they are wrong. We have people in HR here who are so nice but then you have the "head honco" who runs the show a....woman and what a b*tch. All the other people in HR are cool women and men bar this one in "power" a right l'il hitler she tries to twist everything you say or write in an e-mail...don't worry I have tonnes of evidence on this subject as proof of her "nit picking". I think it is all down to some women feel they need to be seen as a bi*ch to hold their positions and so no one will question them...then again they could be all just mad hahaha!

laughin'joe

I have worked with both men and women and to be honest I think women have this point to prove, when you think about the whole show was run by men up till a good few years ago "equailty" came in...but I find women since it has come in they have got worse. I mean their just very hard on people in general and never admit when they are wrong. We have people in HR here who are so nice but then you have the "head honco" who runs the show a....woman and what a b*tch. All the other people in HR are cool women and men bar this one in "power" a right l'il hitler she tries to twist everything you say or write in an e-mail...don't worry I have tonnes of evidence on this subject as proof of her "nit picking". I think it is all down to some women feel they need to be seen as a bi*ch to hold their positions and so no one will question them...then again they could be all just mad :eek:

DublinWriter

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

no one denies that being better at multi-tasking makes women better than men at certain jobs.

It's a complete myth that women are better multi-taskers.

If you disagree, do point me in the direction of a paper in any respectable journal of neuroscience and I'll gladly back down.

WindSock

DublinWriter wrote: »

It's a complete myth that women are better multi-taskers.

If you disagree, do point me in the direction of a paper in any respectable journal of neuroscience and I'll gladly back down.

Well, I for one am hopeless at multi tasking.

I can read maps though

LuckyStar

Women are in general bitches to work for.

Take the supervisor (now manager) in my last job.
Constantly took her own insercurities out on me.

She was overweight- slagged me for having "no boobs" (mine are C/D's).
She failed college after doing 2nd year twice- told me I was thick (I have a 4 year degree)
The guy she fancied liked me- she told me I was ugly.

gcgirl

i would prefer to work with men than women ! women tend to be too bitchy!

Flinty

I've had 2 women bosses and 6 men. The 2 women were hated by everyone under them. One used to come out of meetings screaming (literally). They both seemed to be particularly tough on the other women on the team.

All 6 men have been fine...I got on really well with 4 and the other 2 not so (just not my kind of person), but they were always fair, which is all you can ask for really.

Mrs. MacGyver

Men are the best to work for, they are direct and you always know where you stand.

Madge07

watna wrote: »

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.

Sounds like we work in the same office,
women are so much harder to work for.

Crumble Froo

i my old boss. who was female. i was bricking myself going into my interview, and she made it just so friendly and open, and as much a chat as an exam type thing... was never anything less than accommodatnig, friendly, open and always polite and/or apologetic when she had to ask me to do extra hours etc.

padser

tampopo wrote: »

To add to the broad sweeping generalisations, I've found it worse to work for a woman.

My wife's a teamleader in her company. Mostly girls on her team. When recruiting a newbie, she won't hire a woman with children, a newly wed, and if she could get away with it, a woman of childbearing age.

I was horrified when she told me what she was up to. She's not Irish. I said "you can't do that, you can't do that, it's completely illegal. You can't ask if anyone has children."

She smiled slyly at me and said that her manager taught her a trick, ask people about themselves and it comes out whether they've children...as people love to talk about themselves.

I was gutted. She'd be the first to throw the gender-card in any situation, and here she was discriminating, herself.

If you think about it makes sense though. If you have two candidates in front of you for a job (be they male or female) one with children, one without - and they are identical in every other respect obviously I would go for the one without children.

Now factor in that the worst possible time for woman would be child bearing age - they get knocked up and your looking at replacing them for MONTHS at a time AND if they don't work out getting rid of them is exceptionally difficult as they can throw the pregency thing at you which, legally, is very strong.

She is just being sensible.

Crumble Froo

so because im in my mid 20s to 30s, and have absolutely no intention of having kids, i could lose out on a job, cos im female?

Quality

IT is easier for a Woman to work under a Man Boss IMHO!!

;)

IamBeowulf

I love women as human beings but I've just found more female bosses than male bosses very difficult to work for Im very easygoing and Im not at all sexist/misogynist. My gf agres---alot of female manager-types feel the need to assert their power excessively in order to compete with their male counterparts, and by doing so tend to be sneaky, mean and unreasonable.

Not ALLL---one female manager I worked for was an absolute gem, so kind and helpful, yet as determined as any of the bst male managers. She was very confident though, and therein lies the main problem---most b1tchy managers (female OR male) suffer from insecurity.

kmick

Mostly female bosses and never had an issue with any of them. Like males they had strengths and weaknesses, My two cents

Women
Pros
Very good at pushing through their ideas
Can control large teams more efficently than men
Can control large projects in a more structured way
Tend to be analytical when thinking through a problem

Cons
Tendency to micromanage
Generally less interested in developing personal relationships
Not good at managing 'difficult' employees
Poor at delegation
Afraid to make a mistake

Men
Pros
Make decisions more quickly
Dont micromange
You can go drinking with them and build a relationship that way
Less likely to have a time of month or make personal comments
More open to (unusual) ideas for fixing a problem
More likely to spend money to address an issue
Not afraid to make a mistake

Cons
Sometimes too hands off
Often poor at planning large scale tasks
Lots of delegation often when not appropriate
Lazier than women
Have a longer memory when things go wrong

Filan

My best friend...a male....swears that women are more demanding to work under...he isn't misogynistic....and I know there are good and bad managers of both genders..and that there is no absolute's....but subjectively if you heard that there was a new manager tommorrow...would you be hoping for a he or a she?

ztoical

I work in animation so its a very relaxed environment and there isn't really "managers" per say but when I was student a I work a few different retail jobs - had both male and female managers and never found there to be any difference, had a great female manager when I worked in a book store, awful female manager when I worked in a cinema. One the male managers in the cinema was a pain and was fired for stealing and replaced with the equally painful female manager - only difference she didn't steal or at least wasn't caught.

I really don't think the sex of the manager makes a huge difference - I think the training they get makes a big difference. Had three different managers in the cinema and all were assholes. Worked for a big book chain and all the managers there had their heads screwed on right.

red_ice

i always felt that women were terrible to work for, but the last place i worked in was owned by a woman, everyone else was male, she was alright, but i could never tell what she was thinking or if she was happy/annoyed with people in the office, which is a bad thing imo..

ATM i have 3 managers over me and she is grand to work for, so in my experience theres no real difference

Men FTW!

Zaph

Over the years the two worst managers I've ever worked for were both men. I've never had any problem having a female manager, some have been OK, some have been very good, just like the majority of male managers I've had. I have heard stories about women having trouble with female managers whereas their male counterparts have been fine, but I'm sure that works the other way round in places too.

jellie

every manager is different whether male or female. everyone has their own style of management. i dont think its fair to say that either sex is better/worse.

ive had women managers that are relaxed and friendly, and some that treat their staff like slaves. i think certain women may feel that i have more to prove because of being female & so work their staff harder.

again ive had male managers that are relaxed and friendly, as is my current boss. but ive had male managers who overstep the boundarys of managers, can be too overfriendly, look down on women, etc.

but these are all different managers, i certainly wouldnt think "oh that female boss of mine was a right b*tch, all women managers must be like that".

King of Kings

i have many managers over the years both sexes but the 2 i didn't get on with were women. dunno i'd say it depends on the personality of the person.

Jay P

I work in a certain hotel where we have 5 or 6 managers, one being the main man who is male. When he's not around its usually one of the two women who run things, including calling the guests to sit down over the PA. I just think it sounds better when Mr. Man does it. Sexist and all as that may sound, everyone I work with agrees.

pretty*monster

I've never worked for a man or even had a man as a supervisor and I've never had a problem with any of them women I've worked for.

the dee

I'm sorry to say that all of the female managers I've worked under have been right cows. I don't think it was only because they were female though. I do think that women feel like they have to be tough and professional all the time when they're in charge or they won't be taken seriously.

The 2 male managers I've had were more relaxed and could have a laugh with you when it wasn't busy. I think men feel more secure and confident in a management role.