How women managers can fight gender-linked perceptions
  • leadership
  • Blog post

How women managers can fight gender-linked perceptions

Yet another study confirms it – women think female managers are more difficult to work for than men.

The latest survey, by the Chicago-Kent College of Law, showed that a majority of 164 legal secretaries – 159 of them women – preferred to work for male associates and partners.

Emotional?
Asked to explain their preference, secretaries said women bosses were emotional and demanding. They had “more to prove” and “put on airs.”

Results like these point out a real challenge for managers and HR professionals alike: Despite efforts to create nondiscriminatory workplaces, bias exists, and can’t be eliminated by policies, memos or even lawsuits. And pretending otherwise won’t make it go away.

The solution? Don’t sweep bias under the rug. You can’t deal with it until you acknowledge it. Yes, those are likely to lead to some challenging discussions. But ignoring these issues don’t make them disappear.

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