Its No Fun Working for a Female Boss

Its No Fun Working for a Female Boss Thats a very direct (and kind of harsh) statement, wouldnt you agree? But, these words came from two workers I knowand to my surprise, one of the individuals was a woman. From the mans perspective-Its no fun working for a female anfhrer because my boss is-Overly critical-Micromanages-Feels like she always has to have a presence in the officeFrom the womans perspectiveIts no fun working for a female boss because my boss is-Mean-Talks down to me-Workaholic, hasnt taken a vacation in 7 yearsBoth the man and woman agreed that their female leaders are less interpersonal and bedrngnis as socialable as their male counterparts.And just to give you a little background on both employees, the man works in Finance at a Fortune 500 company while the woman works for a loans refinance company. Both are college graduates the man has an MBA while the woman has a J.D.As I listen ed to both workers explain their dislike for working for females, (in my Carrie Bradshaw voice) I couldnt help but wonder, Why is it so difficult to work for a woman?Im aware that most Americans prefer a male boss, but Id never encountered workers with such reasoning as this. Talking with the two, the conclusion seemed to be simple overcompensation. Much like the pit-bull in a skirt theory, it seemed that these workers bosses were aggressive, mean, and non-personable because they were trying to overcompensate for being women in management.And as I continued listening to their stories, I thought, Well, whats a gal to do?Seriously, what are women in management positions supposed to do? On one end they have the women stereotypesemotional, weak, motherly, softpulling at their workplace identities while on the other end they have the pit bull in a skirt, cut throat, think-like-a-man personas doing the same.Women are already unfairly deemed as inferior to their male counterparts, especial ly when it comes to holding leadership positions. So they try to be aggressive with a no-nonsense type of management style to show the bigwigs that they are just as able to effectively lead a group of people just like any man. Yet, if they do this (as in the case of these two workers), theyre viewed as no fun and less socialable than a male boss.The workers said male bosses will talk and laugh with you while female bosses dont allow that camaraderie to develop between a boss and an employee. Yet, even the male worker noted that having the pit bull in a skirt approach will probably help a woman move up the management ranks much faster.And doesnt our nation desperately need more of this acceleration to take place? I mean, look at the statisticsWomen only hold 14.6 percent of Executive Officer positions in Fortune 500 companies, a mere .3 percentage increase from 2012.At 16.9 percent, women dont even account for one-fourth of the board seat holders for Fortune 500 companies.Women dont even hold 5 percent of Fortune 500 or 1000 CEO positions. They account for 4.2 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively, of all CEO positions.In 2010, women earned $155 less weekly than men, and while male CEOs earn 78 cents on every dollar, female CEOs earn 33 cents.Women are at a disadvantage when it comes to representation in senior-level positions, equal pay, and now in management styles?Again I ask, what are women in management supposed to do? Be too compassionate and be considered a typical woman and perceived as an inferior leader. Be too aggressive and get deemed no fun and lose the boss-employee relationship.Every day, women are continuously put in tough situations where theyre forced to choose between two extremes even though both roads seem to lead to destruction. Corporate America will continue to make it that much harder for women to advance in their careers if were constantly scrutinized for not being a certain way but still face inevitable doom for being a another way.Bo th the male and female workers did offer one positive note for working for a woman She understands when it comes to social issues. If they need to leave early to pick up children, their bosses are sympathetic, unlike male managers.While this is great and dandy, it does nothing to keep women managers from constantly landing at square one. Like the two workers examples, if the negatives of working for a woman constantly outweigh the positives, and even if women change their approaches to be more womanly theyre still at a disadvantage, then unfortunately, our working gals have progressed no further than their positions at the beginning of this article.Now thats a very harsh (but realistic) statement, wouldnt you agree?