Is your boss a woman?

Having a female boss could work in your favour if you're a man. However, if you're a woman, you could be in for some rough times...

We protest against the partial treatment meted out to them, rant against their sexist ways and cry hoarse about the universe's unfair preference of Mars over Venus. But, for all we say about men being chauvinistic pigs (and swines of other categories, orders and denominations too), turns out, if you're looking to move ahead in your job, your shiny, perfect, beautiful female boss, could be the single biggest impeding force (think Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada). And in all probability, you're not surprised by this conclusion either. Because you've experienced it yourself —not only from your boss, but also from the girl next door (or cubicle), who appears to do absolutely everything in her power to make you look bad in front of the team.

According to a study published in the Social Science Research journal, women managers who break through the glass ceiling are more likely to support their male colleagues than their female co-workers. In fact, far from encouraging, they obstruct other ambitious women. Software engineer Rakini Yogesh says that though it might not be blatant, this behaviour has been observed in several offices, including her own. "There is definitely a trend where female bosses tend to favour men, when it comes task allotment and appraisals. Also, in a team with a female boss, it is not the only men who complain (largely driven by ego) but also girls, because they feel they're getting a raw deal, where the boss wants to be the only woman on top. Sadly, we girls are not favoured by the male bosses either, because many of them think we're 'just girls' after all."

HR consultant Ramesh Kumar reveals that this matter has been studied in HR circles and various conclusions have been drawn upon. He says, "One of the strongest possibilities is that female bosses favour their male subordinates because they don't want it to look like they're being partial to their own kind. Also, they want to meld in with the men, so that they can get more popular. In very rare cases, they do it out of insecurity — in the competence or looks department."

Sociologist Rashmi K believes that a large number of women do have some residual internalised misogyny. She explains, "In the older days, there were very few positions for women and as a survival tactic, they brought down their peers to get ahead in the game. But now, there is place for everyone — girls have to realize this. They don't have to bring one down to move to the next level. As for the bosses, they have to get professional and embrace their power to mentor their juniors, male and female, equally."

However, copy writer Shama Prasad, strongly believes that women indeed do share a strong kinship at the workplace. "In my office, the male to female ration is 5:1, and my senior, a woman, takes extra care of the junior girls, mentors us and gives us all the opportunities to grow. We share each other's work woes and thrive on the support we get from our girlie-network. In comparison, our male boss is utterly bigoted."