Women Bosses

So, this is the second time recently I've heard this discussion about who makes better bosses--men or women. I recently discovered BlogHer (a blogging community of women), and in catching up on some recent posts, found this article on the topic. I liked what the blogger said about having had both male and female good (and bad) bosses, because that is the experience I've had as well. And, I have to say, I don't think it is a coincidence, when she says:

The whole debate to me is more about leadership qualities than gender but because leadership roles are male dominated the conversation it gets a little skewed.

There has just been more men in managerial roles more than women. It's like what I heard after Obama was elected President--an African-American boy thought he could do just about anything, and after Obama became President he knew that he could aim for that as well. To get good female managers, we need to have good female manager role models. That may be a catch-22, but there has to be that first wave, and then the rest of us can learn and become better at being managers.

Of course, I did just recently have a female supervisor whose managerial style left much to be desired, but I think that is more a product of working in academia, where the focus is on good teaching and good faculty-student mentoring relationships, and staff are left to their own devices. No one has ever asked me to comment on a supervisor's management, yet student feedback can break a faculty's tenure bid. Doesn't quite seem right.

For another viewpoint on women in the workplace, read "Women Behaving Badly."