NEW HORIZONS
The Myth of the Critical Female Boss Banishing this stereotype is a key step to advancing women to leadership roles
By Sarah Alter President & CEO Network of Executive Women
THE FORTUNE 500 for 2021 has yet again broken a record of more female CEOs than ever, carrying on last year’s trend in the same direction. Yet women still only make up 8.1 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs, and one has to wonder what old biases might be continuing to contribute to this disparity.
The Myth of the Female Boss
We’ve all heard workplace myths — truths universally acknowledged about working in the corporate world. Based in feelings, not facts, they nestle deeply into workplace cultures and can be very difficult to uproot. Take the myth that remote employees are less productive, for example. Clearly disproven by research time and time again, and put to the ultimate test last year, this “myth” has no basis in fact. But it still has yet to be completely let go of in the wake of the pandemic.
Another possibility is that you expect a woman to manage in a softer way. According to a recent study by the IZA Institute of Labor Economics, both men and women react more negatively to criticism when it comes from a woman.
Another deeply ingrained myth — that women make “toxic” bosses — is also unfortunately still alive and well in our workplaces. Banishing it is a key step to advancing women to leadership roles.
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When critiqued by a woman in management, I sincerely hope your first reaction isn’t to lump her in with this problematic stereotype. It’s true that your boss may have poor management skills, or be unable to offer truly constructive criticism. That’s one possibility.
Your strong reaction to criticism could be rooted, if unconsciously, in old ideas about how women should use their voices.
