Do Women Make Better Bosses? 403
Hugh Pickens writes "David Mielach reports on a new study which finds that women in management positions lead in a more democratic way, allowing employees to participate in decision-making and establishing interpersonal channels of communication. 'In line with known gender differences in individual leadership, we find that in workplaces with more women managers, more individualized employee feedback is carried out,' says study author Eduardo Melero. 'Likewise, we can see evidence, although weaker, that in these workplaces decisions are made more democratically and more interpersonal channels of communications are established.' The research was based on data from the Workplace Employment Relationships Survey, a survey of workplaces in the United Kingdom. Melero analyzed this data by looking at the number of women in management positions in companies and the leadership tactics employed at those companies. He found increased communication between management and employees in companies with women in management positions led to more well-informed decisions, since employee feedback will be utilized in the decision-making process. Still, correlation does not equal causation. 'One might question the direction of the relation: is it women managers who are the behind these policies, or is it that more progressive organizations are more accessible for women leaders than other workplaces (PDF)?'"
Anecdotal (Score:5, Funny)
I've done some of my best work under women. :-)
Re:It might depend on the organization ... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:No F'ing Way (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Anecdotal (Score:3, Funny)
how many monitors do you go through in a month?
Re:Both can be equally bad (Score:5, Funny)
If she's a boss, she'll tell you to get them, and then check out your ass.
Welcome to gender equality.
Re:No F'ing Way (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Both can be equally bad (Score:5, Funny)
That's my experience too, it's almost like female bosses have a bimodal distribution.
Which looks a bit like boobies. Coincidence? I think not.
Re:Both can be equally bad (Score:5, Funny)
Men and women are different, and generally manage in different ways, but saying is one better than the other is silly. Depends on the job, the situation, and who they are managing; and really, I think the individual makes all the difference.
Congratulations, you win the Politically Correctness Award for the most Politically Correct comment discussing a Politically Correct interpretation of a Politically Correct study.
With Political Correctness, everybody wins!
Re:That's been my experience (Score:4, Funny)
I've had several male managers that were priggish martinets
so it isn't just me that had trouble when working as an 18th century footman
Re:Both can be equally bad (Score:5, Funny)
I would question the wisdom of talking things through with fruit.
Re:Both can be equally bad (Score:5, Funny)
I would question the wisdom of talking things through with fruit.
I don't know about that, they always seem like good listeners to me. I know I've never been interrupted by one, unlike some bosses I have worked with.