Durban - Women climbing the corporate ladder could face difficulty as a study shows the “queen bee syndrome” hampers their career growth.
Dr Babita Mathur-Helm, a senior lecturer in diversity management, leadership and gender studies at the University Of Stellenbosch Business School, said women in executive positions become very protective of their own power base and jealous of sharing it
“The corporate environment is extremely competitive, even hostile. Women do not grow on their own in corporate or other professional jobs. Their careers are dependent on male support. The queen bee syndrome is something new in South Africa. It may have been happening but it has not been researched effectively,” she said.
Mathur-Helm said that unlike men whose behaviour and attitude flourished in a male-led culture, women contrived to be successful in a male-dominated workplace by acting hard in masculine ways.
“The study shows the relationship between certain cultures in organisations and how that impacts the career growth and development of professional women in the corporate world.
It is not to suggest that women’s career growth and advancement in corporate organisations are solely reliant on the support and assistance of other women. However, it shows that the constraints of hierarchical and male-led work cultures that persist in most organisations could be a block to the promotion of professional women.
Mathur-Helm also explains how women align themselves more to men when they are at the top of their game.
“It comes easily with the queen bee’s behaviour, and they thrive on this support from men and bond with men rather than with other women.”
On how to empower women in the workplace, Mathur-Helm suggests giving them chances for progression and promotion. “Get women into leadership roles, succession planning, talent pools, career development programmes and job-shadowing for potential women executives and senior managers.
“Organisations must create long term, sustainable structures and put systems in place to create conducive work environments for women to progress; and they must focus on specifically preparing women for leadership positions through training and guidance.
“While climbing the corporate ladder women should be provided with the mentorship and guidance to take on the leadership roles, and not just be offered technical support.”
However, dispelling the queen bee myth is senior trend researcher and analyst, Nicola Cooper, at Nicola Cooper and Associates.
“The term has not been added to our dictionary but has been used since it was first defined by GL Staines, TE Jayaratne, and C Tavris in 1973. This phenomenon has been documented by several studies. It was dispelled by Columbia Business School in New York which surveyed 1 500 companies over a 20-year period.”
Instead, this research suggests women are held back not by each other, but by men who do not want to have them in the boardroom.
“Women face an implicit quota, whereby firms seek to maintain a small number on their top management team, usually only one. In my trend report Threads of Men, the perception of masculinity is changing due to women outranking men in the classroom and boardroom, and we are seeing a surge in the popularity of feminism and the rise of the ‘solo citizen’.”
The Colombia research claims a lack of women in top roles is down to men’s determination to retain control.
“Women are beginning to demand not to be recognised for doing a job well ‘for a woman’, but as a person qualified for that role. The notion of the queen bee is a categorical box which many women fall into as they check their backs for the knives,” said Cooper.
Feminism is on the rise and the understanding of it has been unpacked and reformed for the contemporary world, with not only women supporting the F-word but men supporting the call for equality in the workplace.
“Women who experience the queen bee mindset should understand this is a dated thought process. There are a more women offering support without expectations or altered motives.”
l Follow Nicola Cooper on Twitter and Instagram: @NicolaCoop
Sunday Tribune
The sting of a female executive
l Ella May, who has been in a senior management position for 10 years, believes the queen bee syndrome does exist.
“I come from an industry that has many female executives who don’t recognise or encourage their subordinates. They are threatened by their suggestions and performance.
“Being a manager, my perspective is totally different in that I treat my staff as equals, as my success is based on their hard work and achievements.
“Mine is a participative management style, where all concerned are encouraged to make a contribution and a difference. The pressure of being in a management position is slightly higher for a woman than a man – it’s in a woman’s nature to give it their all as a means to outdo their male counterparts.
l Tracy George, a junior employee for four years agrees.
“When women fight so hard to get to the top, they tend to push others out of the way. They may be intimidated by female employees who could be on a par or even stronger than them.
“At a previous job I was constantly told that ‘I am there for you, I will help you’, but when it was needed, it fell on deaf ears. I later learned it was ultimately my manager that was putting me down. I eventually left. I could never understand why my manager could not support me. If we smash the syndrome, just as a queen bee can smash through the glass ceiling, we can beat it.
“As much as you do get queen bees, there are supportive female managers out there who will help their staff succeed and grow in their jobs.”
l Names have been changed to protect the speakers’ identities.