Crystal Clanton on How Female Bosses Are Perceived

 

If you have ever looked up female bosses on Google, you may have been surprised at the fact that you will have come across a lot of highly negative and sexist results. You will notice things such as an overarching hatred for female bosses and a preference for male bosses. According to Crystal Clanton, it is quite frightening that the internet, which is supposed to represent the World as a whole, sees women bosses has something negative. Additionally, it is worrying that the stereotypical image of the female boss continues to be spread in this manner.

 

Crystal Clanton on the Perception of Female Bosses

 

It is undeniable that there is now a more equal overall workforce. The number of male and female employees are around 50/50. However, this is mainly true at mid level employment. What is frightening is that, if a survey has been completed to view perception of male and female bosses, and the result of that survey is that male bosses are preferred, then at least 50% of those surveyed should have been women and therefore hold this belief.

 

Of particular interest according to Crystal is the fact that when leaders are ranked on qualities such as listening skills, organizational skills, and communication skills, female bosses usually score much higher than males. This suggests that there is a disparity in terms of what we used to determine popularity. Clearly, people agree that female bosses have better qualities than males but they do not wish them as their leader regardless thereof.

 

According to a piece of research completed by Crystal herself, there are a number of reasons why so many people do not want to have a female boss. Reasons cited to her include:

 

1.  That they are often not confident. Of course, this could be because they have to meet unrealistically high expectations.
2.  That they have a tendency to micromanage. This could be because women have traditionally been the child rearers, in which case micromanagement is quite required.
3.  That they sometimes gossip. Unfortunately, it seems that this is based on actual observations of people seeing women engage in gossip more often than men.
4.  That they are often emotionally unbalanced. Those surveyed say women are often either too friendly or too strict, and never right in the middle.
5.  That women find it difficult to make hard decisions. Decisions such as firing an individual require a degree of toughness that some people believe women simply do not have.
6.  That women always seem to require a mentor to follow. This means that they are not leaders but instead followers.

 

According to Crystal, it is hugely important to understand that the above of six issues are perceptions not facts. What they also mean is that there is still a long way to go before there will be true equality in the workplace. However, recognizing the issues that need to be addressed is half the battle. Crystal is herself heading a political campaign and showing that women leaders have just as much of a role to play.