Distant female bosses may reflect a sexist workplace

Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel:

She’s mean, she’s off-putting, she’s distant toward her female coworkers—and she’s the boss.  Dutch researchers at Leiden University said that negative traits in a female boss may actually reflect how she copes with being a woman in power in a sexist environment.

As women assume leadership positions once relegated only to men, they are held to a different standard, said Belle Derks, assistant professor of organization psychology and author of the study appearing in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science.  What passes for strong leadership in men is often viewed as a personality problem in women.  In her study, Derks called these scorned women “queen bees” and for good reason:  they tend to disassociate themselves from other women in the workplace.

Read more: Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel