A study has found that a female boss is more likely to wreck a woman's promotion prospects in male-dominated environment
A study has found that a female boss is more likely to wreck a woman's promotion prospects in male-dominated environment.u00a0
Instead, women who do break through the glass ceiling are more likely to help out their male subordinates than female ones.
The research showed that men who report to a female manager get much more mentoring and support than their female colleagues.
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The findings add to previous evidence that so-called Queen Bee syndrome can be a major obstacle to women climbing the managerial ladder.
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Far from encouraging other ambitious women, psychologists at the University of Cincinnati found female bosses are more inclined to obstruct them.
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As well as the unwanted competition, researchers think this may partly be due to the fact women occupying senior posts want to blend in as much as possible with their male counterparts.
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As a result they tend to overcompensate by giving more support and advice to male workers, rather than female ones.
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"The popular press and many studies contend that women make better managers than men because they are more supportive leaders, delegate more responsibility and foster the careers of their subordinates, especially the women who work under them," the Daily Mail quoted researcher David Maume as saying.
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"But in this study, men exceeded women in receiving job-related support from female supervisors and were more optimistic about their promotion chances as a result.
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"The results are consistent with the notion that female managers have little or no effect on the career prospects of female subordinates and instead foster men's career prospects," Maume added.
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And he warned: "Those that expect female bosses will dramatically change the nature of superior-subordinate relations are likely to be disappointed."
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The study, which is based on responses from more than 2,000 employees in the U.S., has been published in the journal Social Science Research.
