We’ve seen an increase in women taking on senior roles in the workplace in the last half century. However, negative attitudes towards them still exists. Research suggests that female managers are assessed less favourably than their male counterparts, yet female managers are villainized for adopting ‘masculine’ styles of leadership.
Although female managers are becoming the norm, it’s questionable whether society as a whole has adjusted to this change.
It was obvious that this was not the case for my company’s Director, Sam. Sam was on maternity leave when I first joined the company. But as her return approached, I started to feel anxious. She scared my colleagues, was difficult to work with and would end the relaxed nature of our office.
When she did finally return to work, I was on edge. But her serious nature and the occasional time she’d flip-out because something frustrated her, set me right off.
My team of writers worked very closely with her. So anytime she called my name, my chest would tighten in fear that she would ask me to do something that I couldn’t do to her standards. But regardless of how I felt, I had to work with her on numerous occasions.
However, after these occasions came and went, I figured that I hadn’t enjoyed them, not because of the way she had acted, but because of the fear I had created of her in my head.
Sam was blunt and a little controlling, but someone to be afraid of? Absolutely not. In fact, she wasn’t much different to some of the guys I’d worked with.
And that’s when things began to click. A lot of men in the office were no different so why weren’t they feared in the same way?
Stereotypical views of how men can act and how women should act are, of course, prevalent in the workplace. A ‘soft’ approach to leadership is seen as feminine, yet a soft leader is deemed incompetent.
This is a problem for women, especially those in senior positions. Branding and Marketing specialist Theresa O’Neal says that female managers fear showing their vulnerability as they “may not be seen as capable as our male counterparts.” In order to be seen as competent, female managers have to adopt an ‘alpha-male’ persona. A persona associated with being fearless, relentless and forceful.
Yet, if women adopt this persona or are already like this in nature, they can also be seen as too harsh. This is of course unfair as we do not judge men in the same way. If a man yells out an order it is expected of him as a leader, however if a woman asserts herself in the same way she is seen as intimidating, aggressive and overbearing.
It is a common misconception that this double standard is only practised by men. Yet myself and my colleagues were all ‘girl power’ females. The strength and confidence of a woman, especially one in a high position, can intimidate male and female workers. Sam wasn’t scary or particularly harsh, she was just doing her job.
I came to see Sam for who she really was when I ignored the stories and stopped over-analysing her every move. She was a decent person who was genuinely passionate about her job. Women shouldn’t have to adopt a ‘masculine’ persona to be taken seriously, but they shouldn’t have to forsake their true selves either.
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Written by Annette Christian
Illustrated by Francesca Mariama
