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Do Women Make Better Bosses?

Hugh Pickens writes "David Mielach reports on a new study which finds that women in management positions lead in a more democratic way, allowing employees to participate in decision-making and establishing interpersonal channels of communication. 'In line with known gender differences in individual leadership, we find that in workplaces with more women managers, more individualized employee feedback is carried out,' says study author Eduardo Melero. 'Likewise, we can see evidence, although weaker, that in these workplaces decisions are made more democratically and more interpersonal channels of communications are established.' The research was based on data from the Workplace Employment Relationships Survey, a survey of workplaces in the United Kingdom. Melero analyzed this data by looking at the number of women in management positions in companies and the leadership tactics employed at those companies. He found increased communication between management and employees in companies with women in management positions led to more well-informed decisions, since employee feedback will be utilized in the decision-making process. Still, correlation does not equal causation. 'One might question the direction of the relation: is it women managers who are the behind these policies, or is it that more progressive organizations are more accessible for women leaders than other workplaces (PDF)?'"

11 of 403 comments (clear)

  1. Anecdotal by chill · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've done some of my best work under women. :-)

    --
    Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
    1. Re:Anecdotal by zlives · · Score: 3, Funny

      how many monitors do you go through in a month?

  2. Re:It might depend on the organization ... by what2123 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I think it's safe to say that Steve Jobs did not lead in a way that was similar to most masculine-driven companies. He constantly choose to go against what everyone said "worked" and made everyone "change" their thoughts to agree with him. That sounds fairly feminine to me.

  3. Re:No F'ing Way by ArhcAngel · · Score: 3, Funny

    Like we believe you are married...HA!

    --
    "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
  4. Re:Both can be equally bad by Luckyo · · Score: 5, Funny

    If she's a boss, she'll tell you to get them, and then check out your ass.

    Welcome to gender equality.

  5. Re:No F'ing Way by SilentStaid · · Score: 3, Funny

    Hey man, maybe he's just into that kind of thing. Behind closed doors and all... sheesh - be a little more open minded!

  6. Re:Both can be equally bad by Hognoxious · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's my experience too, it's almost like female bosses have a bimodal distribution.

    Which looks a bit like boobies. Coincidence? I think not.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  7. Re:Both can be equally bad by lucm · · Score: 4, Funny

    Men and women are different, and generally manage in different ways, but saying is one better than the other is silly. Depends on the job, the situation, and who they are managing; and really, I think the individual makes all the difference.

    Congratulations, you win the Politically Correctness Award for the most Politically Correct comment discussing a Politically Correct interpretation of a Politically Correct study.

    With Political Correctness, everybody wins!

    --
    lucm, indeed.
  8. Re:That's been my experience by Ginger+Unicorn · · Score: 3, Funny

    I've had several male managers that were priggish martinets

    so it isn't just me that had trouble when working as an 18th century footman

    --
    (1.21 gigawatts) / (88 miles per hour) = 30 757 874 newtons
  9. Re:Both can be equally bad by Stewie241 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I would question the wisdom of talking things through with fruit.

  10. Re:Both can be equally bad by tnk1 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I would question the wisdom of talking things through with fruit.

    I don't know about that, they always seem like good listeners to me. I know I've never been interrupted by one, unlike some bosses I have worked with.