How we were convinced to believe that women are “Bitchy Bosses”?

The societal pressure on women to be everyone and everything has increased significantly, especially amongst working women holding a senior position.

A leader should be direct, decisive, confident, and commanding, the same is expected of women leaders. These expectations are coupled with the stereotypes of femininity. So, women-workers are supposed to be doing emotional labor and be involved in caretaking at best based on these stereotypes.

Dealing with a Bitchy Boss – Female Bully Boss?

Women at work are often expected to deal with situations where they are supposed to make a person feel less annoyed or angry while being at the best behavior which is always expected of women. It gives a feeling of exhaustion and frustration and this frustration goes unnoticed by them at the other end. These feelings are less apparent amidst all the patient laughs, smiley faces, pretentious exclamations, and unacclaimed tasks in-office tasks. The outcome of such tasks is not having enough time and effort left for actually leading.

The practice of creating a workplace environment where performance norms are based on gender has become so subtle that not only women are asked to perform such tasks but women at higher or same positions can ask other women to do so.

What she has often heard from women about women who are at a senior post is they feel that they don’t pay enough attention. They don’t identify them as their own as they thought they would and women leaders often act more like men then actual men do. Then she reminds those women that they might be coming off

The notion that says women are more inclined to compete and passing judgment on other women. It is a tale that we’ve heard over and over in our gossips, movies, and TV shows, it is a story that we continue to be written over and over without being ripped up. It is the basis of the trap of gendered manager-to-supervise thinking.

When there is conflict among women and leadership positions are taken up by a woman it is easier to deduce that conflict between two women is interpreted as personal conflict and seen more negatively because of the stereotype surrounding them. And it’s not due to the fact that women take things personally, they don’t. To put it simply, the conflict between managers and their employees are dependent on the power that women hold in both the company and the culture.

There are some issues, to say the least. A survey conducted on Twitter to find out if women have come across a female-boss who has challenged them to examine their own ascribed sexism. The survey talked about the factors that exist in a relationship between female superiors and subordinates and the dual-edge responsibilities one has to face as a female boss and invited them to come forward with their thoughts and feelings. As I hoped, the answers about internalized sexism would be measured and given after putting in a lot of thought, many of them were.

Many people, expressed their anger by using some well-known words, such as inconsequential, impolite, rigid, hostile, nit-picking, nightmare, patronizing, sensitive, micromanager, and dull. Women are willing to talk trash about their current or ex-female managers. But would it be the same for the males? Would they express their emotions the same way about their managers? It may happen, but the language may be different.

Many people even after actively complaining about their bosses understood that they were in double-bind and had many other responsibilities to look after. Despite knowing this and being empathetic of their situation they described their horrible behavior and that they sucked.

Some of the views that were commonly expressed by people were:

For women in senior positions, there are extrinsic and intrinsic factors that put pressure on them. So, they have to try and work harder than their counterparts. The fault is in the system and not in the people. But they feel withdrawn when they have to work for a female boss.

Some women are the only ones in charge of their organization and the male workers often joke about them and ridicule them. This makes them feel more pressure and often lash out.

Some women make changes to their personal lives and complain less with their partners to seem less like a professional. They won’t stand by the women in their team even when they are a nightmare.

Expectations from a woman to be sensible, great leaders, be sensitive in taking care of things and a buddy is noticeable. This is too much for a single person and even organizations to address and counter this problem as it originates from a bigger and broader culture.

The expectations often put a lot of pressure on women. When women show kindness and compassion, they are admired but reminded that they don’t have enough potential to be a leader. On the other hand, when they show confidence in their words, they are labeled as aggressive. To avoid being called aggressive, women often find themselves using suggestive words to make their requests look like questions.

Many women managers don’t wish to make it all about gender and they spend most of the time trying to do it. When gender becomes a sizeable issue, it is bound to work against you. This desire to minimizing the role that gender plays results in senior women trying to avoid becoming a guide or anything that a junior woman wants from her senior.

Lifting the women who are subordinate is not the priority of female managers when it comes in form of expectations from her juniors. The same junior who would complain about her and call her horrible in an online survey.

The Damage

Nobody likes it when they are asked to undertake emotional labor and gender doesn’t decide the feelings or reactions of people on it. As per a study conducted in 2001, men and women respond differently to when they are asked to perform emotional labor. Academic research showed that when men perform emotional labor, they are applauded. When a man does something caring proves him to be emotionally intelligent and is liked by all.

On the other hand, when women do some kind of emotional labor, it is natural, it is expected of them and it is nothing extraordinary. This turns against the women in senior positions who don’t match the stereotypes of feminine ideals with their behavior, tone, and appearance, and these ideals are attached to ideas of race, sexual orientation, and class. In 2001, the same study also found something disturbing that when a man shows anger at the work-place he is considered to be authoritative, it is seen as a proof of power and flaw rather than a personality flaw. On the other hand, when a woman shows anger in the same situation, she is advised to see a therapist for her anger issues.

It still surprises a lot of women when people tell that they have only worked under female supervisors and managers. They express their wish of working under a man which involves less drama and wonder what it would have been like to work under a female-only. But it is just a little example of a much bigger problem where women are even punished for taking leadership positions in the work culture at many organizations.

If researches are to be believed, women who are successful in male dominate organizations are generally disliked. Women who can take a stand for themselves seem less hireable. The woman who shows anger at the workplace is downgraded to a lower class altogether and then they are termed as harsh and mean.

Kieran Snyder, a linguist conducted a sample study on a performance review of men and women and found that 58.9% of all had negative feedback about men while 87.9% of the feedback that women received was critical of them. The feedback given to men was about learning some new skills that would help them perform their job better. On the other hand, women received feedback such as you come out as harsh sometimes or you should be soft with your tone.

The problem is not if women are like that or not, the problem seems to be that men and women are acting the same way but it is the women who are taking the hit for their actions. The most terrifying finding of all was that all the time that a manager or a would-be manager needs, to be visible, do valued work, and get ahead is robbed off of them when they are desired to act as a guide, a mother, and a best friend for everyone.

The expectations of the fellow women are unjust and they are responsible for holding them back.

Making A Difference: 

Despite the existence of such deep gender bias change is an undeniable possibility and it begins when women don’t expect other women to be the way gender stereotypes in a culture dictate and let them be themselves. Women need to be straightforward and decisive and co-workers will prefer their supervisor to be clear and work-oriented. Don’t go about nervously asking your juniors to meet a deadline be clear and confident with your requests. 

One of the best instances of women showing solidarity and recognition at the workplace is the strategy employed by the female staffers of the White House during the presidency of Obama. Whenever someone from the female staff suggested any idea, she would give the credit to the who came up with it woman while repeating it. President Obama noticed and started calling the women staffers frequently.

In-meeting amplifications do only so little to fix it because the whole system is broken. Women need to understand the role of the system as well as at themselves that has got them here. Women must understand the stereotypes that have created this problem and the ways they might be the ones triggering them. They need to pay attention to the point in which a female leader is held in esteem or otherwise in the work environment in general. This is the way they can avoid creating problems for each other and improve upon their workplace relationship.

She goes on to say to be very cautious about not acting upon those stereotypes and work together to create a more casual conversation among women. Avoid reacting to any trigger and be constantly conscious of ways your relationship might get affected due to stereotypes, and constantly controlling yourself.

Be mindful of the manner in which your relationship with your women colleagues might take a hit because of the stereotypes and keeping a check on yourself.

The same is true for women supervisor managing their juniors. Senior women most of the time have to protective of themselves because of the bad stereotype around them. Getting onto the defensive mode is easy but it makes it hard for your colleagues to make good work relationships with you or simply work for you.

The burdens on female bosses and seniors are invisible because they are hidden so well. This makes it very hard to arrive at a solution but it doesn’t mean we give up on it altogether. We have to monitor and examine closely our thinking and behavior towards all the gender in a managerial position.

A positive start can be creating an environment of self-dependence where things never get personal. There needs to be a space for conversation about limits & boundaries, invisible work & its nature, and emotional labor. And just like the old-age tradition of a man self-promoting, there should be no objection to it when a woman does the same.

If you have run out of options to improve your self-employed life and be better at it, then you should consider turning to books for a little wisdom. These books will improve your business knowledge and possibly help you in realizing your goals.

Entrepreneurial/Business books are not always a thing of joy. They are filled with stuff you already know, might involve explaining that just does not spark any joy. Many of the books are heavily under-researched. Going through a whole book and not learning anything can be a disappointing feeling. Don’t fret, we have just the right stuff for you. These books by women who have been in the field of freelancing and entrepreneurship are all you will need:

Below is The Best Self Employment Books list:

• My Creative (Side) Business: The Insightful Guide To Turning Your Side Projects Into A Full-Time Creative Business, by Monica Kanokova 

This book tells you numerous ways to turn your side gig into full-time work. This book uses case studies to guide the reader into the world of entrepreneurship. It also has the testimony of many female individuals who have made their career in freelancing and entrepreneurship.

It focuses on building a brand out of yourself so that customers have something to associate themselves with you. It explains the importance of servicing your customers and the ways you can benefit from it. This book is practical and developed on the real problems faced by real people, and can help you in finding ways to manage your finances.

• The Freelancer’s Bible: Everything You Need to Know to Have the Career of Your Dreams – – On Your Terms, by Sara Horowitz 

Sara Horowitz is a freelancer and she founded the Freelancer’s Union, an association which represents as much as 375,000 self-employed workers. She’s also a MacArthur (‘genius’) award recipient. 

If a book is called a ‘bible’ then it must have great significance and must answer all you need to know. This 500-page book covers and provides a possible solution for issues such as how to save money by using your home as an office, keeping care of your eyes while working and make sure they remain in their place, it also provides guidance on how freelancers can push for policies that will better their working experience. The book from time to time gives you little doses of inspiration and inspires you to have complete trust in yourself. There’s no guarantee of you becoming a good freelancer, it all depends on how much you strive for it, but reading this book will be a meaningful and enlightening experience.  

• • The One Hour Content Plan: The Solopreneur’s Guide to a Year’s Worth of Blog Post Ideas in 60 minutes and Creating Content That Hooks and Sells, by Meera Kothand

Bloggers consistently find themselves wondering what will be their next blog post. They are always puzzled about what to write and consistently chase after the trends in content. The content they do have doesn’t go with the products and services they offer. If you are a blogger who frequently stumbles upon these problems, then this book is for you.

This book gives three ways to come up with content ideas without any trouble. It will help you find the type of content that makes it easy for you to sell your products and services. It talks about ways you can optimize your blogs and ways to make offers that your readers will be tempted to try. This book helps you create content that works harder for you, and increases your online presence.

• Creative, Inc.: The Ultimate Guide To Running A Successful Freelance Business, by Joy Deangdeelert Cho and Meg Mateo Ilasco 

This informative and inspiring book is the work of Meg Ilasco, creator of Craft Inc. and Joy Deangdeelrt Cho, Founder and Creative Director at Oh Joy!. Do you have the qualities one needs to succeed as a freelancer?  Either you can rely on readymade recipes of art school or start and advance your career as per your wish. 

This book is a guide to kickstart your career in arts, it has success stories, profiles of various artists, and tips on how to attract your clients and retain them. this is an enjoyable read which will teach you things that are essential to be a freelancer. 

• The Multi-Hyphen Method: Work Less, Create More, And A Career That Works For You, by Emma Gannon 

This book is a pretty interesting read where Emma Gannon talks about diversifying skills. The book emphasizes on trying to find ways to work less, and not more. It also talks about how you should try and design your own career.

The book wishes to create a new world where you can be more than one thing in your career at the same time. The tone of the book is not conventional or patronizing, it seems like the book has been written by someone who is rooting for you to build a career and a lifestyle of your own design. Multi-Hyphen Method teaches that whatever you do, you can channel your entrepreneurial spirit and make money out of it. This book is an ultimate guide that will help you navigate your way towards success.

Reading and learning things isn’t going to be any help if you are not determined enough to apply it in real life and be ready to do what it takes to create a life you’ve always wanted. If you’re willing to do whatever it takes to be a successful freelancer/entrepreneur then these books can be your go-to guide to help navigate your way to success.