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Women Hate Working for Other Women
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Is it more difficult for a woman to work for another woman? Are women sabotaging their female 
competition if they feel threatened? Why aren't women willing to help other women? I've been hearing a lot of debate on this hot topic, and the general consensus is - - if you are a woman it's better for your career to work for a man.
Because my own career path took me to Wall Street, I only worked with men, and frankly, I loved it. Sure, with men you have to set boundaries, but if you can do that successfully, the benefits can be very rewarding. As the woman, you are the apple in a barrel full of oranges, so you do get noticed. But isn't that what you want? The only way to get ahead is to have your accomplishments recognized.
Yes, I do believe women have to work harder to succeed in business, but the road to success is far less treacherous if you don't have a jealous woman throwing grenades at you along the way.
Here's a something on this subject you might find interesting. It's adapted from the Hite Report on Women Loving Women by Shere Hite.
Many of the women bosses I spoke to complained that female assistants and secretaries often believed that there's more status in working for a man, and that they hold their female bosses in less esteem.Another common complaint was that misunderstandings often come about when, after a woman boss makes her assistant's working conditions pleasant, the assistant confuses their relationship with one between "girlfriends".
As one woman boss explained: "I work for a large public relations department and have two secretaries. I have to keep on top of them all the time. I even have to scream at them sometimes, because they just don't hop to it like they would if I were a man.
"They are capable of being efficient, but they start to think I am 'just a friend' when I'm too nice or understanding.
"But would they expect a male boss to do the same? Of course not. So I just have to be the bitch and let them hate me - it's the only way to get things done."
Then, of course, there's the question of why many women don't help each other up the career ladder.
Some women want to favour men at work by befriending them or trying especially hard to please them, because they consider it to be the fastest way to get ahead.
On the other hand, angering and alienating men by openly aligning yourself with women colleagues (at men's expense) could also have negative consequences.
As one woman told me: "I should never have been a feminist. What did equality get me? Fifteen years ago, my boss offered me a house if I would be his mistress.
"I laughed and said: 'Women don't need this s**t any more,' and won awards for producing feminist TV documentaries.
"Now I think I should have accepted the house, and some diamonds besides.
"I'm poor, 53 years old, and I have nothing. I am having to sell my flat to survive."
She is right and she is wrong - because without feminism, she would not have been able to work in television at all.
The trouble is that while feminism advanced the cause of millions of women, many still think that deep down, it's necessary - and advantageous - to be 'unsisterly' and trample all over their female colleagues in the scramble to get ahead at work.
My hope is that more women will become secure enough to be more supportive to other women. We've come a long way, but I think we still have a lot of catching up to do. Don't forget men have been in leadership roles a lot longer than we have, so maybe they can teach us to they inspire loyalty and support.
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