The quotes from the survey boil down to two main themes: 1) Women are emotional and 2) Women in power feel like they have to prove something.

The first is the standard argument against women being in charge of anything, women are too emotional. To me, this argument has always seemed a little silly, probably because 'emotional' is never well defined. To me, being overly emotional brings up images of crying fits and temper tantrums. Is this how women are truely perceived? I believe that most decisions are based at least a little bit on emotions, what the person making the decision believes is the best course of action. For example, buying property because you think the land value is skyrocket. Men get around being emotional by calling this their 'gut instinct'. Also, instead of becoming emotionally attached to a project they really want to succeed, men simply work on their 'pet projects'. Personally, I'd want my supervisor to be at least a little emotional. I think that supervisor would be more willing to take employees interests into account. For example, maybe allowing some flexibility on work schedules.

The second theme is that women in power constantly feel like they need to prove something. Well, duh. Even in a very liberal state, at a very liberal university, I feel like I need to be 'better' than my male colleagues to be considered on equal footing. When I speak with customers, many of them assume that I am an assistant because people just don't expect the engineer to be a young woman. And because of that, I get the sense that people somehow doubt my technical skills. At one point in time, a hospital administrator actually said to me that he was expecting a smart young man to fix the problems. I simply smiled and managed to reply politely that he had gotten a smart young woman instead. In the end, when I solve the problem, there is sometimes the thought that well, the problem wasn't that bad or even worse, if I get stumped by a particular problem and ask for the advise of a senior engineer, well then, I had to send the boys in to clean up my mess. So yeah, women in power do have something to prove. We need to prove that we can handle the pressures of a difficult job and that we our managerial and problem solving skills are at least on par with our male counterparts.

“The female boss I worked for was distracted by her kids.�
Male, 29 ??? Sounds like this guy knows where priorities are really supposed to lie...

peace,

ridiculous story... though my favorite, by far, is:

As liberated as I consider myself to be, I think I’d have a problem taking orders from a woman.

really, though, i think the most truth lies right here:

Most of my managers have been incompetent idiots. Incompetency isn't a gender-specific trait.

What's interesting to me is that just today I was having a very cool conversation with a female partner at my firm, and it really REALLY made me wish there were more female partners (or that there were ANY in my particular practice area, which there aren't (locally)).

Nothing against my male boss, with whom I actually get along very well. It's just that this female partner made me feel at ease and respected in a way most male partners don't.

The quotes from the survey boil down to two main themes: 1) Women are emotional

The women are emotional thing always gets me...As Standford scientist Ben Barres has pointed out, "It is just patently absurd to say women are more emotional than men. Men commit 25 times the murders; it’s shocking what the numbers are." If being emotional is an issue, why aren't people running around screaming like idiots about how male bosses are more likely to kill their co-workers than female bosses?

If being emotional is an issue, why aren't people running around screaming like idiots about how male bosses are more likely to kill their co-workers than female bosses?

Ponies, that made me laugh out loud. How emotional of me!

Love the comment on non-gender-specific incompentence. Reminds me of the best career advice I have ever received, which was, "Find a job where the people you work for are at least as smart as you are and similarly driven."

I did notice that there were several comments about male bosses that were less than favorable, and I was revolted by the comment about being unable to work the system with a female boss. To me, the comments were less about female bosses and more about how much workplace politics suck, really. Boo to msnbc for spinning it as a referendum on women as supervisors.

Wait! A combined survey from MSNBC and Elle magazine. Elle magazine is a women's magazine with a focus on fashion, beauty, and all the things women "shouldn't" be judged on. How was the MSNBC survey conducted? Something tells me these results might be biased. For starters, where are all the negative comments about male bosses? Most tend to focus on non-approving attitudes about female bosses.

That being said, another theme I noticed was the "chip on the shoulder."

“Every female I have ever worked for feels they have to prove something.� (female, 43)

“Women in power usually have a chip on their shoulder and spend valuable energy proving their worth.� (male, 26)

This is certainly probable. If you approach a situation expecting a fight, you are probably going to find one. If you go into the workforce expecting not to be respected, then you're probably going to interpret sexism when there isn't any. Consequently, you will "have something to prove."

"To me, the comments were less about female bosses and more about how much workplace politics suck, really. Boo to msnbc for spinning it as a referendum on women as supervisors."-legallyblondeez

I second that, Legal. That career advice you got is pretty good. I'm going to remember that.

"It's just that this female partner made me feel at ease and respected in a way most male partners don't."-Law Fairy

I'm curious, Law Fairy. If you don't mind sharing, how or why do you think this is?

Hmmm....

Things like this always make me wonder. Whenever there is a topic of discussion about women being in power in general, I always hear the "women are too emotional" or "women will make decisions based on their emotions."

Then there's the issue that once a woman is in power, she's just in it to "prove a point."

Either way, it seems that women can't win. In my opinion, it's like if a woman isn't emotional, she's not a "real woman." But if a woman is emotional, she's not viewed as having any leadership qualities. Or not capable enough to be in a leadership position.

I may just sit here and miss the point.

Man, I loved that movie when I was wee. I wanted to grow up and be Sadie. :)

I liked this entrance with Bette Midler, but I like the one with Meryl Streep better, she was cold. :-P