Are You a Victim of the Queen Bee Syndrome?

If you're a woman working for a female boss who always seems to undermine your efforts, you may be a victim of queen bee syndrome. Although certainly not the norm, queen bee syndrome can cause big problems for a professional woman trying to excel in her career, especially in already male-dominated industries. Use these facts to identify whether you're a victim of this leadership problem and learn how to solve it.

The Research Behind Queen Bee Syndrome

The phenomenon was first defined in 1973 by T.E Jayaratne, C. Tavris and G.L. Staines as occurring when a woman in a position of authority treats her female workers worse than her male workers. According to a 2008 University of Toronto study of more than 1,500 U.S. workers, professional women with female bosses tended to suffer more psychological and physiological stress. In addition, a 2011 survey by the American Management Association revealed that 95 percent of working females believed they had been sabotaged by another woman at one point or another in their professional lives.

Identifying Queen Bee Syndrome

Queen bee syndrome often takes the form of workplace bullying, although it can be either overt or subtle. A female leader with a queen bee mentality might be extra critical of female subordinates' work, be more likely to blame failures on them, or simply demonstrate no interest in helping mentor other women in the workplace.

On the other hand, good leaders of either gender treat all workers with fairness and professionalism. Before jumping to the conclusion that a leader is a queen bee, victims should keep watch to see if that boss is mistreating all female subordinates or just one. In the latter case, the problem may be more personal.

Reacting to a Queen Bee

Victims of queen bee syndrome might be tempted to get back at their boss after unfair treatment, but this is almost always a bad idea. Instead, they should directly confront the leader in question without coming across as accusatory or defensive. Asking for specific feedback on how to improve is one effective option. Victims can also try using flattery to smooth out the situation, such as asking for help, advice or the leader's secrets to success.

If the leader continues to exhibit signs of queen bee syndrome, going to human resources is a last resort. Before this step, however, victims can suggest to the female leader that they should involve an HR professional to help solve their differences. This might cause the queen bee to back down before HR gets involved.

Although queen bee syndrome can cause some major problems, the majority of women in positions of authority are happy to mentor women and treat them fairly. When the problem does arise, victims fortunately have a few options to keep it from hindering their success in the workplace.

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