This week, a study from Columbia University dispelled the notion of the ‘queen bee’ – the senior female in a business who keeps the other females from rising. No one seemed surprised at this news, so why did it stick around for so long?
The term ‘queen bee’ was coined in a 1973 study which suggested that women who rise through the corporate ranks do not help the next generation to do the same and actively work to keep them out. Now a study by Columbia University which examined the management teams of 1,500 companies over 20 years, has found that companies in which women held the chief executive position were more likely to have other women in senior positions.
Most commentators have reacted to this with an exasperated ‘of course’, and the obligatory bee puns have been evident in many headlines. However, a different study had already ruled that ‘queen bee syndrome’ was a myth, in 2012. This didn’t stop Forbes posting the measured headline “Taking the Sting out of 'Queen Bees' Who May Be Out to Get You” in 2013.
Researchers from Catalyst, a US-based research organisation, followed 742 ‘high potential’ MBA graduates, both men and women, between 2008 and 2010 and surveyed them on their career experiences. In this group, 65% of women who had received support in their career passed on that support to the next generation of leaders, compared to 56% of men in that situation. Out of the women who were developing emerging talent, 73% said they were supporting women. Maybe no one was surprised at the news this week because the daily working experiences of women already disprove the notion of a ‘queen bee’.
However, another finding of the Columbia study does stand out. Companies with only one female in an executive role were 50% less likely to have another women follow them to that level. According to the researchers, this was evidence that once a company had filled its ‘quota’ of female executives (usually one) they saw no need for more women at that tier.
It may well be the case that there could have once been a ‘queen bee’ style boss, perhaps in 1973. At that point, any women at the top would have perhaps have had to make enormous sacrifices to be there and have had little sympathy for anyone assailing their hard-won position. Nevertheless, at that time, given the (highly) likely small sample size they would have been working with on which to draw such conclusions - it's interesting that such a damaging stereotype has endured.
Here at Bright Network, our female-focused leadership events, campaigns and support are designed to re-adddress the conditions that create myths like this. We're fortunate to work with several forward-thinking companies - KPMG's recent sponsorship of our Bright Network: Women in Leadership event bearing testament to this. Women in leadership positions are definitely a good thing for businesses - and we’re committed to helping our Bright Network members get there.