u/Dangerous-Pop874

Mid 30s female here so please don’t come after me as sexist. I’ve worked for 10 different companies in my career (unique to my industry, lots of musical chairs is normal for advancement) and have had majority female managers. And quite a few of them were very difficult to work with. Backstabby, would steal glory and opportunities from lower employees, put themselves first. But one of the most insidious qualities was a very deliberate favoritism - paying more attention or giving more opportunities to some while leaving others out in the cold. Very much mean girl vibes.

And I realized: that’s because that sort of social power and the ability to navigate and manipulate relationships is exactly what helps you climb through the ranks in corporate. Knowing who, above you, to make feel good or acknowledged or appeased, and who to foist blame and frustration onto. Knowing how to get your way through flattery and manipulation. Knowing how to ice out poor performers so they don’t reflect poorly on you, or leave. Those are all skills you often need to advance to VP level and above.

I think that’s part of the reason we often encounter such shitty managers - they are often shitty people. Because the kind of person that both *wants* that level of responsibility and power is often the kind of person who has always liked having power over others in life. Maybe an obvious realization, but it really hit me today and made me even more sick of corporate than I was before.

ETA: This is obviously based on my (limited) experience. I have had good female managers and a bad male manager. This may not apply to your industry. It is okay if your (also limited) experience does not conform to mine.

Have a permit available

Realized that execs are often “mean girl” types