I remember my mother coming home from an exceptionally bad day at work when I was about 10 years old. When I asked her what was wrong, it had to do with her female, not-so-nice boss. At the end of her rant, I asked, “why does she act that way?” To this day, my mother’s response has been stuck in my head. “Because people have to have power somewhere in their lives. If they don’t have it at home, they have to have it at work.”

My mother recounted meeting this woman’s husband at a company holiday party, and when said boss was in his presence, she was a mouse. In my early career, I worked for a very similar person, and I remembered my mother’s words. It didn’t make it any more pleasant to deal with, but in some way, it made total sense. What do you think?

Thanks for your comment!

If the “time has come for us to really deal with this …” comment had been phrased as WASP-male to WASP-male, the universe would have been up in arms demanding sensitivity training and god only knows what else.

Gender or ethnicity does not make a person a better manager nor does that make them a worse manager. For each black female or white female or black male or white male bullying manager, there are examples of excellent managers. We are individuals. Some are good. Some, not so good.

The question should be, Does this person have talent? Can I help develop that talent? Who has the best potential to do the job and lead the team( group, division, etc)?

Klaus’ question, Is this a woman? If yes, then I should be nice.

The wrong question.
The wrong focus.

The workplace is poorer for Klaus’s narrow-minded focus.

Look for the content of their character, not to see if they are in an exclusive club.

Amen!

Also sounds like some insecurities and self-esteem issues, to me…