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March 8, 2014

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Women bosses: What their staff really think

More Chinese men than women like female bosses, especially if they are pretty and mild as well as capable. As more women run the show, Shanghai Daily looks at sexism and stereotypes.

A famous Chinese saying goes, “Work will be easier if a man works with a woman” (“Nan nu dapei, ganhuo bu lei”), meaning women and men complement each other and the strengths of one make up for the weaknesses of the other.

Of course, there’s also the old saying “Nan zun nu bei,” meaning men are respected and women are subordinate and this patriarchal concept still lingers today.

Despite their advances, female executives face gender-related challenges, both direct discrimination and more subtle bias.

Perceptions about women in management were described in a survey released Wednesday by leading online recruitment firm 51job.com. It collected questionnaires from 3,691 web users; the survey was also conducted last year.

It shows that women in management are appreciated more by their male than female employees.

Eighty percent of respondents said they have female managers, 11.7 percent higher than in the survey taken last year.

The onus, for women, is to quickly establish credibility and authority and gain respect in the workplace, while for men, all of that is usually taken for granted. Business knowledge and the ability to set and achieve goals, plus communications skills and emotional intelligence are essential — often far more so than for men.

They must strike a balance between being appropriately personal and appropriately respectful of hierarchies.

Higher positions can be tricky in dealing with both men and women. Men’s egos especially need to stroked so males don’t lose face and some women bosses say they give men a pass when they make a minor mistake — rather they bringing it to their attention.

“Women bosses are more considerate, both in the office and in staff’s personal lives,” says Bony (who declines to give his full name), a Shanghai native in his 30s. He is chief editor of an in-flight magazine of a private airline. His supervisor and the vice director of the entire enterprise is a Shanghainese woman aged 37.

They even call her Miss Bao (Treasure) to her face, and she likes it.

Her name does not include the word for treasure.

While the “treasure” name sounds sexist to many Westerners, China is different. The woman herself is described by Bony as “pretty, elegant, mild-mannered, soft-spoken,” as well as energetic and hardworking.

The stereotypical feminine qualities are said to contribute to her career success, and especially admiration and support from men.

If she were average-looking, hard-driving and outspoken — like many successful male managers — would she be so popular and successful? Would she be called Miss Treasure?

Treated as a queen

In any case, Miss Treasure appears to be an effective leader.

“Bao is good at communicating with us, which is why we are willing to work with her,” Bony tells Shanghai Daily.

He prefers women supervisors such as Bao “because she is nicer and not as stubborn as a man, especially when it comes to personal life issues.”

The survey from 51job.com found that 16.6 percent of female respondents didn’t like their women managers, twice the percentage of male respondents.

At the same company, Kiyo (her social network name), a former editor of the in-flight magazine, used to work for Miss Treasure for a couple of months two years ago.

She tells Shanghai Daily that she “could no longer endure Bao’s attitude.”

“I think she was absolutely jealous of me,” says Kiyo, a stylish young woman who was still angry when she talked about Bao. “Bao needed all the love and needed to be the focus of her employees, both men and women. My existence threatened her role as queen.”

People familiar with that office say Bao was well taken care of by her employees who usually prepared breakfast for her. She frequently received chocolates, flowers and small gifts left anonymously on her desk.

This suggests the stereotype of catty, jealous women.

There is an unwritten code of office behavior for Chinese women employees and supervisors. A woman should never dress better than, or carry a nicer handbag, than her manager.

Speaking of women’s management style, senior human resources consultant Nicole Zhang says, “Women are definitely more sentimental than men, whether she’s a boss or employee. When a female executive faces her male staff, naturally her moodiness will most likely be tolerated. This is the key reason it’s said men accept women bosses more than their female colleagues.”

Sacrificing for marriage and child rearing is the main reason there are not more female managers, Zhang says.

“Many strong women must give up marriage or pregnancy before age 35 if they are determined to be promoted during their ‘golden age’,” she says.

Of course, there are also many female managers who win respect from both men and women by workings in what is considered a male work style: hard work, no nonsense, not afraid to be tough.

Ms Shen (not her real name), 35, is business director of a successful digital advertising agency, heading a team of around a dozen employees, half men and half women.

“I have forgotten the last time I took vacation,” says the Shanghai native. She is always busy, going on business trips, attending conferences and working at the office late at night.

“I reached my position by relying on my own efforts, without connections or ‘background’,” she says.

Because she works hard, her team is motivated to do the same and contribute extra efforts to see the company succeed.

“She is an inspiration to me,” says Allen Zhang, a 25-year-old team member hailing from northeast China. “The boss sets a good example for young employees. She is talented, hard working and tough — most of the time I forget she is a woman.”

In the recent survey on female managers, “amiable and hardworking” women leaders are the most appreciated by female and male staff, followed by “mild and wise” managers among female staff, and “keen and capable” among male employees.

Shen says she is very confident in communicating with her business partners, adding that being a woman has advantages because males are more relaxed when they work with a female. Conversations often go more smoothly than between men, she finds.

Gossips

Still that old concept of male superiority hasn’t disappeared. As in many other countries, successful career women are frequently challenged about their personal lives, especially when they reach high positions.

“I know the employees gossip about my personal life, making fun of me especially after I find fault with their work,” says Shen. “It seems I challenge the dignity and security of some men.”

Shen is single and has not had a regular relationship for many years. She herself says the reason is that she has been too busy with work and she is very demanding and selective when it comes to male companions.

Sometimes her employees wish she were dating and focused elsewhere, giving them a breather.

Miss Bao, the pretty, mild-mannered “queen,” maintains the public image of a single woman, never revealing her age and living in style. Few people know she was divorced many years ago and now has a 13-year-old daughter cared for by her ex-husband and sometimes her parents.

“Can you guess my age?” she often asks people who are impolite enough to ask. She smiles sweetly.

“It’s good to keep some sense of mystery, especially for career, business and social networking,” says Miss Treasure.


 




 

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