The Great Debate: Male vs. Female Bosses

In a recent Forbes article entitled “Do Employees Prefer Male or Female Bosses?” Forbes conducted a survey through Facebook to see if people tended to favor one sex over the other when it came to their higher-ups. Surprisingly, the results show employees overwhelmingly favor male bosses. Naturally, some of that may be rooted in gender stereotypes—men are viewed as confident and strong, while women are seen as emotional and “nice”.

The article goes on to explain that as a result of gender stereotypes, women in managerial roles often take on typical male characteristics. They become more assertive and aggressive. The result? They're viewed negatively. They can come across as power hungry, cold and even a little bitchy. It doesn't mean they are worse bosses than men. Not at all. But unfortunately for them, that’s how they’re often perceived.

Throughout my career, and random high school and college jobs, I’ve had both male and female bosses. I’ve had the good, the bad, the distant, the sarcastic and the somewhat crazy. And to be completely honest, I prefer working for a male boss. I know, I know. As a strong, savvy Working Girl that’s quite shameful…but it’s true.

Before you hunt me down and threaten to throw rocks at me and my outdated, anti-feminist mindset, please let me explain. Here’s the thing: Women are emotional beings. Yes, it's a stereotype, but I find it to be true. And I just happen to be extra emotional. I’m very sensitive to other people’s moods. If they’re stressed, I get stressed. If they’re mad, I get mad. So in my experience, I’ve worked for women who often times were riding on roller coasters of emotions–AKA mood swings—and it made it very difficult to keep up. Don't get me wrong—they were great people. But they’d be nice one minute, frustrated the next, and stressed out before you could blink an eye. I could never tell if what I was doing was good, bad or just plain unimportant. It made my jobs extra stressful on a daily basis.

I’ve found that because male bosses don’t let their emotions gets in the way, they have an easier time maintaining their authority. Sure, there are pros and cons for both male and female bosses, but for me personally, I appreciate not getting swept up in any emotional distress.

What do you think, Working Girls? Do you prefer a female boss over a male boss? Do you notice females taking on male characteristics to appear “tougher” in the workplace? Do you think my opinion is just plain crazy? Please comment and let me know what you think!