HE SAID: SHE SAID
#MaleVSFemaleBosses
– Do you prefer male or female bosses in the workplace? If so, why?
In Numbers 12, Miriam and Aaron, not being satisfied with the roles of Prophetess and Priest, sought to usurp Moses’
leadership position. The subject of contention was Moses’ Cushite wife. With Miriam’s name stated first, and the
fact that only she received the leprous reprimand, could she have been the one who started this little episode?
Whatever the cause, this seemed to be an early precursor to generations of conflict between leader and follower,
boss and subordinate, manager and employee.
We celebrate March as International Women’s Month and the International Labour Organization (ILO) recently
revealed that 59.3% of all managers in Jamaica are women – the highest in the world. However, anecdotally in
Jamaica, female managers have not been as largely accepted by their subordinates. We sought to find out how
accepted this paradigm is among Christians.
Mark • works in Media; has over 29
years’ work experience
The females ‘dem’ caring and don’t deal
with nonsense. I think it’s the motherly thing
that they have about them that causes it.
Alrick • works in Information
Technology; has almost 10 years’
work experience
I have no preference between having
a male or female boss. The issue is
professionalism and expertise. If the boss
Karyl • works in Healthcare; has 14
years’ work experience
Definitely male! Less hormones to work with.
Men tend not to take things personal. They
are not usually vindictive and malicious.
They tend to be focussed on the job and
not be maternal, wanting to be liked and so
on. I have had a female supervisor for the
past ten years and there has been much
drama, tension and even people leaving.
Rossi • works in Accounting;
has over 30 years’ work experience
I really don’t have a preference, though
I have been working with males all my
working life and it has not been an issue.
Bree • works in NGO Management;
has 4 years’ work experience
My experiences have only given me the
opportunity to experience male leadership
as bosses and female leadership in
mentoring relationships, so my response
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lacks those two things, I’d find it an issue.
Now in the sense of me being attracted to
women, and depending on the woman’s
age, I’d much rather work with a man, but
it’s not a must.
Nicholas • works in Entertainment;
has 15 years’ work experience
I prefer female bosses. In my opinion,
they are easy to work with and also
understanding.
may be a bit biased. I do not mind male
bosses, however, I do think having a
female contributes greatly to a man’s
team. We offer a different perspective. We
are naturally “help mates”. I do however
think men are more inclined to open up
opportunities for their female employees,
because women tend to focus on
continuously proving themselves.
Lyssa • works in Finance; has 27
years’ work experience
I prefer a female boss because so far the
male bosses that I have had, with the
exception of the present one, have tried
to have inappropriate conversations and
relationships with me. This usually led to
stress and me being totally discouraged
and sometimes disrespectful to them.
Being older and more mature, I am more
outspoken now and I realize that my job is
not my ‘source’. Th