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Articles

No. 13 (2003 Spring)

When the Wrong Woman Wins: Building Bullies and Perpetuating Patriarch

  • Penelope W. Brunner
  • Melinda L. Costello
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21423/awlj-v13.a166
Submitted
June 19, 2017
Published
2017-06-12

Abstract

Some women are not good managers; and that is exactly why some companies keep them. For 30 years, researchers and working women have watched the progression of females into America's corporate management positions, and in their examination of the glass ceiling phenomenon, Corsun and Costen (2001) report that 40% of US executives, managers, and administrators are now women. During the early years of the women's movement, it was hypothesized that as the number of women entering the working public increased, a feminization or softening of business organizations would also occur. Publications such as Helgesen's (1990) The Female Advantage, Helgesen's (1995) The Web of Inclusion, and Rosener's (1990) "Ways Women Lead" led us to believe that kinder, gentler, and nurturing environments fostered by humane, caring, and intuitive leaders were developing. Multiculturalism and diversity were the expected outcomes.