What is Queen Bee Syndrome?

Queen Bee Syndrome refers to a psychological condition whereby a high-profile female employee with high positions in an organization, doesn’t have positive relationships with some of the female counterparts. Such attitude may include sarcasm, failing to mentor, and consciously working to sabotage the success of others. The term outlines a situation where successful women will reinforce the negative stereotypes about their gender and appear threatened by the progress made by women in male-dominated settings.

What are some characteristics of Queen Bee syndrome?

Working women suffering from Queen Bee syndrome have a few traits that you can identify like –

• Unhealthy Competitiveness: Women suffering from Queen Bee Syndrome see other women as competitors rather than colleagues, hence, making the work environment poisonous.
• Less Compassionate: They can be less compassionate towards their female subordinates with an interest in focusing on the success of these women rather than supporting them.
• To work with men: They may be prone to mentoring or working together with male employees, thus making the gap between the female workers.
• Power-hungry: The sense of influence and control may make the Queen Bees act in ways that help their careers grow at the expense of the other women’s careers.

How to avoid Queen Bee syndrome in the workplace?

Organizations must also emphasize several key strategies to help avoid Queen Bee Syndrome in the workplace such as –

• Support Open Communication: Encourage employees to promote trust and cooperation through open communication.
• Diversity in the Workplace: An active effort must be made to get diversity in the workplace too; diverse views and practices for inclusiveness would help counterbalance the competitive dynamics that prevail in predominantly male workplaces.
• Cultivate a Collaborative Mentoring Culture: The culture of mentoring should also be encouraged by means of programs which accustom women to bond with each other. Such collaboration makes cooperation emerge, reinforcing sharing of knowledge and resources.
• Training on Unconscious Bias: Provide training on unconscious bias and encourage supportive behaviors throughout the organization.

FAQs

How to deal with the Queen Bee syndrome?

The Queen Bee Syndrome can be dealt with by keeping a record of the ill incidents and submitting them to HR or supervisor. Incident reporting may make the people aware of the facts, thus making the organizations take measures for the change.

What is the cause of Queen Bee syndrome?

Such phenomena could be caused by various sociological forces which include gender stereotypes in society, fighting for very few leadership positions, and past experiences with discrimination. Women who have faced struggles working in male-dominated organizations tend to practice such behavior as a survival strategy.

What are some examples of Queen Bee Syndrome?

Examples of the Queen Bee Syndrome include a female manager who will not mentor junior women but ensures promotion or recognition for male colleagues. Another example may be a senior female executive who presents some of the work done by female subordinates as inferior compared to similar work done by male colleagues.