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WHAT IS QUEEN BEE SYNDROME?

Queen Bee syndrome was first defined by G.L. Staines, T.E. Jayaratne, and C. Tavris in 1973. 

It describes a woman in a position of authority who views or treats colleagues and subordinates more critically if they are female, according to psychologist Dr Audrey Nelson. 

In encompasses behaviours ranging from women disparaging typically feminine traits to being unsupportive of moves to address gender inequality.

The ultimate Queen Bee is a woman who makes it to the top of her profession, but refuses to help other women reach the same heights. 

This phenomenon has been documented by several studies. 

In one, scientists from the University of Toronto claimed that queen bee syndrome may be the reason that women find it more stressful to work for women managers.

No difference was found in stress levels for male workers under a female boss.

An alternate, though closely related, definition describes a queen bee as one who has succeeded in her career, but refuses to help other women do the same. 

Some researchers speculate that women may feel they had to claw their way to the top through many years of hard work and stress and expect other women to experience the same rigour.

To put it simply: they suffered, so should other women.

When strategy professors studied the top management of the Standard & Poor’s 1,500 companies over 20 years, they found what they thought supported this notion.

When one woman reached senior management, it was 51 per cent less likely a second woman would make it. 

On closer examination, however, the person blocking the second woman’s advancement wasn’t a Queen Bee; it was a male executive. 

When a woman was made chief executive, the opposite was true and woman had a better chance of joining senior management than when the chief executive was a man.

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