Why aren’t there more female bosses? Maybe it’s because women don’t want them

For the many women fighting to introduce more women to the top of the work force, there exists a large number who would rather they weren't there at all. 

 

The majority of Americans would still rather have a male boss than a female boss, and this preference is particularly prominent among women, according to research by Gallup Economy.

 

By surveying a random sample of 1,032 adults across the US in August, they found that 33 per cent of Americans would prefer a male boss, whereas 20 per cent would prefer a female boss. 47 per cent said they would not mind either. 

 

Broken down by gender, 39 per cent of women and 26 per cent of men would rather have a male boss. In fact, women have said they would rather have a male boss than a female boss every year since Gallup first started the annual survey 60 years ago. 

 

 

The difference in desire for a male boss does not mean that men like female bosses more than women do, however. In fact, women showed more of a preference for female bosses than men did.

 

In the case of men, most of them are simply aren't bothered by the gender of their boss. 58 per cent said they did not mind the gender of their boss, while 34 per cent of women held the same opinion. 

 

Younger Americans were found to be slightly more likely than older Americans to prefer a female boss; however, preference for a male boss was consistent between the two groups.

 

A strong political divide was also unearthed, with Republican voters showing much more of a leaning towards male bosses than Democrats. 42 per cent of Republicans said they would prefer a male boss, while just 16 per cent said they would prefer a female boss. 

 

Opinion was more evenly split among Democrats, with 29 per cent saying they would prefer a male boss and 25 per cent saying they would prefer a female boss.