As increased numbers of women have entered the workforce over the past decades, increased number of women have advanced to supervisory and managerial ranks. While there is considerable controversy over the "glass ceiling" which ostensibly keeps women from the highest levels of management, women are now commonplace in many organizations at lower and middle levels of management. The increased numbers of women in management has focused attention on the differences between the way that men and women manage, and the differences in which men and women respond to being managed.
At a manufacturing company with which I am familiar there is only one woman manager; she is responsible for accounting and human resources in a company which employs approximately 50 individuals. All of her subordinates save two (there are eight positions reporting to her) are women and she reports to the chief financial officer, a man. When there are conflicts in the accounting department, meetings are held behind closed doors and no employee has, in the memory of other employees, been reprimanded or sharply corrected in the presence of others. In other areas of the company, this does not hold true. This manager also documents events (both positive and negative) and refers to the documentation when presenting formal reviews. In addition, the women in the accounting department have, when questioned, noted that their supervisor does touch their shoulders or arms when speaking to them on occasion, but this touching is perceived as friendly and supportive.
The other department heads supervise both men and women and tend toward a more aggressive style of management. These managers are less likely to speak privately to individuals when there are problems, but instead address the issue directly with the employee in the cubicle. However, these managers also tend not to document events so that once an incident has passed, it has also moved out of institutional m...