'Bitch' At Work - Should This Be Our Female Generation's Legacy?

By Giadha DeCarcer

It is important for us women, especially those of us in the entrepreneurial environment or male-dominated industries, to face the less than rosy realities of the trade and talk about them in the hopes to, together, ameliorate working conditions for us and future generations.  That said, I am beginning to find serious issue with articles such as those written by Susannah Breslin, Why I'd Rather Work for A Man Than A Woman, and How To Be A 'Bitch' At Work.  
Both may indeed address realities that need to be talked about, but I dare say, neither benefit today's business women or help future generations create better working conditions for us all.

In all fairness, I agree with the premise of Ms. Berlin's first article.  In fact, as I have noted in a previous posting, Women Finally Helping Women, my experiences working for female bosses have been nothing short of dramatic.  I can even agree with the general advice in Ms. Breslin's second article - all in all, being more assertive, less compliant, and demand more recognition, monetary or otherwise, are all excellent suggestions.  Unfortunately however, Ms. Breslin's valid points are seriously overshadowed by her intrinsic destructive approach to the issues at hand.

Per Ms. Breslin's article, men have more power, so we should line ourselves up with other men, not other women; men are less threatened by us and less emotional, so "eliminating women from the equation" is the solution; and last, but not least, if we really want to succeed, let's all be 'bitches' at work, because that will ensure we climb up that ladder.  If we all follow her example, we might benefit ourselves briefly and even get a bit more ahead, but ultimately we will be contributing to the problem as well as becoming part of it.

It is truly tragic that today, when women are finally awakening to the fact that we absolutely must help one another in order to succeed, articles as counter-productive as these continue to appear.  It is further  demoralizing that to bring forth equally true and raw realities under a much more constructive light we may have to rely on male authors such as Mr. Gene Marks, Why Most Women Will Never Become CEO,  or Mr. Chris Herbert, What Your Male Co-workers Really Think, rather than female authors as prolific as Ms. Breslin.  Can we really not stop being so 'bitchy'?!

Let's face it, we know it is not easy to work with one another, that is one of the realities of being a woman in the workplace.  According to a number of studies, most recently one from the University of Ottawa,  Science Proves That Women Are Mean (Again). Thanks Science!, there may be an evolutionary basis for our gender's tendencies that can be quite challenging, but that certainly does not mean they are unsurmountable.    So please do help a female colleague, do reach out to other women in your industry, do acknowledge when you are being emotional, catty, or threatened, and try to tolerate it, if not address it, when you recognize other women similarly afflicted.

Just like we have awakened to the fact that we can be successful, we can earn more money, and we can become CEO's, we can also embrace our shortcomings, address our personal challenges, and become part of the solution rather than the problem.