8 years ago
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Men may feel more threatened by female bosses, research finds
"The concept of masculinity is becoming more elusive in society as gender roles blur, with more women taking management positions and becoming the major breadwinners for their families," said lead researcher Ekaterina Netchaeva, an assistant professor of management and technology at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. "Even men who support gender equality may see these advances as a threat to their masculinity, whether they consciously acknowledge it or not."
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One thing that stands out to me is the age of the participants. They're all college aged. I think that may have a pretty large bearing on how men treat women (and are treated) in general at that age and not this specific interaction.
personally, I've had a couple of female bosses and enjoyed the hell out of both of them. I was mid-thirties, married for over 5 years, and was at ease with them. Sure, we had our differences of opinion, but I got along with both of them just fine and wouldn't have any problems working with another woman. While they do talk quite a bit more than men, they're generally level-headed and fair.
This is very true, and it's a big problem for research in general, not just for these studies. Essentially, it's difficult to find research subjects that are representative of the general population, and college students are over represented because they are such a convenient population to study. Here is an interesting article on the subject if you'd like to read about it. I think it's still a relevant finding, but I would hope that the results of these studies would be different with more mature participants, as you say.