Female Supremacy Articles - Page 4

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Women manage to be best at the office

Staff rate female executives higher than the males by HELEN PUTTICK

IT is the news that the David Brents of office life have secretly been dreading - women make better managers than men.

A ground-breaking survey of 2000 UK workers found female managers were more highly regarded than their male counterparts in a wide range of areas - including taking risks and decision-making.

Out of 14 new criteria for measuring managerial success, women were rated better at men in 11 and equal to men in the remaining three.

Male middle managers felt the opposite sex was significantly more effective at taking charge than their own.

High-flying men and women around Scotland yesterday admitted the survey confirmed their own instincts - although men in particular were reluctant to say so in public.

With about nine out of 10 top business jobs still held by men, it appears the character of David Brent from the hit sitcom The Office - who believes he is enlightened but behaves in a sexist fashion - still thrives in the real world.

Chief executives are being urged by researchers to change their attitude towards leadership and to find the untapped female talent which could breathe new life into their department or firm.

Beverley Alimo-Metcalfe, of Leeds University, who presented her findings to the annual occupational conference of the British Psychological Society in Bournemouth, admitted she was astonished by the strong regard for women bosses.