Women Rising in Corporate Ranks

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Businesses need to wake up to the fact that these so-called feminine skills are vital for attracting and keeping the right people. In the past women who aspired to management were encouraged to be more manly - it looks now as if the boot is on the other foot.

Women scaling the career ladder still face considerable prejudice and opposition but there is no doubt that the future of management everywhere just has to be a lot more female.

Management Today magazine surveyed 1000 middle and senior UK managers, split evenly between the genders and the over and under 40s, to uncover the true state of sexual politics in the office. The results were startling:

More than 61% of all respondents say men do not make better bosses than women. While a fifth of men feel that they are better managers, over half the female correspondents disagree.

Over 70% of all respondents think that women use time more effectively than men, many commenting that juggling commitments is a familiar practice for women with a home and family.

When asked to sum up their general experience of managers of the opposite sex it is clear that men and women see each other very differently.

Over 45% of women choose insensitivity as men's top defining characteristic but they also see male managers as decisive team leaders.

43% of men see female bosses as considerate and around 30% find women to be open minded team players.