Breaking Through “Bitch”

CHAPTER 2 How to Look Like a “Bitch” Without Even Trying: A Case Study

“A women leader is likely to be sent conflicting messages about how members expect her to behave (leader like, but feminine) and since many of these are incompatible, her inability to meet all these expectations can lead to dissatisfaction with her performance.”

—RESEARCHER B.G. REED, 1983¹

“Gender stereotypes contain imperatives, which reflect how people believe that men and women ‘should be’ and importantly, how they ‘should not be.’ In other words, a set of gender rules dictates how men and women ‘ought to’ behave, acting as a straitjacket that limits acceptable behaviors for both genders.”

—RESEARCHERS C.A. PHELAN AND L.A. RUDMAN, 2010²

The study of women’s leadership—what ...