The "queen bee" phenomenon is a pervasive stereotype suggesting that women who rise to the top of their fields are domineering and more interested in preserving the status quo than fighting it. But two female physicians argue this behavior may be a direct result of the scrutiny and pressure women in leadership positions often feel.
Esther K. Choo, MD, associate professor of emergency medicine at Portland-based Oregon Health & Science University, and Arghavan Salle, MD, PhD, scholar in residence at Stanford (Calif.) University School of Medicine, wrote the viewpoint article for The Lancet. Both are founding members of Time's Up Healthcare.
In the article, the physicians write that in several institutions, "there is still only token representation of women in leadership roles, honors and awards, committees, panels and other traditional markers of career success."
Though women have enrolled in medical schools in the U.S. at similar rates as men for the last 30 years, few become leaders in the institutions they join.
As a result, the few women who do rise to those leadership roles face a great deal of pressure, often having to bear the burden of representing all women. They may also feel afraid of facing retaliation and may adopt stereotypically masculine traits, such as dominance, to create a sense of camaraderie with their mostly male peers.
"The important thing to acknowledge here is that queen bee behavior is more a product of gender-biased environments than any individual woman's traits or approach," they wrote.
The authors also said that there is evidence showing that when women feel secure and supported in their leadership roles, they tend to support and promote other women.
The burden of supporting women shouldn't fall solely on the shoulders of other women — "shouldn't everyone support women?" the authors ask.
"Perhaps an indicator of equity will be when women are not only freed from the need to be in silent competition with one another but also when they are released from any specific obligation to support other women," the authors wrote.