Queen Bee characteristics among female leaders in UK finance and the underrepresentation of women in senior roles.

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Elizabeth Babafemi This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5219987/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Researchers have long needed clarification on the continued underrepresentation of women in senior leadership roles in the United Kingdom finance sector. This study seeks to determine if the concept of the Queen Bee is still relevant to this subject. The study adopted a qualitative feminist methodology and collected data during interviews with 14 female leaders in Finance. The data showed that the women leaders did not regard themselves as Queen Bees. In general, they did not engage in negative behaviours towards other females. However, at times, they did exhibit the characteristics of a Queen Been. They tended to support other females, but their support was inconsistent because they held opinions similar to Queen Bees. Women leaders in Finance, because of some of their negative leadership traits, are not doing enough to support other women, and at times, they are reinforcing some gendered barriers and creating environments that do not support females’ advancement. The study found that the concept of the Queen Bee remains relevant to female underrepresentation in the workplace. Strategies should be implemented to rectify this and create more inclusive workspaces necessary for wellness and the flourishing of females in Finance. Other Business Gender Studies Leadership and Ethics Queen Bee underrepresentation gender finance gendered leadership Introduction In the United Kingdom, despite some progress, there is an apparent lack of female leaders in the United Kingdom finance sector, despite policy initiatives to boost gender equality and government legislation. Previous research has shown that the financial industry has not been a career popular with women, but this has changed recently (Roglish et al., 2015). An investigation of the UK-based FAME Database (2022) employing the search terms “Directors” and then “Finance Director” in the “Occupation” field gave information on over 50,000 companies. For example, 28% of the firms had a female finance director. Banking and Finance had only 19% of senior leadership roles, such as finance director, filled by women. The persistent underrepresentation of women has been researched extensively (Sterks et al., 2018). This has led to a debate in the literature on female leadership and equality regarding whether they 'opt out' or are 'pushed out' by men and the organizational culture (Derks et al., 2011 ). Several factors have been examined, including social factors such as background and educational background. Cultural factors have been discussed, including ‘self-stereotyping’ and ‘stereotype threat’, which tend to impact negatively on female working experiences, and this, in turn, can create environments that do not support female advancement (Hoyt & Murphy, 2018). The 'agency myth' is where women are blamed for not meeting expectations and are responsible for their underrepresentation (Carian and Johnson, 2019 ). Another barrier is that many existing female leaders make poor role models (Mavin, 2008 ). Then there are structural factors such as the ‘old boys’ network, challenges of working in a primarily male working environment, the performance-driven nature of working in Finance and the general inflexibility of working in Finance. All of these can contribute to making females in Finance feel undervalued, overworked, and unwanted and contribute to low retention rates and fewer achieving the status of financial director, for example (Sterks et al., 2018; Neck, 2015 ). At worst, the construct results in women actively obstructing the career progression of certain women because they are seen as rivals. Since the 1970s, specifically in the work of Staines, the concept of the Queen Bee has been used to explain why women are still underrepresented in areas such as the financial sector. It was seen as advancing the theoretical framework on female underrepresentation. The 'Queen Bees 'are senior women in masculine organizational cultures who have fulfilled their career aspirations by dissociating themselves from their gender while simultaneously contributing to the gender stereotyping of other women’ (Derks et al., 2011 ). This theoretical concept continues to be used by researchers today (Soscak, 2018). It can be likened to a form of female discrimination against subordinate females (Bayalak et al., 2020). Women who must work with Queen Bees have higher turnover rates and poorer career outcomes in general, according to Baykal et al, 2020). In the literature, there are a number of characteristics of a 'Queen Bee'. They do not show solidarity with females, and this has practical implications for the career aspirations of ambitious females in the financial sector (Mavin, 2008 ; Derks et al., 2016 ). Moreover, they have an identity that separates them from other women (Ebrahami, 2020). They fail to act as mentors or champions for other women, and as a result, there is no 'professional sisterhood' for women. Instead, the Queen Bee adopts the characteristics of their male colleagues and reinforces the masculine environment, which is not conducive to younger females in particular. Queen Bees is a distinctive strain of negative leadership traits—less overtly confrontational than their domineering male counterparts but bullying just the same' (Drexler, 2013 , p. 5). They are frequently not only unhelpful to other females, but they are actively undermining them and encouraging male colleagues to view other women in a hostile and stereotyped way. Often, this is a result of a fear of being treated as token women, merely as diversity hires (Sobczak, 2018 ). This can create problems for their female subordinates (Sterks et al., 2018). Drexler states, 'Women who have risen in male-dominated fields may want to tell themselves that their struggle and success were unique’ (2013). They have begun to adopt the masculine style of leadership, which means that the masculine and gendered organizational culture is unchallenged. As a result, they sometimes treat the performance of females who follow as never quite good enough. Bullying and harassment are often associated with women who conform to the construct (Drexler, 2013 ). Queen Bees often also have unrealistic expectations of other women and can be considered to be harsher on other women (Sales and Choo, 2020). The reasons for this phenomenon include that it is a response to a male-dominated organization and is a 'part of a general self-group distancing response that is also found in other marginalized groups’ (Derks et al., 2016 ). It is also recognized that women who succeed believe that all other women have to do is follow their example. Staines and others often present Queen Bees as strategic and political, and they usually seek to out-manoeuvre potential or imagined female rivals to safeguard or advance their own position ( 1973). Among the negative behavioural traits of Queen Bees is a reluctance to support initiatives that support women and the firm conviction that women can do it on their own, just as they had. This may include having to make compromises and adopt practices they dislike, including conforming to male expectations and following a traditional career path, which involves accumulating power and money. Moreover, many ambitious women would not accept acting like Queen Bees and would want to adopt a more progressive form of leadership, such as a democratic leadership style. Queen Bees's idea of job satisfaction is based on masculine terms such as the accumulation of power and money (Mavin, 2008 ). Many ambitious females are more concerned with creating an inclusive working environment and making a social impact, and this results in them being negatively impacted by the leadership style of the Queen Bees (Sterks et al., 2018). Moreover, the working environments created by this inequality are one that can impact negatively on women's wellbeing and career development. Those who engage in this negative leadership style can harm not only the career development of other women but also their wellness (Guillaume and Loufrani-Fedida, 2020 ). According to Chan and Uen, Queen Bees are not only harming other women's careers but also ultimately their own, as their behaviour will eventually result in problems with their peers and superiors (2024). The researcher identified a gap in the literature concerning the impact of the Queen Bee syndrome or set of behaviours on the underrepresentation of women in UK finance sector leadership. Methodology The study adopted a qualitative approach to obtain the views of female leaders. This allowed them to provide insights into their behaviour and allowed the researcher to determine if they exhibited the traits of a Queen Bee. The quantitative approach was not selected as it would only describe behaviour and not provide data on how the female leaders interpret their behaviours in their leadership roles and how they relate to other females’ career prospects. The feminist research strategy was adopted as it was deemed to enable women to have a voice and to provide a fresh perspective. The study can provide new data on how women leaders believe their behaviour impacts gender equality. A purposive, non-random sampling strategy was adopted, allowing for the recruitment of a representative sample that provided relevant data. The inclusion criteria included working in Finance and being employed as a leader in a UK-based finance company. All the participants gave their informed consent. The sample size was fourteen, and it was highly representative as the women came from various backgrounds and ethnicities. The primary data collection instrument was the semi-structured interview, which was selected because it allowed for the collection of a rich set of qualitative data. The process of collecting information began after the research conducted a pilot study. These interviews were conducted face-to-face by the researcher, and she sought to create a dialogue to encourage the in-depth exploration of the topic, and the researcher could encourage the participants to reflect on their experiences and provide new insights (Birkinshaw et al.,2011). The fourteen interviews took place at a location selected by the interviewees, each taking approximately one hour. It was necessary to audio-record the interviews, which were later transcribed using specialist transcription software. A thematic analysis strategy was adopted, allowing for common concepts to be identified in the interviews. A research assistant was invited to review the themes and agreed with the analysis. The data collected was analyzed into the three constructs outlined in the sub-research questions. Findings 1. Do current female leaders display many of the negative traits of a Queen Bee The women did not see themselves as ‘Queen Bees’. They all stated that it was associated with negative leadership traits. All of the interviewees did see themselves as leaders who wanted to support their staff and help with their career progression. They value communication and good interpersonal relationships and prefer collaboration when possible. However, they did acknowledge that other female leaders adopted the negative leadership traits associated with the concept. All of the women wanted to be seen as approachable to other women whom they saw as colleagues and team members. Some of the participants did acknowledge that there still were many female leaders with the traits of a Queen Bee: 'She acted more like a man, and things worked for her’. On the other hand, the female leaders in Finance were all happy to conform to the masculine environment in Finance. In particular, they accepted that performance was everything. Succeeding in Finance was all about achieving set targets and goals. They meant that they had to challenge staff, including women, to work hard, and this included long work hours. One participant stated that ‘make hard decisions when people are not performing. Another interviewee reported, 'Yes, you have to make those tough calls, i.e. ten people have to go, who are these 10?'. In this way, the women agreed that they had to be as tough as their male colleagues at times, if not tougher. All the women were competitive, and they had to be seen as performing. As one observed, 'I needed to be very competitive with people’. The need to perform at a high level ensured that they often saw others as rivals and competitors despite their wish to collaborate with other staff members, especially women. The women were committed to their company and focused on achieving its goals. As one noted, ''I put in the hard work to achieve results and make a difference.' All the women were proud to be ambitious and thought it was natural. According to one observer, 'You have to be ambitious. Without ambition, you're not going to achieve', noted one participant. All of the female leaders are driven, and they are incentivized by the organizations that they work for, for example, by bonuses. One participant noted that 'my bonus is profit linked. We have had a few years of real success, and this may incentivize a focus on performance and results. Therefore, the female leaders could be tough and demanding so that they could secure extra financial gains, and as a result, they were often tough on their team members. They did not act in a 'political way' and only sought to progress their career through their efforts and hard work. 2. Do the current female leaders lack solidarity with other females All of the females stated that they were gender sensitive. There was a recognition that they had to show solidarity with other females but not at the cost of performance or organizational goals. They all believed that they had to help women and others who have traditionally been underrepresented in Finance. There was some acceptance that they and their female subordinates had similar experiences and aims. Female leaders believed that they had to show solidarity with their female colleagues and that gender equality was a positive good. They were all committed to an inclusive environment which encouraged women, in particular, to progress in their careers. Some were actively trying to create a more diverse and inclusive working environment. We have "underrepresented" issues in certain diverse areas, so we use positive discrimination to try to encourage more diversity in the organization. This goes through all characteristics, so it's not just about ethnicity or gender balance. The female leaders all believed that they needed to support other females. They all expressed sympathy for their issues and challenges, such as having to work in a primarily male environment. For example, they all wanted to create a flexible environment and work practices that supported women. Many recognized the potential for working from home to help female work experience. They believed that they could help them to become more confident. As one of the participants observed, 'You also have to give them confidence even if you are giving them just details. Moreover, the female leaders all supported mentoring. Some believe that male and female mentors have greatly helped them. They accepted that they had to behave as mentors to women so that they could overcome barriers and also avail of opportunities. However, the women did not believe formal mentoring was suitable or helpful. They, in general, favoured informal mentoring and had little interest in networking. All of the women were concerned about being seen as token women, and they wanted to prove that they could succeed. This was important to them and was central to their identity and their success. Their belief in performance and achieving goals means they had little faith in initiatives that promote gender equality, such as quotas. In fact, they believed that quotas could have been more helpful. 3. Do the current female leaders create barriers for other women? All of the female leaders believed that barriers continued to exist for women. They believed that they could informally support women and help them when they are overcoming barriers. They all believe that their presence in senior positions can help motivate and inspire women to achieve their goals. The traits of a female leader, along with informal support, could help to remove barriers for ambitious females. The women leaders seemed to accept that some of the obstacles were inevitable. These include having to take on risks and also take part in international travel. The women defended the necessity for some barriers. There were barriers that were seen as necessary for the role. These include barriers such as a long working hour culture and the focus on performance. The females all believed that the natural barriers that exist can be overcome by conforming to the expectations of the organization and, in particular, by performing at a high level. All the women believed that being good at one's job could overcome these barriers. Ultimately, it was up to the women to take their opportunities and to progress their careers. As one interviewee put it, 'I think it may be more self-inflicted' to explain why so many females fail to advance their careers. Discussion The literature agrees that the construct of the Queen Bee is a woman who is distant from other females and who sees them as rivals or often unworthy of support and assistance (Mavin, 2008; Sterks et al., 2018). This negative attitude can lead to behaviours such as bullying, harassment, lack of empathy for other women and an abrasive leadership style. Based on the interviews, it is apparent that the women interviewed did not see themselves as distant from other women, and they sought to have good relationships with them. They often saw them as valued members of the team. These attitudes and traits often contradict the concept laid down by Staines (1974). Usually, they did not see other females as a threat, nor did they see them as rivals. When it came to the leadership style, all the women rejected the transactional style of leadership and sought to assist in the development of their subordinates, including females. They value communication and good relationships with their staff, especially their female staff. All of the women agreed that they had to support the career progression of other women. Nor did they engage in behaviours that could be construed as bullying or harassment. Some of them were happy to be seen as advocates for women. Indeed, they often empathized with the challenges they faced, such as engaging in overseas assignments and achieving a suitable work-life balance. Their success did not result in them becoming a distant sub-group from other females as in the literature. They did not seek to secure the support of their male colleagues by further marginalizing other women. Indeed, they actively sought to instil in other women confidence and self-belief, contrary to the Queen Bee. Some of the women may have followed the example of other Queen Bees who adopted masculine attitudes, and this helped them to succeed. In this way, Queen Bees could be seen as successful, and this may account for some female traits that are masculine, despite their commitment to creating opportunities for women, and this is not addressed in the literature (Cagiano et al., 2024: Mavin, 2008: Sterks et al., 2018). However, in many ways, the females had some of the traits associated with the Queen Bee. All the women were assertive and very confident. Many of them were focused on their career to a great extent. Then, all the women agreed that they had to be tough, for example, when they had to make people redundant. This means that they adopted some of the characteristics of a male leader, and these are often shown as being typical of the Queen Bee. For example, they admitted that they had to be tough and believed that performance was everything. They placed a lot of pressure on their subordinates, both males and females and possibly more on other women (Staines, 1974). This emphasis on performance is typical of the masculine culture of Finance. The female leaders conform to male expectations, which many women resist. In specific ways, they adopted some of the negative masculine characteristics of a male leader in ways similar to the Queen Bee construct. Getting results was everything, meaning female subordinates are viewed in these terms. This could result in feminine strengths such as empathy, social skills and collaboration being ignored and going unrewarded (Sterks et al., 2018). Moreover, it could lead to successful women placing pressure on other subordinate women to get results. Yet, as with Chan and Uen, the women did not realize that any Queen Bee behaviour would also ultimately harm their own careers (2024). They showed a lack of awareness of how Queen Bee's traits are detrimental to all women in an organization (Chen and Uen, 2024). Therefore, despite the women's claims that they are committed to an inclusive environment, the focus on performance means that they often need to do so (Neck, 2015). There is a need to show that they are not token women, which means they could potentially adopt male and Queen Bee characteristics. Indeed, the emphasis on performance means that they could undermine female subordinates' confidence and self-belief just as a Queen Bee would. At times, female leaders may change their leadership style to one with the negative associations of a Queen Bee, which is not recognized by Mavin (2008) and Staines (1974). Furthermore, bonuses and pay-related rewards are associated with the financial sector and are valued by the participants in this study. These could persuade women to adopt negative behavioural traits such as disparaging comments so that they are able to secure such benefits, which is not discussed by Mavin (2008). All the women accepted masculine work practices such as long hours and inflexible work. They appear to believe that they were essential for success, and in this way, they were placing pressure on subordinate females in much the same way that a Queen Bee would, contrary to best practices in management (Cagiano et al., 2024). Based on the data provided, there are times when the women inadvertently or deliberately adopted some of the traits of a Queen Bee. While not seeing other women as rivals, they were often difficult to work with (Neck, 2015). Indeed, despite themselves, at times, they could be unwittingly acting as Queen Bees. This is something that adds to the traditional idea of a Queen Bee (Stained, 1973). All women recognized that gender inequality existed in the UK financial sector. They were committed to being supportive of females and, indeed, those who have been traditionally marginalized. In their interactions with females, they wanted to give them confidence and self-belief. They saw their communication skills as a strength, and this could lead to a sense of a professional sisterhood. This is contrary to what would be expected from a Queen Bee (Mavin, 2008). The women were conscious of the barriers that other women faced because they faced them. On issues such as work-life balance, they expressed sympathy and understanding, and they sought to create a flexible work environment where possible. This is certainly something that a Queen Bee would consider. Many of the women interviewed are committed to creating inclusive working environments. Moreover, many of the female leaders saw themselves as mentors who could assist women in achieving their personal goals and not as rivals, which is contrary to the Queen Bee (Neck, 2015). Their leadership style, which emphasizes collaboration, is also contrary to the behaviours of a female leader who sees others of her gender as rivals. Yet, despite this, female leaders cannot be seen as advocates for gender equality. Indeed, they often reinforce the masculine norms in the financial sector and unconsciously act like a Queen Bee, which is not examined in the literature (Sobczak, 2018: Neck, 2015). For example, they value informal mentoring over formal mentoring. At the same time, they place little value on networking and reject quotas. They fear being taken as a token woman and perhaps a backlash from their male colleagues. In particular, they are concerned about their reputation and what it means to be seen as competent and loyal to the organization to conform to male norms of working, for fear of being seen as token women. By adopting these male expectations and practices, they often do not act in the best interests of their female colleagues (Neck, 2015). They are loyal to their organization, and this means that they are not able to advocate or negotiate for another woman. While they actively do not undermine female career progression, they are not doing enough to forge a ‘professional sisterhood’. The successful females often showed solidarity with other females, but only sometimes. Frequently, they were forceful and placed the organization's goals before those of other women (Sterks et al., 2018). Successful women usually showed more solidarity with other women, but at times, they did not. This could mean that many ambitious and younger females did not receive the support that they need to overcome the barriers to advancement to leadership that still exist and create ones that support wellness and human flourishing (Cagiano et al., 2024: Guillaume and Loufrani-Fedida, 2020). 1. Do the current female leaders create barriers for other women? All of the females recognized the barriers that exist for women. However, they all believed that they could be overcome. Achieving goals and performing at a high level was ultimately all that was needed for the success of women. While there was agreement that women had to be supported, the level of support that was to be given was expected to be limited, and this is not enough for many females who may be suffering because of gender barriers or some other issue (Sobczak, 2018: Guillaume and Loufrani-Fedida, 2020). This is seen in female leaders’ attitudes to initiatives such as quotas and formal networks. At least one of the interviewees did not accept the need for such initiatives. This is typical of the attitude of a classic Queen Bee. Moreover, this approach contradicts more progressive leadership styles (Caggiano et al., 2024). While the interviewees all agreed that women faced barriers, there appeared to be an acceptance that some barriers had to be tolerated and overcome by the individual female; a version of the 'agency myth' is apparent here (Carian & Johnson, 2019). The female’s attitude to their own career and performance was similar to masculine leaders, and in this way, they were similar to male leaders. In some ways, female leaders act as a 'sub-group' and do not actively intervene to support the career progress of other women. While not seeing them as rivals, they do not help them enough (Neck, 2015). This may have the effect of reinforcing barriers. The motives for this may be due to the need to concentrate on their own performance and to meet their own goals. They are so focused on their own career path that they fail to support other women, as stated in their interviews. Being so goal-orientated means they are not helping other women advance their careers (Sobczak, 2018). Their behaviour could easily be construed by others as those associated with a Queen Bee. Indeed, this could mean that the male-dominated culture of Finance is not challenged. A culture that privileges performance and goals is one that many women would be unhappy with, which could result in high turnover levels among female leaders. This could contribute to the underrepresentation of this sex in senior positions. Such a focus on performance is something that a Queen Bee would support, as well as the belief that women should do it on their own. This could mean that the women appeared to their female colleagues as unhelpful and aloof and displayed the characteristics of a Queen Bee, which is not really discussed in the literature. This could be construed as creating a barrier for women as they seek to navigate the challenging and competitive world of UK finance, which could impact individual women's wellness (Cagiano et al., 2024). One potential way that successful women create barriers is by proving to be poor role models. A lack of role models is considered a barrier in the literature. This is even though the women did not separate themselves deliberately from other women, as stated by Ebrahami (2020). Many younger women would not accept having to lead or manage in ways similar to the sample interviewed. As noted above, too many female leaders have the characteristics of Queen Bees and display negative leadership traits. This could deter many females from entering Finance if they believed they needed to act in ways expected of a Queen Bee to advance. Conclusion The study found that most female leaders generally do not display many of the negative traits of a Queen Bee. They typically supported other women and did not see them as rivals. However, there are times when, consciously and unconsciously, they adopt the traits of a Queen Bee. Because of Finance's pressurized and goal-driven nature, female leaders are sometimes obliged to adopt the traits of a queen bee. They could be interpreted negatively by many women and even viewed as harassment. Generally, the females interviewed are gender sensitive and willing to support other females. This is contrary to the image of the Queen Bee. Indeed, the women did not act like a sub-group who distanced themselves from other women. However, they were sensitive to being classed as token women as they could lead to them being classed as Queen Bees. This fear and the focus on performance means that while they are generally supportive of other women, they are inconsistent. This is best seen when it comes to their hesitant support for formal mentoring, female networks and quotas. While female leaders in Finance do not see other women as rivals, like the Queen Bee, they are not supportive enough. There is a belief that it is ultimately up to the women themselves, and this is an attribute of the Queen Bee. In general, the female leaders all accepted that women had to overcome barriers just as they had, and this was also a trait of the Queen Bee. While the women had many positive leadership traits, they had adopted some of those associated with males, often unconsciously or because of the need to perform. In a number of ways, they were similar to Queen Bees. Female leaders in Finance, while recognizing barriers, need to do more. During the periods when they are identical to Queen Bees, they contribute to a culture that does not promote an inclusive environment or one where women feel they can advance their careers. The occasional similarities to the Queen Bee mean they can be poor role models and inadvertently reinforce gender barriers. To conclude, the concept of the Queen Bee is still relevant and an essential factor in the underrepresentation of females in leadership roles in UK finance. Practical implications A number of recommendations concerning practice emerged from this study. The first is that there is a need for an in-depth study of how the characteristics of leaders who often exhibit Queen Bee traits impact how females experience the workplace. One practical suggestion is that there should be workshops that encourage female leaders to become more self-reflective, which could eliminate negative leadership traits. The theoretical concept of the Queen Bee can be used to persuade women to act in solidarity with other females. Relating the concept of the Queen Bee to certain behaviours can encourage female leaders to be more self-reflective, and this can lead to the adoption of characteristics that are discriminatory against other women. The Queen Bee concept can be used to help young female leaders adopt leadership traits that support other women. Tools such as the questionnaire developed by Chen and Ueh may help women understand if they are displaying the negative behaviours associated with the Queen Bee syndrome (2024). Moreover, this study has shown the continuing value of the theory of the Queen Bee in understanding gender equality. References Caggiano, V., Ragusa, A. and Di Petrillo, E., 2024. The Challenge of Humanistic Management. In People and Organizations: Humanistic Management (pp. 49-68). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. Carian, E.K. and Johnson, A.L., 2019. The Agency Myth: Persistence in Individual Explanations for Gender Inequality. Social Problems. Chan, Y.Y. and Uen, J.F., 2024. Development and Validation of a Measurement Scale for the Queen Bee Syndrome. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2024, No. 1, p. 13778). Valhalla, NY 10595: Academy of Management. 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Hoyt, Crystal and Murphy, Susan E (2018). Managing to clear the air: Stereotype threat, women, and leadership quarterly, PP 387-399 Neck, C. (2015) Disappearing women: Why do women leave senior roles in Finance? Australian Journal of Management. Forty pp. 488-510. Roglish, Alison, Shemluck, Neda and D’Souza, Desiree (2021). Leadership, representation, and Gender equity in financial services. Deloitte. Available from https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/insights/industry/financial-services/women-in-the-finance-industry.html [Accessed 24/09/2023]. Sobczak, A., 2018. The Queen Bee Syndrome. The paradox of women's discrimination in the labour market. Journal of Gender and Power, 9(1), pp.51-61. Salles A, Choo EK. Queen Bee phenomenon: a consequence of the hive. The Lancet. 2020 Mar 21;395(10228):940. Staines, , T.E., 1974. The queen bee syndrome. Penguin: London. Sterk, N., Meeussen, L. and Van Laar, C., 2018. Perpetuating inequality: Junior women do not see queen bee behavior as negative but are nonetheless negatively affected by it—frontiers in psychology, 9, p.1690. Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5219987","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":363288822,"identity":"f2e1bebe-569c-4c63-98d0-640385d150b8","order_by":0,"name":"Elizabeth Babafemi","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4111-0225","institution":"University of Exeter","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Elizabeth","middleName":"","lastName":"Babafemi","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-10-07 17:44:46","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":true,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true,"humanSubjectConsent":true,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5219987/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5219987/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":66711642,"identity":"c27a2981-7b13-4213-83bf-5a8c4d89ff49","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-10-15 18:07:35","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":206065,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5219987/v1/ddc580a9-f0e0-45bd-a7dc-3e4a49c3888a.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eQueen Bee characteristics among female leaders in UK finance and the underrepresentation of women in senior roles.\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eIn the United Kingdom, despite some progress, there is an apparent lack of female leaders in the United Kingdom finance sector, despite policy initiatives to boost gender equality and government legislation. Previous research has shown that the financial industry has not been a career popular with women, but this has changed recently (Roglish et al., 2015). An investigation of the UK-based FAME Database (2022) employing the search terms \u0026ldquo;Directors\u0026rdquo; and then \u0026ldquo;Finance Director\u0026rdquo; in the \u0026ldquo;Occupation\u0026rdquo; field gave information on over 50,000 companies. For example, 28% of the firms had a female finance director. Banking and Finance had only 19% of senior leadership roles, such as finance director, filled by women.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe persistent underrepresentation of women has been researched extensively (Sterks et al., 2018). This has led to a debate in the literature on female leadership and equality regarding whether they 'opt out' or are 'pushed out' by men and the organizational culture (Derks et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e). Several factors have been examined, including social factors such as background and educational background. Cultural factors have been discussed, including \u0026lsquo;self-stereotyping\u0026rsquo; and \u0026lsquo;stereotype threat\u0026rsquo;, which tend to impact negatively on female working experiences, and this, in turn, can create environments that do not support female advancement (Hoyt \u0026amp; Murphy, 2018). The 'agency myth' is where women are blamed for not meeting expectations and are responsible for their underrepresentation (Carian and Johnson, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Another barrier is that many existing female leaders make poor role models (Mavin, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e). Then there are structural factors such as the \u0026lsquo;old boys\u0026rsquo; network, challenges of working in a primarily male working environment, the performance-driven nature of working in Finance and the general inflexibility of working in Finance. All of these can contribute to making females in Finance feel undervalued, overworked, and unwanted and contribute to low retention rates and fewer achieving the status of financial director, for example (Sterks et al., 2018; Neck, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). At worst, the construct results in women actively obstructing the career progression of certain women because they are seen as rivals.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSince the 1970s, specifically in the work of Staines, the concept of the Queen Bee has been used to explain why women are still underrepresented in areas such as the financial sector. It was seen as advancing the theoretical framework on female underrepresentation. The\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e'Queen Bees 'are senior women in masculine organizational cultures who have fulfilled their career aspirations by dissociating themselves from their gender while simultaneously contributing to the gender stereotyping of other women\u0026rsquo; (Derks et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis theoretical concept continues to be used by researchers today (Soscak, 2018). It can be likened to a form of female discrimination against subordinate females (Bayalak et al., 2020). Women who must work with Queen Bees have higher turnover rates and poorer career outcomes in general, according to Baykal et al, 2020).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the literature, there are a number of characteristics of a 'Queen Bee'. They do not show solidarity with females, and this has practical implications for the career aspirations of ambitious females in the financial sector (Mavin, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e; Derks et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e). Moreover, they have an identity that separates them from other women (Ebrahami, 2020). They fail to act as mentors or champions for other women, and as a result, there is no 'professional sisterhood' for women. Instead, the Queen Bee adopts the characteristics of their male colleagues and reinforces the masculine environment, which is not conducive to younger females in particular. Queen Bees is a distinctive strain of negative leadership traits\u0026mdash;less overtly confrontational than their domineering male counterparts but bullying just the same' (Drexler, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e, p. 5). They are frequently not only unhelpful to other females, but they are actively undermining them and encouraging male colleagues to view other women in a hostile and stereotyped way. Often, this is a result of a fear of being treated as token women, merely as diversity hires (Sobczak, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). This can create problems for their female subordinates (Sterks et al., 2018). Drexler states, 'Women who have risen in male-dominated fields may want to tell themselves that their struggle and success were unique\u0026rsquo; (2013). They have begun to adopt the masculine style of leadership, which means that the masculine and gendered organizational culture is unchallenged. As a result, they sometimes treat the performance of females who follow as never quite good enough. Bullying and harassment are often associated with women who conform to the construct (Drexler, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eQueen Bees often also have unrealistic expectations of other women and can be considered to be harsher on other women (Sales and Choo, 2020). The reasons for this phenomenon include that it is a response to a male-dominated organization and is a 'part of a general self-group distancing response that is also found in other marginalized groups\u0026rsquo; (Derks et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e). It is also recognized that women who succeed believe that all other women have to do is follow their example. Staines and others often present Queen Bees as strategic and political, and they usually seek to out-manoeuvre potential or imagined female rivals to safeguard or advance their own position ( 1973). Among the negative behavioural traits of Queen Bees is a reluctance to support initiatives that support women and the firm conviction that women can do it on their own, just as they had. This may include having to make compromises and adopt practices they dislike, including conforming to male expectations and following a traditional career path, which involves accumulating power and money. Moreover, many ambitious women would not accept acting like Queen Bees and would want to adopt a more progressive form of leadership, such as a democratic leadership style.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eQueen Bees's idea of job satisfaction is based on masculine terms such as the accumulation of power and money (Mavin, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e). Many ambitious females are more concerned with creating an inclusive working environment and making a social impact, and this results in them being negatively impacted by the leadership style of the Queen Bees (Sterks et al., 2018). Moreover, the working environments created by this inequality are one that can impact negatively on women's wellbeing and career development. Those who engage in this negative leadership style can harm not only the career development of other women but also their wellness (Guillaume and Loufrani-Fedida, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). According to Chan and Uen, Queen Bees are not only harming other women's careers but also ultimately their own, as their behaviour will eventually result in problems with their peers and superiors (2024).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe researcher identified a gap in the literature concerning the impact of the Queen Bee syndrome or set of behaviours on the underrepresentation of women in UK finance sector leadership.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Methodology","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe study adopted a qualitative approach to obtain the views of female leaders. This allowed them to provide insights into their behaviour and allowed the researcher to determine if they exhibited the traits of a Queen Bee. The quantitative approach was not selected as it would only describe behaviour and not provide data on how the female leaders interpret their behaviours in their leadership roles and how they relate to other females’ career prospects. The feminist research strategy was adopted as it was deemed to enable women to have a voice and to provide a fresh perspective. The study can provide new data on how women leaders believe their behaviour impacts gender equality. A purposive, non-random sampling strategy was adopted, allowing for the recruitment of a representative sample that provided relevant data. The inclusion criteria included working in Finance and being employed as a leader in a UK-based finance company. All the participants gave their informed consent. The sample size was fourteen, and it was highly representative as the women came from various backgrounds and ethnicities.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe primary data collection instrument was the semi-structured interview, which was selected because it allowed for the collection of a rich set of qualitative data. The process of collecting information began after the research conducted a pilot study. These interviews were conducted face-to-face by the researcher, and she sought to create a dialogue to encourage the in-depth exploration of the topic, and the researcher could encourage the participants to reflect on their experiences and provide new insights (Birkinshaw et al.,2011). The fourteen interviews took place at a location selected by the interviewees, each taking approximately one hour. It was necessary to audio-record the interviews, which were later transcribed using specialist transcription software. A thematic analysis strategy was adopted, allowing for common concepts to be identified in the interviews. \u0026nbsp; A research assistant was invited to review the themes and agreed with the analysis. The data collected was analyzed into the three constructs outlined in the sub-research questions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFindings\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Do current female leaders display many of the negative traits of a Queen Bee\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe women did not see themselves as ‘Queen Bees’. They all stated that it was associated with negative leadership traits. All of the interviewees did see themselves as leaders who wanted to support their staff and help with their career progression. They value communication and good interpersonal relationships and prefer collaboration when possible. However, they did acknowledge that other female leaders adopted the negative leadership traits associated with the concept. All of the women wanted to be seen as approachable to other women whom they saw as colleagues and team members. Some of the participants did acknowledge that there still were many female leaders with the traits of a Queen Bee: 'She acted more like a man, and things worked for her’. \u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the other hand, the female leaders in Finance were all happy to conform to the masculine environment in Finance. In particular, they accepted that performance was everything. Succeeding in Finance was all about achieving set targets and goals. They meant that they had to challenge staff, including women, to work hard, and this included long work hours. One participant stated that ‘make hard decisions when people are not performing. Another interviewee reported, 'Yes, you have to make those tough calls, i.e. ten people have to go, who are these 10?'. In this way, the women agreed that they had to be as tough as their male colleagues at times, if not tougher. All the women were competitive, and they had to be seen as performing. As one observed, 'I needed to be very competitive with people’. The need to perform at a high level ensured that they often saw others as rivals and competitors despite their wish to collaborate with other staff members, especially women. The women were committed to their company and focused on achieving its goals. As one noted, ''I put in the hard work to achieve results and make a difference.'\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll the women were proud to be ambitious and thought it was natural. According to one observer, 'You have to be ambitious. Without ambition, you're not going to achieve', noted one participant. All of the female leaders are driven, and they are incentivized by the organizations that they work for, for example, by bonuses. One participant noted that 'my bonus is profit linked. We have had a few years of real success, and this may incentivize a focus on performance and results. Therefore, the female leaders could be tough and demanding so that they could secure extra financial gains, and as a result, they were often tough on their team members. They did not act in a 'political way' and only sought to progress their career through their efforts and hard work.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Do the current female leaders lack solidarity with other females\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll of the females stated that they were gender sensitive. There was a recognition that they had to show solidarity with other females but not at the cost of performance or organizational goals. They all believed that they had to help women and others who have traditionally been underrepresented in Finance. There was some acceptance that they and their female subordinates had similar experiences and aims. Female leaders believed that they had to show solidarity with their female colleagues and that gender equality was a positive good. They were all committed to an inclusive environment which encouraged women, in particular, to progress in their careers. Some were actively trying to create a more diverse and inclusive working environment.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe have \"underrepresented\" issues in certain diverse areas, so we use positive discrimination to try to encourage more diversity in the organization. This goes through all characteristics, so it's not just about ethnicity or gender balance.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe female leaders all believed that they needed to support other females. They all expressed sympathy for their issues and challenges, such as having to work in a primarily male environment. For example, they all wanted to create a flexible environment and work practices that supported women. Many recognized the potential for working from home to help female work experience. They believed that they could help them to become more confident. As one of the participants observed, 'You also have to give them confidence even if you are giving them just details. \u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMoreover, the female leaders all supported mentoring. Some believe that male and female mentors have greatly helped them. They accepted that they had to behave as mentors to women so that they could overcome barriers and also avail of opportunities. However, the women did not believe formal mentoring was suitable or helpful. They, in general, favoured informal mentoring and had little interest in networking. All of the women were concerned about being seen as token women, and they wanted to prove that they could succeed. This was important to them and was central to their identity and their success. Their belief in performance and achieving goals means they had little faith in initiatives that promote gender equality, such as quotas. In fact, they believed that quotas could have been more helpful. \u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Do the current female leaders create barriers for other women?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll of the female leaders believed that barriers continued to exist for women. They believed that they could informally support women and help them when they are overcoming barriers. They all believe that their presence in senior positions can help motivate and inspire women to achieve their goals. The traits of a female leader, along with informal support, could help to remove barriers for ambitious females. The women leaders seemed to accept that some of the obstacles were inevitable. These include having to take on risks and also take part in international travel. The women defended the necessity for some barriers. There were barriers that were seen as necessary for the role. These include barriers such as a long working hour culture and the focus on performance. The females all believed that the natural barriers that exist can be overcome by conforming to the expectations of the organization and, in particular, by performing at a high level. All the women believed that being good at one's job could overcome these barriers. Ultimately, it was up to the women to take their opportunities and to progress their careers. As one interviewee put it, 'I think it may be more self-inflicted' to explain why so many females fail to advance their careers.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe literature agrees that the construct of the Queen Bee is a woman who is distant from other females and who sees them as rivals or often unworthy of support and assistance (Mavin, 2008; Sterks et al., 2018). This negative attitude can lead to behaviours such as bullying, harassment, lack of empathy for other women and an abrasive leadership style. Based on the interviews, it is apparent that the women interviewed did not see themselves as distant from other women, and they sought to have good relationships with them. They often saw them as valued members of the team. These attitudes and traits often contradict the concept laid down by Staines (1974). Usually, they did not see other females as a threat, nor did they see them as rivals. When it came to the leadership style, all the women rejected the transactional style of leadership and sought to assist in the development of their subordinates, including females. They value communication and good relationships with their staff, especially their female staff. All of the women agreed that they had to support the career progression of other women. Nor did they engage in behaviours that could be construed as bullying or harassment.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome of them were happy to be seen as advocates for women. Indeed, they often empathized with the challenges they faced, such as engaging in overseas assignments and achieving a suitable work-life balance. Their success did not result in them becoming a distant sub-group from other females as in the literature. They did not seek to secure the support of their male colleagues by further marginalizing other women. Indeed, they actively sought to instil in other women confidence and self-belief, contrary to the Queen Bee. Some of the women may have followed the example of other Queen Bees who adopted masculine attitudes, and this helped them to succeed. In this way, Queen Bees could be seen as successful, and this may account for some female traits that are masculine, despite their commitment to creating opportunities for women, and this is not addressed in the literature (Cagiano et al., 2024: Mavin, 2008: Sterks et al., 2018).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, in many ways, the females had some of the traits associated with the Queen Bee. All the women were assertive and very confident. Many of them were focused on their career to a great extent. Then, all the women agreed that they had to be tough, for example, when they had to make people redundant. This means that they adopted some of the characteristics of a male leader, and these are often shown as being typical of the Queen Bee. For example, they admitted that they had to be tough and believed that performance was everything. They placed a lot of pressure on their subordinates, both males and females and possibly more on other women (Staines, 1974). This emphasis on performance is typical of the masculine culture of Finance. The female leaders conform to male expectations, which many women resist. In specific ways, they adopted some of the negative masculine characteristics of a male leader in ways similar to the Queen Bee construct. Getting results was everything, meaning female subordinates are viewed in these terms. This could result in feminine strengths such as empathy, social skills and collaboration being ignored and going unrewarded (Sterks et al., 2018). Moreover, it could lead to successful women placing pressure on other subordinate women to get results. Yet, as with Chan and Uen, the women did not realize that any Queen Bee behaviour would also ultimately harm their own careers (2024). They showed a lack of awareness of how Queen Bee's traits are detrimental to all women in an organization (Chen and Uen, 2024).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTherefore, despite the women's claims that they are committed to an inclusive environment, the focus on performance means that they often need to do so (Neck, 2015). There is a need to show that they are not token women, which means they could potentially adopt male and Queen Bee characteristics. Indeed, the emphasis on performance means that they could undermine female subordinates' confidence and self-belief just as a Queen Bee would. At times, female leaders may change their leadership style to one with the negative associations of a Queen Bee, which is not recognized by Mavin (2008) and Staines (1974). Furthermore, bonuses and pay-related rewards are associated with the financial sector and are valued by the participants in this study. These could persuade women to adopt negative behavioural traits such as disparaging comments so that they are able to secure such benefits, which is not discussed by Mavin (2008). All the women accepted masculine work practices such as long hours and inflexible work. They appear to believe that they were essential for success, and in this way, they were placing pressure on subordinate females in much the same way that a Queen Bee would, contrary to best practices in management (Cagiano et al., 2024). Based on the data provided, there are times when the women inadvertently or deliberately adopted some of the traits of a Queen Bee. While not seeing other women as rivals, they were often difficult to work with (Neck, 2015). Indeed, despite themselves, at times, they could be unwittingly acting as Queen Bees. This is something that adds to the traditional idea of a Queen Bee (Stained, 1973).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll women recognized that gender inequality existed in the UK financial sector. They were committed to being supportive of females and, indeed, those who have been traditionally marginalized. In their interactions with females, they wanted to give them confidence and self-belief. They saw their communication skills as a strength, and this could lead to a sense of a professional sisterhood. This is contrary to what would be expected from a Queen Bee (Mavin, 2008). The women were conscious of the barriers that other women faced because they faced them. On issues such as work-life balance, they expressed sympathy and understanding, and they sought to create a flexible work environment where possible. This is certainly something that a Queen Bee would consider. Many of the women interviewed are committed to creating inclusive working environments. Moreover, many of the female leaders saw themselves as mentors who could assist women in achieving their personal goals and not as rivals, which is contrary to the Queen Bee (Neck, 2015). Their leadership style, which emphasizes collaboration, is also contrary to the behaviours of a female leader who sees others of her gender as rivals.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYet, despite this, female leaders cannot be seen as advocates for gender equality. Indeed, they often reinforce the masculine norms in the financial sector and unconsciously act like a Queen Bee, which is not examined in the literature \u0026nbsp;(Sobczak, 2018: Neck, 2015). For example, they value informal mentoring over formal mentoring. At the same time, they place little value on networking and reject quotas. They fear being taken as a token woman and perhaps a backlash from their male colleagues. In particular, they are concerned about their reputation and what it means to be seen as competent and loyal to the organization to conform to male norms of working, for fear of being seen as token women. By adopting these male expectations and practices, they often do not act in the best interests of their female colleagues (Neck, 2015). They are loyal to their organization, and this means that they are not able to advocate or negotiate for another woman. While they actively do not undermine female career progression, they are not doing enough to forge a ‘professional sisterhood’. The successful females often showed solidarity with other females, but only sometimes. Frequently, they were forceful and placed the organization's goals before those of other women (Sterks et al., 2018). Successful women usually showed more solidarity with other women, but at times, they did not. This could mean that many ambitious and younger females did not receive the support that they need to overcome the barriers to advancement to leadership that still exist and create ones that support wellness and human flourishing (Cagiano et al., 2024: Guillaume and Loufrani-Fedida, 2020).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Do the current female leaders create barriers for other women?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll of the females recognized the barriers that exist for women. However, they all believed that they could be overcome. Achieving goals and performing at a high level was ultimately all that was needed for the success of women. While there was agreement that women had to be supported, the level of support that was to be given was expected to be limited, and this is not enough for many females who may be suffering because of gender barriers or some other issue \u0026nbsp;(Sobczak, 2018: Guillaume and Loufrani-Fedida, 2020). This is seen in female leaders’ attitudes to initiatives such as quotas and formal networks. At least one of the interviewees did not accept the need for such initiatives. This is typical of the attitude of a classic Queen Bee. Moreover, this approach contradicts more progressive leadership styles (Caggiano et al., 2024).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile the interviewees all agreed that women faced barriers, there appeared to be an acceptance that some barriers had to be tolerated and overcome by the individual female; a version of the 'agency myth' is apparent here (Carian \u0026amp; Johnson, 2019). The female’s attitude to their own career and performance was similar to masculine leaders, and in this way, they were similar to male leaders. In some ways, female leaders act as a 'sub-group' and do not actively intervene to support the career progress of other women. While not seeing them as rivals, they do not help them enough (Neck, 2015). This may have the effect of reinforcing barriers. The motives for this may be due to the need to concentrate on their own performance and to meet their own goals. They are so focused on their own career path that they fail to support other women, as stated in their interviews. Being so goal-orientated means they are not helping other women advance their careers (Sobczak, 2018). Their behaviour could easily be construed by others as those associated with a Queen Bee.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIndeed, this could mean that the male-dominated culture of Finance is not challenged. A culture that privileges performance and goals is one that many women would be unhappy with, which could result in high turnover levels among female leaders. This could contribute to the underrepresentation of this sex in senior positions. Such a focus on performance is something that a Queen Bee would support, as well as the belief that women should do it on their own. This could mean that the women appeared to their female colleagues as unhelpful and aloof and displayed the characteristics of a Queen Bee, which is not really discussed in the literature. This could be construed as creating a barrier for women as they seek to navigate the challenging and competitive world of UK finance, which could impact individual women's wellness (Cagiano et al., 2024).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne potential way that successful women create barriers is by proving to be poor role models. A lack of role models is considered a barrier in the literature. This is even though the women did not separate themselves deliberately from other women, as stated by Ebrahami (2020). Many younger women would not accept having to lead or manage in ways similar to the sample interviewed. As noted above, too many female leaders have the characteristics of Queen Bees and display negative leadership traits. This could deter many females from entering Finance if they believed they needed to act in ways expected of a Queen Bee to advance.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe study found that most female leaders generally do not display many of the negative traits of a Queen Bee. They typically supported other women and did not see them as rivals. However, there are times when, consciously and unconsciously, they adopt the traits of a Queen Bee. Because of Finance's pressurized and goal-driven nature, female leaders are sometimes obliged to adopt the traits of a queen bee. They could be interpreted negatively by many women and even viewed as harassment. Generally, the females interviewed are gender sensitive and willing to support other females. This is contrary to the image of the Queen Bee. Indeed, the women did not act like a sub-group who distanced themselves from other women. However, they were sensitive to being classed as token women as they could lead to them being classed as Queen Bees. This fear and the focus on performance means that while they are generally supportive of other women, they are inconsistent. This is best seen when it comes to their hesitant support for formal mentoring, female networks and quotas. While female leaders in Finance do not see other women as rivals, like the Queen Bee, they are not supportive enough. There is a belief that it is ultimately up to the women themselves, and this is an attribute of the Queen Bee. In general, the female leaders all accepted that women had to overcome barriers just as they had, and this was also a trait of the Queen Bee. While the women had many positive leadership traits, they had adopted some of those associated with males, often unconsciously or because of the need to perform. In a number of ways, they were similar to Queen Bees. Female leaders in Finance, while recognizing barriers, need to do more. During the periods when they are identical to Queen Bees, they contribute to a culture that does not promote an inclusive environment or one where women feel they can advance their careers. The occasional similarities to the Queen Bee mean they can be poor role models and inadvertently reinforce gender barriers. To conclude, the concept of the Queen Bee is still relevant and an essential factor in the underrepresentation of females in leadership roles in UK finance.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePractical implications\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA number of recommendations concerning practice emerged from this study. The first is that there is a need for an in-depth study of how the characteristics of leaders who often exhibit Queen Bee traits impact how females experience the workplace. One practical suggestion is that there should be workshops that encourage female leaders to become more self-reflective, which could eliminate negative leadership traits. The theoretical concept of the Queen Bee can be used to persuade women to act in solidarity with other females. Relating the concept of the Queen Bee to certain behaviours can encourage female leaders to be more self-reflective, and this can lead to the adoption of characteristics that are discriminatory against other women. The Queen Bee concept can be used to help young female leaders adopt leadership traits that support other women. Tools such as the questionnaire developed by Chen and Ueh may help women understand if they are displaying the negative behaviours associated with the Queen Bee syndrome (2024). Moreover, this study has shown the continuing value of the theory of the Queen Bee in understanding gender equality.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eCaggiano, V., Ragusa, A. and Di Petrillo, E., 2024. The Challenge of Humanistic Management. In People and Organizations: Humanistic Management (pp. 49-68). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eCarian, E.K. and Johnson, A.L., 2019. The Agency Myth: Persistence in Individual Explanations for Gender Inequality. Social Problems.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eChan, Y.Y. and Uen, J.F., 2024. Development and Validation of a Measurement Scale for the Queen Bee Syndrome. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2024, No. 1, p. 13778). Valhalla, NY 10595: Academy of Management.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eDerks, B., Van Laar, C. and Ellemers, N., 2016. The queen bee phenomenon: Why women leaders distance themselves from junior women. The Leadership Quarterly, 27(3), pp.456-469.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eDerks, B., Ellemers, N., Van Laar, C. and De Groot, K., 2011. Do sexist organizational cultures create the Queen Bee? British Journal of Social Psychology, 50(3), pp.519-535.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eDrexler P. The tyranny of the queen bee. The Wall Street Journal. 2013 Mar 6;6(6):8.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eEbrahimi, E., 2022. Queen Bee Syndrome; The role of Gender Discrimination and women Gender Identification. Women Studies, 13(40), pp.1-19.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eGuillaume, M. and Loufrani-Fedida, S., 2020, July. Humanistic employability management of employees whose health at work is impaired: The case of a French public organization. In 36th European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS) Colloquium.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eMavin, S., 2008. Queen bees, wannabees and afraid to bees: no more \u0026lsquo;best enemies\u0026rsquo; for women in management?. British Journal of Management, 19, pp.S75-S84.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eHoyt, Crystal and Murphy, Susan E (2018). Managing to clear the air: Stereotype threat, women, and leadership quarterly, PP 387-399\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eNeck, C. (2015) Disappearing women: Why do women leave senior roles in Finance? Australian Journal of Management. Forty pp. 488-510.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eRoglish, Alison, Shemluck, Neda and D\u0026rsquo;Souza, Desiree (2021). Leadership, representation, and\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eGender equity in financial services. Deloitte. Available from https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/insights/industry/financial-services/women-in-the-finance-industry.html [Accessed 24/09/2023].\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eSobczak, A., 2018. The Queen Bee Syndrome. The paradox of women\u0026apos;s discrimination in the labour market. Journal of Gender and Power, 9(1), pp.51-61.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eSalles A, Choo EK. Queen Bee phenomenon: a consequence of the hive. The Lancet. 2020 Mar 21;395(10228):940.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eStaines, , T.E., 1974. The queen bee syndrome. Penguin: London.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eSterk, N., Meeussen, L. and Van Laar, C., 2018. Perpetuating inequality: Junior women do not see queen bee behavior as negative but are nonetheless negatively affected by it\u0026mdash;frontiers in psychology, 9, p.1690.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"University of Essex","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Queen Bee, underrepresentation, gender, finance, gendered, leadership, ","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5219987/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5219987/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eResearchers have long needed clarification on the continued underrepresentation of women in senior leadership roles in the United Kingdom finance sector. This study seeks to determine if the concept of the Queen Bee is still relevant to this subject. The study adopted a qualitative feminist methodology and collected data during interviews with 14 female leaders in Finance. The data showed that the women leaders did not regard themselves as Queen Bees. In general, they did not engage in negative behaviours towards other females. However, at times, they did exhibit the characteristics of a Queen Been. They tended to support other females, but their support was inconsistent because they held opinions similar to Queen Bees. Women leaders in Finance, because of some of their negative leadership traits, are not doing enough to support other women, and at times, they are reinforcing some gendered barriers and creating environments that do not support females’ advancement. The study found that the concept of the Queen Bee remains relevant to female underrepresentation in the workplace. Strategies should be implemented to rectify this and create more inclusive workspaces necessary for wellness and the flourishing of females in Finance.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Queen Bee characteristics among female leaders in UK finance and the underrepresentation of women in senior roles.","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-10-09 06:11:17","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5219987/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"cd69fb42-7af5-4bdf-a9fa-51f88b0cf87a","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 9th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":38644847,"name":"Other Business"},{"id":38644848,"name":"Gender Studies"},{"id":38644849,"name":"Leadership and Ethics"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-10-09T06:11:17+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-10-09 06:11:17","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-5219987","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-5219987","identity":"rs-5219987","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}