Women who work for a female supervisor reported more stress and physical symptoms of ill health than women who have a male boss.

According to research carried out by the University of Toronto, women who have both male and female managers also reported more stress than those who have a male line manager.

Among men there were no differences, regardless of their boss's gender. However, those who had both male and female managers reported lower stress levels than those who had one male supervisor.

Scott Schieman, professor of sociology at the University of Toronto, said: "The gender of supervisors matters differently for the health of [female] and [male] subordinates and this pattern generally holds in an array of workplace conditions."