A report from Reabur has revealed 38% of respondents believe women make better bosses than men, while 33% think it is irrelevant what gender a boss is. Just under a third (29%) thought men were better bosses.
Of the 1,182 people polled across the UK there was an equal amount of men and women that took part. All of those who responded to the poll had had both male and female bosses in the past.
According to the results, 38% agreed that women make better bosses than men. 59% of these respondents said it was because women are more ‘understanding’ than men while 26% think women make better bosses because they are ‘more assertive’ than male bosses.
Of those polled, 62% currently have a male boss and 24% have a female boss; the remaining 11% have both a female and male boss. When asked ‘do you think you have a good relationship with your boss?’ 1 in 5, 19%, of those with a male boss answered ‘yes’ compared to 28% who answered ‘yes’ with a female boss.
More than a third (38%) of the respondents cited that they feel more comfortable discussing personal issues with a female superior. More than half, 51%, agreed that women are more ‘organised’ at work than men, however in contrast 43% believe that men are more ‘capable’ in the work place.
A fifth said that they feel ‘intimidated’ by their male boss compared to just 12% of those with a female boss. A further 51% cited that they ‘respect’ their male boss, slightly more than the 42% that said they ‘respect’ their female boss.
Although 38% cited that they think women are better management than men, 33% of those asked don’t have a preference to what gender their boss is.
Georgina Read, co-founder of Reabur, said: "Gender shouldn’t make a difference when it comes to management roles. You would hope that now we are in 21st century, equality would just be a given. I don’t think gender plays a role at all in whether a person has the ability to be in a management position.
"I can understand that some would find it easier to confide in a woman or a man, but I think that is just a personal preference. A boss is a person who should always be approachable and it’s important that all managers handle sensitive situations gracefully and discreetly."
