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Woman at the management level 女性管理者 1 When Monica applied for a job as an administrative assistant in 1971, she was asked whether she would rather work for a male or a female attorney. "I immediately said a man," she says. "I felt that a male-boss/female-employee relationship was more natural, needing no personal accommodation whatsoever." But 20 years later, when she was asked the same question, she said, "I was pleasantly surprised that female bosses are much more accessible to their employees; they're much more sensitive and intimate with their employees." 当莫妮卡1971年申请一个行政助理的工作时，有人问她想与男律师共事还是与女律师共事。“我马上说想与男律师共事，”她说。“我认为男老板和女雇员的关系更自然，丝毫不需互相调整。”但20年后，有人问她同样的问题时，她说：“令我感到惊喜的是，对员工来说，女上司更容易接近，她们更能理解人，与员工更亲密。” 2 Female bosses today are still finding they face subtle resistance. There is still a segment of the population, both men and, surprisingly, women who report low tolerance for female bosses. The growing presence of female bosses has also provoked two major questions that revolve around styles: Do men and women manage differently, and, if so, is that a good thing? 今天的女上司仍然发现，她们面临着不易察觉的阻力。还是有一部分人——有男性，令人惊讶的是还有女性——说很难忍受为女性工作。女上司的不断涌现，也引出了与工作方式有关的两个主要问题：男人和女人管理风格不同吗？如果有不同，是一件好事吗？ 3 Monica is disposed to think so, on both counts. Now a 40-year-old mother of four, she is president of a public sector labor union with 45,000 members. "Relations with my employees are probably different from those of male managers preceding me," she says. "I know what it's like to have to call and say my kid got the mumps so I won't be coming in. I have a more flexible style — not soft, just more understanding." The man who is Monica's assistant agrees, "She tends to delegate more and is always looking for a consensus. People are happy and flourish because they have an input into decisions and they are not mere bystanders; their energies are harnessed. On the other hand, consensus takes longer." 莫妮卡对这两个问题都持肯定的意见。莫妮卡现在40岁，有四个孩子，并且是一位拥有45,000名成员的公共部门工会的主席。“我与员工的关系可能跟在我之前的前任男性主管不同，”她说。“我知道当有人不得不打电话来说孩子得了腮腺炎而不能来上班是一种什么样的状况。我的风格更灵活，这不是软弱，只是多了一点理解。”莫妮卡的男助理表示赞成：“她往往放权更多，并总是寻求共识。大家都很开心，也有成就感，因为他们参与了决策，而不是单纯的旁观者。他们的能量得到了利用。当然从另一方面看，通过协商而达成一致意见需要的时间要长一些。” 4 So, are the differences symbolic or real? Plausible studies suggest that men are typically hierarchical, goal-oriented and feel entitled. Women, by contrast, manage diplomatically, and share power. That point of view is often challenged and argued. Some proclaim that men and women of similar backgrounds, experience and aspirations basically manage in the same way. This view is echoed by younger women, especially those who have encountered little gender discrimination. That was certainly the lesson for Nicole. When her father died of a heart attack, she was an employee at a petroleum products export company. She quit and took over her family's 160-acre fruit farm in St. David's County. On her first day in the field, a worker called her "darling". "He was trying to test me. I was shaking with anger," says Nicole, now 34. "I stood erect and said, 'You wouldn't have called my father darling and you're not going to take that liberty with me. If you do, I'll fire you.'" 那么，这种差异是象征性的还是实质性的呢？可靠的研究指出，男人通常有等级观念，以目标为导向，喜欢有权力的感觉。相反，女人则是灵活变通的，愿意分享权力。这一观点往往受到质疑和争论。有人宣称，有类似的背景、经验和抱负的男女，基本上管理方式相同。那些年轻女性，特别是很少遭受性别歧视的女性，也是这样认为的。妮可尔无疑从中得到了教训。当她的父亲因心脏病去世时，她是一家石油产品出口公司的雇员。她辞了职，接管了她家在圣大卫县160英亩的果园。她第一天出现在果园时，一名工人称她为“亲爱的”。“他是想试探我。我气得发抖，”现年34岁的妮可尔说。“我挺直腰板站在那里跟他说：‘你不会称我父亲亲爱的，所以你也没有权利这样称呼我。如果你再这样做，我会解雇你。’” 5 When women work for women, a different dynamic often takes over. Susan, a cashier in a Toronto auction house, says that she has explored friendships with some of her female bosses and feels she can rely on them more. While women may feel more at ease with a female boss, men often have to make concessions to the new working styles. Brian, a marine biologist, says, "It took me a couple of years before I felt comfortable enough to relax around a female manager. In fact, my relations with her were much more businesslike." 当女性为女上司工作时，往往会用一种不同的工作和交流方式。苏珊是多伦多一家拍卖行的收银员，她说，她与一些女上司建立起了友谊，她感到她们更能够依靠。虽然女性可能会觉得与女上司相处时更自然，男性却往往不得不作出改变以适应女上司新的工作方式。海洋生物学家布赖恩说：“我花了几年时间才能在与女经理共事时感到轻松自如。事实上，之前我与她的关系更多只是一种务实的工作关系。” 6 To some extent, the male-female differences come down to conflicting styles. One female vice-president discussed the time she burst into tears during a meeting. "Men think that tears are a nuclear weapon in a conventional war. They take exception to a woman crying, inferring that she's feeling unhappy or violated." The men failed to understand that what prompted her tears was not hurt but genuine rage. "When we cry, it's because we have all this valid rage that has no appropriate release," she says. "Women cry; men get relief by going on with the offense or by veiling their feelings to appear composed." 从某种程度上说，男女之间的差异归根结底是工作方式的冲突。一位女副总裁谈到她在一次会议上忍不住落泪的经历时说：“男人认为女人的眼泪就是常规战争中的核武器。他们对女人的哭泣很不满，认为她们是感觉不愉快或受到了侵犯。”男人不明白，促使她掉泪的不是因为受到伤害，而是真正的愤怒。“我们哭泣是因为我们所有这一切合理的愤怒没有适当的地方释放，”她说。“女人通过哭来释放情绪，男人通过继续冒犯或掩盖自己的情绪以显示镇定自若来释放情绪。” 7 Deborah, president of a firm with its headquarters in Toronto, says that even if men do understand, they sometimes react differently to the identical information and to her cooperative management style. 德博拉是一家总部在多伦多的公司的总裁，她表示，即使男人明白是怎么回事，有时他们对同样的信息、对她的合作型管理风格也会有不同的反应。 8 Deborah says that her authority is sometimes undermined by perceptions about her gender. "It stems from the whole social context of traditional roles for men and women," she says. "Mom would tell you to do things, but perhaps you wouldn't take as much notice as when Dad told you to do things. Men also have a stronger urge to control," she says. 德博拉说，她的权威有时因性别观念作祟而受到损害。“这源于整个社会对男性和女性的传统角色的界定，”她说。“妈妈会让你做事情，但也许你不会像爸爸让你做事情那样在意。男人也有更强的控制欲。”她说。 9 For female bosses, the great expectation of some female employees is one more obstacle. Junior women assume a female boss will promote them more quickly than a man would. But, they also expect female bosses to be more self-sufficient. "They ask, 'Why can't you scan your own stuff?' or 'Why can't you do your own filing?'" says one senior female executive. 对女上司来说，一些女员工过高的期望是另一个障碍。职位较低的女员工认为女上司会比男上司更迅速地提拔她们。但是，她们也希望女上司能揽下更多的事。一位资深的女主管说：“她们会问，‘为什么你不能自己扫描文件？’或‘为什么你不能自己整理文件？’” 10 On the other hand, there is no dispute that a few decades ago they would rarely have had a female boss in the workplace. Nina, a management consultant says she's vaguely optimistic. "I'm looking forward to the day, before I die, when we recognize that the best management styles will be composed of the best that both genders bring to the table ..." Well, she pauses, maybe not before she dies, perhaps in her daughter's lifetime. 另一方面，几十年前人们工作的地方几乎不可能有女上司，这一点毫无争议。管理顾问尼娜说自己审慎乐观。“我期待某一天，在我临死之前，我们会意识到最好的管理风格是由男女双方带来的最佳组合……”嗯，她停顿了一下，可能不是在她去世之前，也许在她女儿的有生之年会实现吧。 |
