There is a growing debate about women in senior management roles (or the lack of them in senior management roles). It’s a valid debate and those who are involved in management are probably having an educated discussion about it (well, hope so!).
As a blogger and reader of all things digital, I see a lot of sentences that when they mention a boss usually say “Speak to your boss, he will …blah blah blah” or something along the lines of “Speak to your boss, they will …. blah blah blah”
Why does no one ever write “Speak to your boss, she will…. blah blah blah” ?
A boss shouldn’t by default have to be a HE
Men by default are not born bosses. It’s not a right of man to be a boss. I’ve got anything against them us (cos I am a man you know). If I have to look back at my short career so far, I’ve had more female bosses than males.
In the past 4 years, I’ve had 3 female bosses. I’ve never felt “I need a male manager!” who even thinks that way? Yet we have statistics like one-third of Americans say they prefer a male boss.
The gender of my boss has not made any difference to me or my career so far. So I don’t think when I write I should by default assume a boss as a he.
I hate writing “they” for boss
Think about all the digital content youngsters are now consuming. And by writing “they” for a boss – you are just being incorrect. It can never be written as a “they” – it’s grammatically incorrect.
Now, one will ask why don’t I write he/she when I am speaking about a boss. And the truth is, because it’s time consuming and too tedious to keep in mind. Inadvertently I will slip at some point.
So now what?
Well, from now on, the boss in my articles will always be a “She”. It will help me be consistent and if I have to randomly pick a choice, I’ve picked “She” for a boss.
I write for students and graduates and feel in part it is our duty to help educate them that a male or a female boss doesn’t matter.
So many blogs are published which attribute boss to a “he” by default. So this is my small way of changing that, in my blog from now on the boss will always be a “She”.
To my male bosses – you are as good as female bosses. Don’t feel insecure.
Whilst you are on the same topic, here are 5 myths about why there aren’t women at top (Guardian). Also the number of women in top management is stagnant at 24% (Forbes)
