Gender and bullying in the academic workplace
Statistics on male and female bullying in the workplace based on a 2021 U.S. survey [1]
This guest post addresses the uncomfortable reality that women sometimes engage in academic bullying of their female colleagues.
By Alison E. Vogelaar with Janet G. Hering and Patricia A. Maurice
23 July 2024, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.12517196
As newsletter editor for the Academic Parity Movement (APM), a non-profit organization dedicated to addressing the problem of bullying and harassment in academia [2], I recently discovered Janet and Patricia’s Epistimi blog. My interest in joining APM was partly professional, as my area of research surrounds language and social movements, and partly personal, as I have both witnessed and experienced academic bullying, a form of workplace bullying (including harassment and discrimination) that occurs in higher education [3].
After reading many insightful Epistimi blog posts addressing the diverse challenges women face in leadership positions in higher education, I could not push away the nagging thought that the bullying, harassment, and discrimination that I witnessed and experienced in higher education was perpetrated by and large by other women in leadership roles. I found the lack of support (and at times outright hostility) from other women devastating and debilitating in ways that I wanted to interrogate. I reached out to Janet and Patricia about their interest in discussing the issue and true to form, they responded quickly and positively, proposing that we collaborate on a piece right here on this platform!
Who bullies whom?
While this post was inspired by my experience being bullied by other women, most perpetrators of workplace bullying in the U.S. are men [1]; according to the 2021 US Workplace Bullying Survey 67% of reported bullies were male and 33% female. Men are also much more likely to engage in sexual harassment, making them the more frequent perpetrators of relational mistreatment at work across the board. My experience may be more reflective of the phenomenon that, while men bully other men slightly more than women (58% compared with 42%), bullying by women is predominantly targeted at other women (65% compared with 35%) [1]. The topic of women mistreating other women at work is, however, “uncomfortable to confront” [4], so uncomfortable that executive coach Peggy Klaus has called it the “pink elephant in the room” [5]. In my experience, it was uncomfortable to confront not only because of the feeling of betrayal but primarily because I wanted to be sure that my own assessment of the situation wasn’t based in gendered biases and because I knew that the women doing the bullying had been the victims of gender-based bullying and harassment themselves.
Gender-based expectations and academic bullying
Both women and men harbor gender-based expectations regarding women’s behavior. As Janet and Patricia wrote in their blog [6] on Mary Ann Sieghart’s book “The Authority Gap” [7], this can lead to very different interpretations of the same behavior when exhibited by men versus women. In this context, it is important to ask ourselves, as I frequently did, whether we would judge behavior that we perceive as bullying from a woman differently if a man had exhibited that behavior. And by the same token, whether we should lower the standards for women or raise them for men. Women may also expect solidarity from other women, reflecting what Janet and Patricia have called “a self-evident interest in banding together to advocate for gender diversity” [8]. Thus, when women entering organizations as new employees are confronted by bullying or incivility by women in higher positions, they may experience a “sense of disappointment and even betrayal [that runs] even deeper than if they experienced the same from a male superior [4].” But, as Sieghart points out, women are not immune to unconscious gender bias or to organization pressures that motivate male bullying and are even subject – as women – to additional workplace pressures.
When and why women exhibit behavior that is or can be perceived as bullying
In the ideal case, all colleagues would be supportive of each other, acting ethically and respectfully. In the real world, however, both women and men can fall short of this ideal, which often runs counter to the competitive incentives that characterize academic workplaces. Some women may have internalized the belief that there are only a few spots for women’s advancement and thus view other women as competition for scarce resources. Unfortunately, this belief can reflect reality in some organizations. Bullying and discrimination may also arise from an internalized bias against women held by some women leaders. It is also an unfortunate reality that women who are perceived as supportive of their female colleagues may experience backlash [9]. Because of gender-based expectations, a senior woman’s behavior may be perceived as ‘bullying’ when the same behavior by a senior male might not be perceived in this way. Some senior women (and also men) may also perpetuate a ‘hazing’ mentality, imposing the same treatment on their junior colleagues that they experienced themselves. What is more, some discord between junior and senior colleagues (often women) may be provoked by ill-intentioned colleagues (often men) who exploit this discord for their own advantage.
What can women who experience bullying from senior female colleagues do?
Some junior women in this situation may feel that they should stay quiet about abuse, recognizing the challenges that senior women have overcome and the potential consequences of speaking out for the representation of women in leadership. This attitude, however, will not lead to the improvements in the academic working environment that many colleagues (both male and female) would like to bring about. As Janet and Patricia wrote in their post “It’s Not Pie…”, the changes that would make our academic institutions into better places to work would “ultimately [be] good for everyone regardless of race, gender, age, economic status, etc. [10].” The advice that Patricia gave in her post on dishonest colleagues is relevant here, specifically to: know your rights within your institution, keep a ‘paper trail’, seek alliances with individuals with integrity and (ideally) power, and stay marketable [11].
Pursuing formal grievance processes in the workplace can be fraught with difficulties. This is likely to be particularly problematic in same-gender complaints, in which harassment and discrimination in the workplace are “status-neutral” and do not involve parties from different protected classes of gender, race, religion, etc. [12].
Even so, it’s important not to lose hope or give up too quickly. Under such circumstances, women can find supportive friends and colleagues, join support in organizations (like the Academic Parity Movement), and find ways to build resilience (sleep, exercise, counselling, etc.).
How to make progress in confronting the uncomfortable
Raising awareness is always a critical first step. The literature on unconscious bias and gender-based expectations reviewed in Sieghart’s book provides a good basis for a discussion that acknowledges the complexity of the questions, relations, and dynamics involved in real (or perceived) bullying of women by other women. In a broader context, we can and should expect ethical professional behavior from all our colleagues, regardless of gender. We must, however, also be prepared for the real world.
In closing, here are a few questions to stimulate further thought and discussion:
· Have you observed or experienced same-gender bullying? If so, how did you react?
· Do you know of resources that could be helpful in dealing with same-gender bullying?
· If you were able to deal successfully with same-gender bullying, have you shared your experience and strategies with others? If you’d like to write a post for the Epistimi blog on your experience, contact us at epistimiblog@gmail.com.
References and notes
[1] https://workplacebullying.org/2021-wbi-survey-infographic/
[2] https://paritymovement.org/ (Note that Janet is an advisor for APM.)
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_bullying_in_academia
[4] Yamada, D.C. (2023) Four Basic Postulates Concerning Women and Workplace Bullying in the United States, 17 FIU Law Review, vol. 17, article 8. https://ecollections.law.fiu.edu/lawreview/vol17/iss4/8
[5] Klaus, P, (2009, updated 2011) "Getting Real: Women Reject A Post-Feminist Kumbaya” https://www.huffpost.com/entry/getting-real-women-reject_b_242332
[6] https://www.epistimi.org/blog/the-authority-gap-by-mary-ann-sieghart
[7] Sieghart, M.A. (2021) The Authority Gap, Doubleday, 374 pp.
[9] Johnson, S.K. and Hekman, D.R. (2016) Women and Minorities Are Penalized for Promoting Diversity, Harvard Business Review, https://hbr.org/2016/03/women-and-minorities-are-penalized-for-promoting-diversity
[11] https://www.epistimi.org/blog/liar-liar-campus-on-fire-how-to-cope-with-dishonest-colleagues
[12] https://workplacebullying.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2021-Full-Report.pdf