Are we sisters or are we sinners in the workplace?

Being a woman and working in a corporate world has its challenges but is one of them the other woman in your office? We like to think that us ” sisters” stick together in the still largely male dominated corporate world but is that true?

The weekend Australian recently (Jan31-Feb 1 2009) wrote about bullying amongst women (“The Sister Act”). The article suggested that it was alive and well in the female corporate world and it was often subtle and manipulative: ostracism, exclusion, spreading rumours and playing favourites.  It is so subtle and so devastating in its consequences that the women bullied can end up thinking that something is wrong with them and not the person who is bullying them.

But where did it start? Is it an adult phenonomen that occurs once we enter the corporate world? Is it simply  survival of the fittest in the work place?

A few years ago I had an early mid life crisis and left law to become a kindy teacher…yes you read correctly! I lasted as a kindy teacher for only 2 years, deciding that in fact law was easier!! But in those 2 years I witnessed disturbing behaviour amongst a group of middle class 4 year old girls. It was clear that one of the girls in my class, who I will call Jo, wanted to be a part of a group of 3 girls.  Jo was sweet, quiet and shy …a bit of a dreamer. The other girls didn’t want Jo to be a part of their group and so they would ignore her, walk away from her, sometimes play with her and then later say, “you’re not our friend anymore” . They teased her for being a dreamer and flaunted their friendships with each other, in front of her.

Sounds like bullying to me. I can imagine this behaviour repeating itself in these women’s lives in 20 years time, perhaps in a corporate setting when the stakes are higher than just friendship.

for more information on bullying and other types of illegal behaviour in the workplace, you can go to www.franca.com.au

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