1. 09 May, 2016
Supervisor: Dr Gabriel Faimau
QUEEN BEE SYNDROME AS A FACTOR
INFLUENCING THE EXISTENCE OF THE
GLASS CEILING WITHIN THE PRIVATE
SECTOR IN GABORONE
Department of Sociology
Data Analysis & Report Writing
SOC 442
Ms T Bolotsang
201201644

2. 2
ABSTRACT
For many years, researches have been conducted to understand the cause of low numbers of
womenintopmanagerial positions.Thisresearchhasidentifiedpossible explanations for the fewer
femalesandthe underrepresentationof women among executive positions in the private sector in
Gaborone.The displayof the queenbee syndromebyfemalesinthe top management positions can
be a reason. The Queen Bee Syndrome is a term used to describe women in executive position
withina male dominated field, and have alienated other women who are in junior position by her
behaviour, hence regarded as a barrier to the advancement of other women in their careers and
vocations. The queen bee fails to cooperate with other women or assist women in career
development,surroundsherselfwithmale colleagues, and is rather slow paced in mentoring other
women.
The aim of the current study was to examine the existence of the Queen Bee Syndrome in the
private sector in Gaborone and to identify the behaviour that could be associated with it. The
purpose of the current study was to explore the existence of the queen bee syndrome within top
managerial womenandthe extenttowhichthe queen bee behaviour has led to a fewer number of
women in top management positions.
A total of 10 women in both executive and junior positions from 5 private companies around
Gaborone were interviewed, these women were asked to relate their personal experiences to the
queen syndrome. The method of open code and axial code was used to analyse the response
collectedfromthe 10 respondents.The findingsreveal thatthe queenbee behaviour exists and the
stereotyping towards females is in a way related to the queen bee behaviour. Importantly that,
females holding high positions had been mentored by males giving these females the need to
aggression to fill the shoes of their mentors.
The study waslimitedto5 organizationswithinthe private sectoronly,future studiescaninvestinto
the public sector or a larger number of organizations.
KEYWORDS: QueenBee Behaviour,executive women,female stereotyping, leadership, mentoring,
glass ceiling.

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TABLE OF CONTENT
ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... 2
INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….4
BACKGROUND………………………………………………………………………………….……………………….. 6
PROBLEM STATEMENT………………………………………………………………………………………………… 7
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY………………………………………………………………………………………. 8
RESEARCH AIM/ OBJECTIVES AND QUESTIONS………………………………………………………………. 9
METHODOLOGY………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 10
FINDINGS……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 12
DISCUSSION………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 17
CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS………………………………………………………………………….. 20
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 21
CONSENT FORM………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 24
RESEARCH INTERVIEW QUESTIONS……………………………………………………………………………….. 26
TRANSCBRIBING DATA……………………………………………………………………………………………………….27

4. 4
INTRODUCTION
The enrolment of females compared to males into primary and secondary schools, both in private
and publicschoolsinBotswanaacrossthe yearsof 2000-2010 has beensubstantivelyequal,evenso,
it is noticeable that the numbers of female to male decreases as the level of authority climbs the
ladder (UNDP, 2012).
Womenare deniedthe opportunitytosuccessfullyreach the top position across many fields due to
many different factors that affect them directly and otherwise, ranging from gender stereotypes,
family related barriers and religion or traditions (Rayan & Halsam, 2007). Females are often
appointedtomiddle managerial positions or risky positions that brings them to undeniable failure
(Stockdale & Bhattacharga, 2009). For instance, many people would hold the stereotypical believe
that men are better managers than women, or that women cannot withstand the responsibilities
and role expectations that comes with being a top manager or holding a top position because
women primarily seen as the caretakers in a household set up.
This distorted view, yet relatively alive within many societies has made it difficult for women to
change the perspective of the societyandsometimesevenforthemselves,toprospersuccessfullyin
their careers. Experimental research has proven that due to the stereotype, it results in the
preference of male candidatesoverfemale candidatesforpromotionatthe workplace (VanVaine &
Willemen, 1992). In some cases, a successful woman is seen or labelled not by their ability of
acquiring the position through performance but rather by extraordinary effort like using their
sexuality,yettheirmale counterpartwiththe same achievementisregardedascompetent(Deaux &
Emswiller, 1971) (Tayor & Deaux, 1973) (Ellemers, van den Heuvel, de Gilder, Maass, & Bonvini,
2004).
The Glass ceiling as it is famously known, a word made widely spread in the 1980s’ referring to the
barrierthat preventswomenfromreachingthe topmanagerial positioninorganizations,thisbarrier
carries weights of historical sanctions, educational, cultural, legal and social issues and is
psychological and structural to females (Adler, 1993).
“The glass ceiling is from our own making, if there is one at all. We have to keep banging our heads
on the glass ceiling and eventually it will shatter –or our heads will” – A female executive vice
president of a fortune 500 company (Mainiero, 1994; 5). Even though all factors may be true in
denyingwomenachance at the top table,itisvital to take note that recentresearchhas proventhat
women themselves play a part unintentionally in influencing the glass ceiling (Ellemers, van den
Heuvel, de Gilder, Maass, & Bonvini, 2004). Women in top positions of organizations are generally
unhelpful to women in junior positions, either because of the fear of competition from other
females or because of the desire of maintaining and remaining unique in the entire organization
(Derks, Ellemers, & Van Laar, 2009).
This behaviour by the female senior manager is referred to as the ‘Queen Bee Syndrome’ by G.L
Stainesinthe early1970s’. Marvindescribesthis behaviour as naturally typical in females, “There is
no male equivalent of the Queen Bee. ‘Bad behaviour' from men in senior roles is often expected,
accepted or ignored — reinforcing the assumed rightful place of men as bosses, regardless of

5. 5
behaviours. Men who do not support each other in the career stakes are not blamed by other men”
(Mavin, 2008; 17).
The existence of the QueenBee Syndrome inthe organizationscantherefore influence the existence
of the glass ceiling just as much as other factors could, but to what extent does it influence it, how
much does it affect the female junior managers are questions to be asked.

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BACKGROUND
Women discrimination in the work place has been a battle that has been going on for years both
nationallyandglobally.The International LabourOrganization’s (ILO) Global Employment Trends of
2003 report that women stand to have lower labour market participation rate, as opposed to men.
40 % of global labour force is represented by women, 70% and 60% in developed and developing
countriesrespectively (International Labour Organization, 2003), this makes females stand slightly
higher than the male rate for the world (6.4 % for female, 6.1% for male). When comparing the
labour market of women to men on the employment-to-population ration, women stand at 47.1%
and menat 72.2% (InternationalLabourOrganization, 2015), this then leaves women to low paying
or undervalued jobs. 49.1% of world’s working women were vulnerable to employment as
compared to men at 46.9% in 2013 (The World Bank, 2012). In 2006 Botswana’s GDP per capita
reached USD (PPP) 12,744, ranking 57th
in the world, estimated per capita earned income was USD
15,240 for men and USD 10,275 for women, thus, the ratio of the average female to male income
was 0.68 (The Decisions for Life MDG3 project , 2009).
United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals no 3(MDG3 goals); Promote Gender Equality and
Empower Women, the Sustainable Development Goal no 5(SDG5 goal); Gender Equality together
with the women’s right and welfare are promoted and protected by the Women’s Affairs
Departmentin the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs in Botswana, the department also adheres
to providing grants to NGO’s on women’s issues. The UN in Botswana state that one of the 3 goals
has been met; reducing gender disparity in all educations, and the other 2 goals are yet to be met,
being; reducing gender disparity in access to and control productive resources by 2015, and
increasing the participation of women in leadership, governance and decision-making by at least
60% by 2016 (The Decisions for Life MDG3 project, 2009).
Botswana is driven and guided by several factors, including international conventions, influence
from trade unions and cultural norms to put focus into mitigating the gender employment issues
that have been persisting (Makgala & Maundeni, 2010). Even so, the numbers of female in high
managerial positionisnotsatisfactory,GuyRyderstatesthat Gender balance is increasingly seen as
good investment for business, and that striking gender balance in management teams within a
business or company makes financial sense (International Labour Organization 2015, 2015).
One of the reasons cited for the increase in the number of women in executive positions is that
“business leaders are beginning to realize that organizational credibility begins with how
organization looksin terms of genderand ethnic diversity” (Klenke, 2003:1030). Marketing guru Tom
Peters asserted that “if a board does not resemble at all the market being served, then something
[big], is [badly] wrong”(Alsfine, 2006).

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PROBLEM STATEMENT
Botswanastandsamongstothercountriesinthe top 30 globally,thathave achievedsignificantsteps
in empowering women to occupy the managerial positions (Thronton, 2012), yet the
underrepresentationof womeninseniorpositioncontinues, a large number of them either fall and
remain at the middle management level (Ryan, 2007). The glass ceiling still remains intact, though
the cracks may not be noticeable,due tothe effortsbeingtakenby the government to eliminate all
barriers that may hinder women from reaching the top positions. The expectations were that the
genderbalance wouldbe struckina short spanof time,despitethe government’srefusal to sign the
SADC Protocol on Gender and Development protesting for 50 per cent target in gender equality
(Kayawe, 2015). Previous studies tend to focus on the gender imbalance at the workplace as an
aspect being influenced by cultural and social attitudes towards what constitutes a “male” or
“female” job and gender inequality in education and training, which have resulted in both sexes
beingstreamed(orstreamingthemselves) intodifferentprofessionsandthe low number of women
inhighmanagerial positions(Thronton,2012).Ellemer’s journal article on“The underrepresentation
of women in science”, shows us that women as a social group, too tend to act against each other,
which then results in the maintenance of low level positions (Ellemers, 2004).
Researchersargue thatthisis causedbythe genderdiscrimination where men are the monster and
womenare the victimto thiscruel behaviour(De Groot, 2008), howeverwomentoo,see eachother
as rivals, this denies the lower positioned women to reach the top positions, due to the senior
managerial women. This behaviour in women, was termed by G.L. Strains as the “Queen Bee
Syndrome”,womenneedtoportraytheir male assertiveness character in order to fulfil their duties
effectively, resulting in senior women managers competing with other females (Warning &
Buchanan, 2009). De Groot (2010; 16) states: “As these women no longer see themselves as typical
female, they disassociate themselves from feminity and view themselves exceptional, while at the
sametime they strongly believethat all other women still possessthesetypical female features; soft,
cooperative, etc” (De Groot (2010), deals with conditions where it can appear and how it can be
reduced. The reasonsforthe disassociationfromfeminityis because of the stereotype that women
are less competent leaders and do not fit positions in male dominate professions and leadership
positions that require assertiveness (Lemkau, 1979).
The outcomes of this hostile and unfriendly behaviour of the Queen Bee has caused gender
discrimination thatwomenexperience in their careers, and the addressing of individual workers in
termsof theirgendergroups,whichleadswomentocomplywithexistinggenderstereotypes to the
degree that they affect other women.
The purpose of this study was to explore the existence of the Queen Bee Syndrome within top
managerial women,andthe extenttowhichthe queen bee behaviour has to the fewer numbers of
women in top management positions.

8. 8
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The study wasmeantto create awarenessof the Queen Bee Syndrome as one of the barriers to the
career advancement of females operating in corporate cultures of Botswana’s private companies.
The awarenessgivesthe companiesthe opportunitytocreate an environmentwherejunior females
are not denied opportunity of advancement in their careers, and for companies to work on the
actual advancementandempowermentof females,withoutcreatinganyhostility or animosity with
the females already in the senior positions.
The study gives women the ability to take note and look out for tell-tale signs of the Queen Bee
behaviourand deeds amongst the female’s colleagues. It also encourages women who are able to
prosper through the working levels to not allow themselves to be controlled by the behaviour or
allow the Queen Bee behaviour to hamper with their prosperities and career advancement.
By provingthe existence of the QueenBee Syndrome withinthe seniorpositionedfemales,it should
no longer be a reason for the fewer numbers of females in the top positions in the corporates in
Botswana.

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RESEARCH AIM/ OBJECTIVES AND QUESTIONS
AIM
The study aimed at examining the existence of the Queen Bee Syndrome in the private sector in
Gaborone, and the behaviours that are associated with it.
OBJECTIVES
The research sought to;
1. Discover the existence of the Queen Bee Syndrome in the private sectors in Gaborone.
2. Identify the ways in which the Queen Bee behaviour displays itself in females that hold
senior position.
3. Determine the implications of the Queen Bee Syndrome at the work place on the
employees’ performance and effectiveness.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. Is the glass ceiling recognizable enough in the private sector, and at which levels of
management does it exist?
2. Is there any linkage of the Queen Bee behaviour to the existing glass ceiling?
3. What are the characteristicsthatqualifyafemale inanexecutive position to be regarded as
a Queen Bee?
4. Is the Queen Bee behaviour noticeable in senior positioned females only, or is it also
amongst the junior positioned females as well?
5. What impacts does the Queen Bee behaviour have on the organization and on the junior
positioned female’s career?

10. 10
METHODOLOGY
Research Approach
Thisstudyused the inductive approach method. This is mainly because the primary purpose of the
studywas to explore the existence of the QueenBeeSyndromewithinthe sampled private sectorial
organizations in Gaborone. The inductive approach was the most ideal because it focuses on
exploring new phenomena and looking at previous researches made about the phenomenon the
study is dealing with, and looking at different perspectives made by different writers, which is all
found at the literature review of the study.
Research Design
Obtaining qualitative data was the aim of the study, adopting a descriptive phenomenological
method design. Qualitative data was acquired through the personal experiences of the research
sample and an in-depth interviews based on semi-structured questions. By employing a
phenomenological tradition the study was able to capture the essence of life experiences of the
participants and depict a profound picture of the Queen Bee Syndrome in senior managerial
females. The study did not test any hypothesis.
Sample
Sampling allows the researcher to obtain a representative picture about the population, without
studying the entire population (Molenberghs, 2010). The sample that was used in this study was
fromplacesin Gaborone, these were private sectorial organizations in Botswana. The selection of
the organizationswasbasedonthe coverage of management in different fields, including banking,
entertainment, network service, health and television. The organization are; First National Bank
Botswana, Oliver’s Event Group, Orange Botswana, Gaborone Private Hospital and Multichoice
Botswana.
Women holding senior management roles in Botswana stand at a percentage of 31% (Thronton,
2012), this is slightly above a quarter of the decision-making heads. A sample size of 5 women
executives,withthe ratio of 1 woman to every 5 managerial positions in an organization was used,
thisallowedawell-managednumberandclearerpicture of the women in senior positions. Another
5 womenwere sampledoccupyingmiddle-managementpositionswithinthe sampledorganizations,
totaling to a number of 10 women, all of them had more than 3 years’ experience, that was to
ensure sufficient amount of experience in the field.
Sampling Strategy
A stratified sampling technique was applied across all the samples; this allowed the research to
collecta significantnumberof femalesto sample within the sampled organizations. The use of this
technique of sampling allowed a significant number of respondents, whereby the participants
responses were too much to handle. With the simple size chosen, the data collected had fewer
limitations of the methodology, but rather a more diverse view.

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Method of Data Collection
Tenin-depthsemi-structuredinterviewswere usedasamethod to collectdata.The interviewswere
conducted face-to-face at the employees’ work place, guided by a combination of broad, open-
ended and specific questions. The title of the research was changed when collecting data to
“Women to Women Relationships at the Workplace in the Private Sector in Gaborone”. This was
meantto avoidthe labellingthatmay have arisenwhen answering the questions to a research with
the current title. Women tend to want to be thought of as pleasing and not associated with the
Queen Bee Behaviour, hence the change of the title of the research. The interviews were of a
duration of 20-30 minutes. In-depth interview ensured ample description data, and illustrate the
complexities of human experiences and enabled a holistic perspective of a phenomenon (Patton,
1990). The questions were divided into categories of the research questions to ensure in-depth
collection of the information.
Data Analysis Method
The data collected from the interviews was analyzed using the open and axial coding analysis
method. The research used a grounded theory approach, interviews were transcribed, coded and
analyzed for themes that shared relating with the research questions and the objectives (Glaser &
Strauss, 1967). A systematic comparison of the current study data, applying open, axial and
systematic coding to phenomena. Enhancing the data analysis, the study employed a scholar-to-
scholar feedback, and observer’s comments (OCs).

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FINDINGS
THE EXISTENCE OF THE QUEEN BEE SYNDROME
 Women in executive positions are more reluctant to assist or coach other women in their
career development and aspiration.
 Both womeninthe juniorandsenior positions have had an experience with the Queen Bee
Behaviour, currently or as a past experience.
 Systematic discrimination against women.
RELUCTANCE TO ASSIST OTHER WOMEN
Women in senor positions lack the propensity to assist other women in their career development
and the nurturing of talent of junior levelled women. The respondents indicated how senior
positionedwomenwereratherslowpacedinshowingsignsof the desire to develop the efforts and
the performances of their juniors. The records officer at the Gaborone Private Hospital who
responded saying “female bosses ‘red-tape’ the advancements of other women.” The red-tape
concept means adhering to unnecessary and complicated tasks and procedures to get assistance,
she alsoexplainedhow one of these complex actions were to earn the senior positioned woman’s
liking. The junior accountant at Oliver’s Events Group mentioned that a senior position woman
wouldnotnormallyassistherjuniors because she is of the view that they need to “have it hard” as
she did.She also believes that ,women in executive positions feel that by assisting her juniors she
would be spoon feeding them to excelling and surpassing her.
Evenso, womeninexecutive positionsholdstrongpositionsespecially in patriarchal society such as
the one in Gaborone, these women have to fill the shoes of the boss at the work place and of a
motherat her household.These womentendtobecome individual focused,leaving them with little
or no time at all to mentor,coach or assistherjuniorfemalesornurture theirtalents.The marketing
managerof Orange Botswana sharedherexperience as she admitted to not being able to assist her
junior colleagues as she has limited time in a day to get her job done and still be a mother at her
home,andthat she is alsoundertakingsome studieswhichleavesherexhausteddaily. The Director
of Multichoice Botswana also hinted on not having enough time to mentor her juniors.
Womenintop managerial positionswouldnormallyhave more rolesthanhermale counterpart;this
makeswomenstandonthe lee-wardside of the situation, making them reluctant to cooperate and
to assist their juniors.
THE EXISTENCE AND EXPERIENCE WITH THE QUEEN BEE SYNDROME
The Queen Bee Syndrome is not a famously used and known term by many women in the private
sector in Gaborone. The definitions used to describe the Queen Bee Behaviour were from the
perspectivesof different studies, the definition adopted in the current study is; the behaviour of a
woman in authority who view and treat subordinates more critically if they are females , was

13. 13
somewhat similar to the perceptions of most respondents. The Nursing Manager of Gaborone
Private Hospital definedthe QueenBee as“a woman who is jealous of her junior because she fears
she may steal her lime-light,” this definition has aspects of similarity to previous studies that had
explained the Queen Bee Behaviour. Other respondents gave definitions that had common key
words such as insecure, controlling, mean, hush and bitch.
The encounters with women who held or possessed characteristics of the Queen Bee Syndrome
differedwitheachrespondent, yetall indicatingoradmited thattheyhave come acrosssuch once or
twice in their career life. The Finance Manager of First National Bank Botswana spoke of how she
had a hard time adjusting to her stay with the organization when she started work, her boss made
her feel incompetent in the organization as she crushed every comment, point or statement she
made. While the Director of Multichoice Botswana said she left her previous job because she felt
that she was notgoingto move up the ranks anytime soon, yet she had been with the organization
for a while, her boss saw to it that she remains stagnant for as long as she was still with the
organization.
The QueenBee Behaviourismostlyexperienced at middle management level, because there are a
lotof femalesatthislevel. Juniorfemaleswere deniedopportunitiestoapplyforpromotionastheir
female bossessaidtheywerenotqualifiedenoughyettheymetall requirementsfor the application
and the jobposts.It is evidentthatmovingfromalowerleveltomiddle management for females is
rather easierandthe numbersof femalestomale candidates at this level is more than enough. The
records officer of Gaborone Private Hospital suggests that this behaviour is mostly prone to single
female as they are petty and have less to occupy their time with.
SYSTEMIC DISCRIMSINSTION AGAINST WOMEN
Successful women who had gained prominence in top managerial ranks believe that the systemic
discrimination against women still exists, the gender segregation became imprinted onto the
female’s perceptions of themselves and of other women. The women that were discriminated
against are now holding decision-making positions in organizations and they still hold the same
perception that females are not worthy to hold big positions in the organizations. The Orange
Botswana Marketing Manager discussed the implications of being the only woman in a male
dominatedfieldand how this gives some females the sense that they are more other women who
can withstand being in a board of just men and survive.
The JuniorManager of Multichoice Botswana spoke of how Multichoice is a French based company
where the culturesandthe structuresof companies are far much different from Botswana. This has
an influence in the decisions made in the organization including its gender issues and otherwise.
Other influencing factors across all companies has an impact on the number of females in top
positions as they are all private companies and most originating from western and middle west
countries.Some womenwouldnotdenythe existenceof the discrimination to protect their level of
achievement within the sector and to promote their effectiveness.

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WAYS IN WHICH THE QUEEN BEE BEHAVIOUR DISPLAYS IN FEMALES THAT HOLD SENIOR
POSITIONS
 Queen Bees’ do not subscribe to having many women who work around them or in close
relation with them.
 A queen display negative emotion and relational sabotage towards other females.
 A woman with the Queen Bee Syndrome would be stingy with information.
SURROUNDING THEMSELVES WITH MEN
The desire towork withmale candidatesisprevalentwithwomenworking both at junior and senior
level of management. Women suggest that is it easier to work with a male co-worker as they are
more approachable thanfemales.The recordsofficerof Gaborone Private Hospital stated that male
bosses nurture talent and offer career development, while the Director of Multichoice Botswana
was more kin on elaborating how males deliver at all times without fail as compared to female
candidates. “Men would not compete amongst each other in a way that would sabotage the
organization, they encourage each other and work together as a team,” said the junior manager of
Orange Botswana. It is easy for a woman to be associated with the crowd that does better in the
organization,hence the desire forQueenBeestohave themcloselyworking with her at a first-hand
level.Byhavingmanymenaroundher,the QueenBee feelsmore like amale herself whichgives her
a dose to fill the shoes of her position efficiently and effectively.
NEGATIVE EMOTION AND RELATIONAL SABOTAGE
Women are more likely to compete with one another, this behaviour is found at all levels of
management.The scene of competitionamongstwomeninthe workplace ismostlynoticeablewhen
the organizationisinfestedwithmanywomenandeachseekingtoprove theirworthfor promotion,
whichisthe case withmostorganizationatthe middle managementlevel.Females possess feelings
of jealousyforotherwomenthatprogressintheircareer.The NursingManagerof Gaborone Private
Hospital shared her experience where she explained that most women that are jealous would
compete with you, but in situations where competing with you is impossible they would resort to
sabotagingyourcareer. ThisbehaviourinmostseeninQueenBeesthatholdveryhighpositions and
are threatened by a female’s performance; she would damage ones developments to keep them
stagnant at a lower position.
The JuniorAccountantat Oliver’seventsGroupspoke aboutthe negative emotionsthatQueen Bees
have towards other females, she explained that Queen Bees have a personal black book where all
the people she dislikes are listed. Queen Bees would display negative emotion to other women at
the work place through downgrading their performance or ridiculing them in front of other staff.
Havingnegative emotionstowardsone leadstosabotagingtheircareer, this a behaviour noticeable
in Queen Bees.

15. 15
STINGY WITH INFORMATION
Withholdinginformationfromthe juniors is found to be very popular among the senior positioned
femalesinorganizations. The actismere usedto prove thatfemalesare inconsistentinperformance
are delivery of work and hence undeserving for promotion or credit. The Junior Accountant of
Oliver’sEventsmentioned that a Queen Bee would set a target she knows you can’t meet because
you don’t either have the resources or the information to complete the task, with that she would
shame you before your colleagues. The act is not noticeable with male juniors, said the Finance
Manager of First National BankBotswana,she statedthat a QueenBee wouldnot publically ridicule
a male junior, but she would embarrass her female junior.
The NursingManager of Gaborone Private Hospital sited that though the behaviour of being stingy
withinformationisseenwithbothmalesand females, she believes that act is more prevalent with
QueenBees and junior females. Withholding information from juniors gives managers and bosses
power, female managers have more agendas than power bases including reigning in the top
positions.
THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE QUEEN BEE BEHAVIOUR ON THE EMPLOYEE’S PERFORMANCE AND
EFFECTIVENESS AT THE WORK PLACE
 The female works build resistance which creates less cooperation amongst the juniors.
 The Queen Bee behaviour manifests itself in the junior levelled females.
BUILDING RESISTANCE
“The encounter of a Queen Bee in one career life is one of the tragic experiences…” the Records
Officerof Gaborone Private Hospital explainedwhoherexperience withaQueenBee hasgivenhera
dislikingforfemale bosses.The QueenBee Behaviourof executive females has built a wall between
them and the females in junior positions, this wall has formed out of resistance to obey or “boot
lick” to the Queen Bee. The junior becomes resistance to duties set by the Queen Bee, hence the
organization;thissetsbackthe organizationandslowsdown production in more than one way. The
resistance that has been developed has a spill over to the co-workers of the junior females, the
juniormanagementworkerstendnottotake a likingforone anotherif they have a Queen Bee for a
boss, the Records Officer justified.
The same manner in which the executive females would sabotage their juniors not to earn a
promotion, the juniors too can sabotage the top positioned female to make it seem as a failure in
herposition.The FirstNational BankBotswana RecordsAssistantconfessedthatjuniorscan team up
againsta female thatisa “bitch”and manipulate the tasksthatshe hasset before them to make her
seemasincompetentbeforeherco-workers.Resistance fromthe juniors sets the organization back
in production.

16. 16
MANIFESTATION OF THE QUEEN BEE ON THE JUNIOR FEMALES
The Queen Bee Syndrome that has been found to be among the senior positioned females in
organizationshasalsobeenfound tobe developinginthe juniorfemales.The behaviourof executive
femaleshascome tobe more of a culture in most organizations; the Junior Manager of Multichoice
suggestedthatthoughitisnot noticeable,the structure of relationshipbetweenfemalesisbased on
how well the female bosslikesherjunior.Thisbehaviourhasbeen seen to be manifest itself within
the middle managementfemalesasthey have adopted characteristics of negative emotion, failure
to assist their co-workers and the discrimination against other females together with the need to
surround themselves with male co-workers.
The nursingmanager of Gaborone Private Hospital gave a similar analysis for junior females as she
indicated that they too (as executive females) have become more like Queen Bees towards one
another. The systematic judgement of other females has become common in the middle
managementlevel,asjuniorpositionedwomensee themselvesassuperiorover others though they
hold the same position.

17. 17
DISCUSSION
THE EXISTENCE OF THE QUEEN BEE SYNDROME
RELUCTANCE TO ASSIST OTHER WOMEN
The study hasdiscoveredthatwomenholdthe belief thatseniorpositionedfemalesinorganizations
do not assist other women. The reason behind this behaviour is that women in top positions have
worked hard to earn their rank and level of management, and her junior has to go through hard
workto get the same achievements.The same results were discovered in an earlier study by Greer
(2002), whichsuggestedthatwomenwouldbe disloyal totheirsex-colleagues more likelythanmen.
Othersamplesbelievethat senior women are threatened by their juniors as they stand the chance
to outperformthem,thiscorrelateswithastudyof Sills(2007) whichfoundthat womenlookateach
other as more of a direct threat.
Womenthat doreach the top positions feel the need to protect their positions, achievements and
retain their power in the organizations. Executive women would not assist females in junior
positionsmerelyoutof fear of being outshined and losing uniqueness of being the only women in
the high rank positions. The power that the senior women have taken precedence over assisting
junior women and helping them overcome some predicaments that they had faced in their past.
THE EXISTENCE AND EXPERIENCE WITH THE QUEEN BEE SYNDROME
The samples of the present study had different perceptions of the definition of the Queen Bee
Syndrome, the many definitions had common key words; insecure, controlling, mean, hush and
bitch. The common key words are supported by the definition of the Queen Bee Syndrome from
Mavin (2008), the definitionindicatesthataQueenBee isone that isthreatenedbyother women. A
women who views other women in the organization as a zero-sum commodity and have no place
and must be suppressed, a woman who downgrades the work of professionals of their own sex.
The current study found that more than half of the sample that were interviewed have had one or
two encounters with a female in a senior position who displayed behaviours of a Queen Bee. This
findingcorrespondswiththe findingsfrom a previous study by Johnson (2010) indicating that more
women have experienced the Queen Bee dramatic encounter in their career path. Together with
findingsfromRindfleisch(2000), which found that one-third of the sample gave characteristics of a
Queen Bee. Though some of the sample had no encounter with the Queen Bee, they admitted to
have seenthe behaviourdisplayedbya woman in an executive position to her direct or immediate
juniors. The sample that held senior positions expressed disassociation with the label as they felt
that queen bees do nothing to assist the advancement and development of females in the
organizations.
SYSTEMATIC DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN
The presentstudyhasfoundout that womenin executive positionswouldnotdenythe existence of
the discriminationagainstwomeninthe organization,andthatthe non-denial of the discrimination

18. 18
to protect ones honour of having made it to the top despite the discrimination, the same findings
are foundinthe a studymade byJohnson(2010). A previousstudy by (Sandler, 1993) indicated that
leadershiphasgenerallybeenassociatedwithmenandthatfora womanto sufficientlyfill the shoes
of leader, she has to present herself in a manner that is mostly associated with a male figure. The
current study found similar results that females that occupy senior positions would behave in a
manner that would display a behaviour that is more inclined with males. The study also depicted
that the females in executive managerial tend to disassociate themselves from other women and
treat women in a more critical manner.
International companiesthathave franchise inBotswanahave an influence in the discrimination of
womenintheirorganizations,astheyadopt theirculturesof how they view women. The structures
and cultures of women discrimination brought about these organizations have been cited in the
documentof International LabourOffice- Discrimination at the work place in Europe (2007). Similar
findingswere observedfrom thisstudy’sfindings, were the discrimination of women is noticeable,
while Queen Bees take advantage of the situation.
WAYS IN WHICH THE QUEEN BEE BEHAVIOUR DISPLAYS IN FEMALES THAT HOLD SENIOR
POSITIONS
SURROUNDING THEMSELVES WITH MEN
Women do not generally associate themselves with other women. Derks (2007) identifies this
behaviour as fears of being members of a low status group like women, hence the disassociation.
QueenBees, because of the highstandardpositionstheyholdthey have the power to control those
that surround her in the workplace or those that work with her closely. This behaviour can also be
linkedtothe findingthatwere retrieved from the current study as it was found that female bosses
that are mostlikelytodisplaythe QueenBee Syndromesurroundthemselves with male co-workers
and juniors in the workplace. The women would work better with males because they are both
masculine and both hold stereotype against women, that women are incompetent.
NEGATIVE EMOTION AND RELATIONAL SABOTAGE
The study found that the participants feel negative emotional and relational sabotage or damage
fromtheirfemale bossesandasense of competitionfromtheirpeerlevel co-workerandbosses to a
certain extent. The feeling of negative emotion is found to be true in the eyes of Wilson & Gilbert
(2005), as thisemotion follows the cause of the Queen Bee to approach the situation in a way that
wouldsabotage the juniorsoravoidthe situationbyunwillingtoassist them in career development
(Baumeister, Vohs, DeWall, & Zhang, 2007). The negative emotion and relational sabotage has
caused the succession of females in the middle management positions to experience a barrier in
career development and advancement, hence the glass ceiling.
STINGY WITH INFORMATION
The present study reports that senior women executives/managers become individually focussed
and tendto holdbackinformationsothatothersdo not surpassthemor become more empowered.
Sills‟(2007) studysupportspresentresults,asitstatedthatthey(women) tryandavoidcompetition

19. 19
and become paranoid and obsessive about protecting their powerbase and positions. Generally
managerstendto withholdinformationfrom their juniors as a way of creating power bases (Ngami
& Kyongo,2013), thoughfemale managersthatpresentthe QueenBee Syndrome are more inclined
with this behaviour. This action of being stingy with information allows Queen Bees to remain
unique in being the only females in the top managerial positions, and to hold more and longer
reigning power.
THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE QUEEN BEE BEHAVIOUR ON THE EMPLOYEE’S PERFORMANCE AND
EFFECTIVENESS AT THE WORK PLACE
The current studyhas proventhatthe QueenBee Syndrome hasdeveloped in the junior positioned
femalesasthey portray characteristicsof a QueenBee.The behaviourof the QueenBee hasbecome
more of a culture in the relations between females at the workplace, which is inclusive of the
structure in which they view one another and generally treat one another.
The study hasalsofound that the junior females tend to show behaviours of resistance to perform
tasksand dutiesoutof frustrationof the QueenBee Behaviour of their female bosses. There hasn’t
been any scholar-to-scholar feedback that proves the findings of the current study or any similar
findings from any past researches.

20. 20
CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS
RECOMMENDATIONS
The study suggestsandimpliesthatthe QueenBee Syndrome is existent at a wide range within the
organizations. The study gives a recommendation to the organizations to be on the qui vive for
behavioursandactionsfromhighpositionedfemalesthatdisplaythe QueenBee Syndrome.Females
inexecutive positionsdisplaynegative emotion and propensity to assist junior females, it is by this
negative behaviour that the glass ceiling remains tact, created by this cruel treatment. The
behaviourcanbe preventedthroughthe creatingof networksinwhichthe subordinatescanaddress
such issuesto.Most of the sample suggestedthattrainingof femaleleadership skills for all females
isnecessary,asthe QueenBee Syndrome is noticeable in junior females. These trainings would be
able to show executive females a more positive manner of treating females as they climb the
corporate ladder.
Moreover, diversity training to reduce female discrimination for both males and females could
narrow downthe stereotyping of femalesinthe workplace,amore desiredoutcome canbe deduced
fromdiversitytraining.The understanding of the relationships in the workplace, together with the
expectations of both genders in executive and junior position can bridge the gap and reduce the
prejudice againsteachother,throughfacilitatingdiversitytraining. Thissolutioncanhelpfemale feel
more empowered and also help reduce influencing factors to the existence of the glass ceiling.
CONCLUSION
The present study has been able to prove the existence of the Queen Bee Syndrome within the
private sectorial organizationsinGaborone.The behaviourhasbeennoticeableinfemale executives
and itis seentobe manifestinginjunior positioned females and becoming a culture within female
relationships.The studyhas alsobeenable todepict the characteristics and the behaviours that are
inrelationwiththe QueenBee Behaviourof the females,includingnegative emotion towards other
females and failure to assist other females. Though there has been enough previous studies to
supportthe studyin some findingsorinformationthatisinrelationwiththe findings, the study was
able to clearly display the findings enough to be regarded in future researches.

21. 21
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24. 24
CONSENT FORM
WOMEN TO WOMEN RELATIONSHIPS AT THE WORKPLACE IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN GABORONE.
You have beenselected to participate in a research study on the experience of females with other
females at the workplace and how the relationship could assist or be a barrier toward career
advancement.
We ask that you read this form and ask any questions you may have before agreeing to be in the
study.
Purpose of the Study:
The purpose of this study is to explore how women relate with one another, more especially how
top managerial women relate with their junior females, and the extent to which the relationships
has to the fewer numbers of women in top management positions.
The agreement to participate in the study will require you to answer to questions you feel
comfortable answering,andthe research will not force you to answer to any questions you are not
willing to respond to. The interview will take approximately 30-40 minutes, involving semi-
structuredquestions.Norecordingsshall be involvedinthe interview, the interview will take place
ina private areato allowyou to respond with ease. The information collected from the participant
shall be kept secure and shall be used for educational purposes only, the information shall be
destroyed when the study is over.
We do not anticipate any risks for you participating in this study. Indirect benefits to participation
are those of the organizations and those of female advancements in their careers.
Contacts and Questions:
The researcher conducting this study is Thato Bolotsang, a student of the University of Botswana.
Please ask any questions you have now. If you have questions later after the interview, you may
contact her at;
Cellphone number: (+267)75730454
Email address: tapiwathato@gmail.com
Mailing address: P/Bag 00220, High Court-Gaborone, Botswana
Research Advisor: Dr Gabriel Faimau
Email address: Gabriel.faimau@mopipi.ub.bw
Telephone number: [+267] 355 5387
You will be given a copy of this form to keep for your records.

25. 25
Statement of Consent:
I have readthe above information,andhave receivedanswerstoanyquestionsIasked. I am at least
18 years old and I consent to participate in the study.
Signature of Participant____________________________________
Date __________________
Signature of Principal Investigator: ___________________________
Date __________________

26. 26
RESEARCH INTERVIEW QUESTION
1. What is your perception (how do you feel) about the existence of the glass ceiling in your
career field?
a) Are there enough women in the top managerial positions?
b) Is there a purpose for the given numbers?
c) How much do you know about or have you experienced the glass ceiling or the
queen bee?
2. Do youthinkthere is a difference in the female bosses (senior managers) compared to the
male bosses?
a) What gender would you prefer for a supervisor and why?
b) Do you believe female bosses give a hard time? Why?
3. Do you believe there is a difference in female juniors as compared to male juniors?
a) Do female juniors expect too much from you as a female boss (being lenient on
them because they are female, short cuts to promotions)?
4. How much experience have you had with the queen bee?
a) What makes a female senior manager a queen bee?
b) How much impact does she have on the female juniors or the organization?
c) Has the firm taken notice of the behaviour, what correctional majors were
implemented?
d) What should be done to reduce the effects of the queen bee syndrome?

27. 27
FirstNational Bank- SeniorFinance Manager
Q1: there are fewerbarrierstocareeradvancementinthe finance field,thereisapercentage of
close to 95 female infesteddepartmentstogetherwiththe organization.The few numbersof
femalesinthe toppositionsisbecause of the new andadvancedtechnologiesintroduced,theyset
womenback. There are a highnumberof womeninmiddle managementpositions.
Q2 &3: Male colleaguesare donotpersonalize everycriticorcommentgiven,malesare straight
forwardwhenitcomesto givingcomments,theydonotbeataboutthe bush.Theyare not disputing
betweenthe genderswhenitcomessupervisingthe juniors,because bothgendersexpectthe same
treatment.
 Female bossesgive ahardtime,Ihave gone throughdepressionwhenIstartedworking for
thisorganization.Mybossthenwas a womanwhomade my experience here unbearable.
She wantedme to getdepressedandleave myjob,butthatdidn’thappen.
 I am a feministtherefore Ibelieve inwomenempowermentfromeveryaspect,Ihelp
womenandmentoras manyas I can bothin the workplace andoutside the workplace.
FirstNational Bank- RecordsAssistant
Q1: I have experiencedthe glassceilingmostof mycareeryears,evenwhenthere are openingin
positionsIcouldneverbe recommended.There are more thanenoughwomeninthe middle
managementlevel andfranklythisiswhere mostwomenwillendintheircareeradvancements.
Q2: female bosses alwayssugarcoatissueshence thisdelaysissuesthatcouldbe handled
immediately.Theyaren’tgoodmanagersof organizationseither.Male are more honest,straight
forward,hence Iprefera male supervisor.
Q4: I wasexploitedbecause mybosswasandstill isa woman,I’mcurrentlydouble jobbingoutof
desperation,andmypayisnot enoughtosustainme.I waspregnantat the time Iwas lookingfora
joband because myinterviewerswere womenIwasemployedintoajobI’moverqualifiedfor.I
tookthe jobbecause Ineedto feedme andmychild.My interviewersfeltthatmypregnancywas
goingto jeopardize myjob, butIexpectedthemtounderstandthatpregnancyhappensina
woman’slife.
 The queenbee behaviorbringspeopledown.Theymisplace employeesintopositionsthey
are notfit forbecause they involveemotionswhenplacingpeople inthe organization.
Multichoice BW- Director
Q1: there isnotmuch barrierinenteringthe systemoradvancingtomiddle managementpositions,
it isupon an individual toprove themselves.Womenoutweighthe numberof male inthe
organization,the organizationisfemaleheaded. I’ve had1or 2 incidenceswiththe queenbee
syndrome,whichIovercame.Femalesdonotsupportone another.
Q2: female bossesare hush,egoisticandundermining,whilethe juniorsexpecttoomuchfrom
them.They expectshortcuts,one to be lenientbecause theyshouldunderstandastheyare both
female,theyuse emotionalblackmail andare manipulative.Male bossesare softerandmore
understanding.

28. 28
Q4: I leftmypreviousjobbecause Ididnotsee myself advancinginthe nextyearstocome because
the organizationwasfemale infested.
 Female bossesthatare queenbees expectone tobe theirpuppets toearnherliking. They
are notteam playersandtheydemandanddeclare.
 Queen beesbuildanelementof resistance inthe juniorworkers,lesscooperationeven
amongthe junioremployees,hencelow performance of the organization.They are indenial
of theirhushandcruel behavior.
Multichoice BW- AssistantManager
Q1: the industryismale dominatedandthe companyisa Frenchbasedfranchise. The culturesof the
companyallowsmale tobe in decisionmakingpositions.There are more than enoughwomenbutall
foundinmiddle managementpositions.Forone tobe recommendedinthe companyit
encompassesissuesof theirmanyyearsinthe companyandkeepingthe culture of the companyand
the structure.
Q2: male bosses are alwaysontopof theirgame,femalesare ratheremotional,self-defensive,with
poor deliverance.Womenalwayswanttoknow the personal informationsof the otherwoman,her
background,herfamilyandherup brings to make judgments.Female bossesare never
approachable,one wouldhave to compromise togetheroff yourback.
Oliver’sEventsGroup- Owner&Founder
Q1: the industryisinfestedwithfemales,the few malesthatare foundare mainlyforhard labor.
The glass ceilingisnone existentinthisfield.
Q2: itis easyto workwithmale because theynormallyhave anon-judgmental opinion. Femalesare
jealousof me because I’mthe ownerof the organizationandbringtheirfailure Ilife atthe
workplace.Thoughwomenhave anadvantage of the codeswe share as women. Juniorsexpectyou
as a seniorto understandherissuesfromherhousehold“codes” andcompete amongthemselves.
Q4: QueenBees confuse beingstrictwithbeingabitch,theyare scared of beingoutshinedby a
juniorinage and otherwise.
Oliver’sEventsGroup- Accountant,junior
Q1: mostlyindividualsthatwork inthe fieldare females.
Q2: femalesare moodyandbringtheirhouseholdissuestothe workplace.Female bossestendto
disrespectyoumore especiallyif theyare olderinage. Theyexpectmore thantheygive you,she
setstargetsthat she knowsyoucan’t meetjustso she can embarrassyou.
Q4: QueenBeesare stingywithinformation,she gives youjustenoughtobe herslave, she takes
your creditandare neverthankful,andshe offersnotrainingoranyformof mentoring.Theyhave
no friendsatthe workplace.
Gaborone Private Hospital- NursingManager

29. 29
Q2: malescolleaguesalwaysgetsomethingdone correctlyandefficiently,menare strongvocally
and standa hardground Menget alongwell amongstthemselvesandwithwomen.
 Womendo notlistentoone another,butwouldlistentoa male colleague.
 There isnot much difference inthe juniorfemalesastheyportraythe same behavior. They
expecttoomuchfrom femalesbosses andwhenthe juniorisolderthanthe seniorbyage or
yearshavingworkedinthe organizationshe tendstobe stubborn.
Q3: femalesinhighpositionstendtohave a troopof followersthatsubscribe toherliking inthe
office justtoescape heratrociousbehaviororto gettips andby-passesinsome issues.
 Most organizationswouldface a challenge of notkeepingemployees,wherebythey
are forcedto trainemployeestothe jobeachtime because of the QueenBee,
whichis costly.
Gaborone Private Hospital- RecordsOfficer
Q1: the organizationhasa percentage of 70 womenfoundacrossall levelsof management.
Q2: male bossesoffercareergrowthandnurture talent.Femalebosseswould “red-tape”the
advancementsof otherfemales inthe workplace.Some female bossesliketo adoptthe conceptof
girl-power,thismisleadsmostwomentogive less effortinthe workplace knowingtheyhave ‘girl-
power’toback themup. Female bosses are notsolelyindependent,they relyontheirjuniorstofeed
themwithinformation.
Q3: QueenBeesare insecure,heywant tocontrol everythingandeveryone surrounding them,
includingwhoworksaroundthem. Theyclaimindependence andtake the creditthatis nottheirs.
 QueenBeesmake femalejuniorsfeelliketheyhave to lickthe boss’sassto earn
merit,itismisleading.Theymake femalejuniors submissive tobeing usedand
exploited.
Orange BW- MarketingManager
Q1: malesre outnumberedbyfemales,the barrierisratherunacknowledgedmore especiallyathigh
positions.Itis noticeableasthe levelsof managementincrease.There are notenoughfemalesintop
positions.
Q2: femalesare easytoworkwith,because theyunderstandmypositionaswe are bothwomen,
and relate bettertomysituations.A male bosswouldnotrelate tothe issuesthatI face fromtime to
time unlike afemale colleague.
 Female bossesdogive ahard time because,theyare high maintenance intermsof
keepinguptowhatshe likesandhow she wouldratherhave thingsdone.
 Juniorfemalesare nodifferentfromthe male juniors.
Q3: QueenBeesare insecure,theylackknowledge orwork,theyare immature andtheyhave
inferioritycomplex.Theymostly aren’tmentoredforpositionstheyhave.Theyhave beenthrown
intodeependsandexpectedtosurvive throughit,they dependonthe juniorstohelphersurvive.

30. 30
 They use authority to fill inforthe lackof knowledgeandare intimidatedbyupcoming
juniorswithtalent.
 QueenBeeswouldbe threatentohave afemale juniorexcludedfromdutyandnotassign
themany workto presentthemasincompetent.
Orange BW- JuniorManager
Q1: there are more females,enoughtofill the lowerlevelsof the organizations.Becauseof the
patriarchal society,womenaren’ttrustedtofill the bigshoesinorganizationssuchasCEO,CFO and
the like. Femaleswork5 timesharderthanmen but theyare not recognizedenough.
Q2: malesdonotcompete amongstthemselvesthe waywomendo.Female bossesare emotional
and aggressive.Theygiveopinionratherthanfacts inthe effortsof herjuniors.
 Female bossesare hushanddon’tadhere tosweettalkingorsoothingsomeone into
workingwell withthem. Femalejuniorsfollow suittothe behaviorsetbythe female bosses.
If one workswitha meanbosstheyare mostlikelytoturnout the same way.
Q3: base theirjudgmentsof theirjuniorsonthe kindof background theyhave,whichschoolsthey
wentto andany negative experience.QueenBees are mostlyinsecure,theyare notprivileged at
manythings. Most single womenare QueenBees.
 Queenbee’scostemployeesto leave the organization because of managerorthe
organizationhaving lowperformancesfromthe employees.
 QueenBee syndrome andbehaviorisa culture thatis foundismanyorganization.