Perceptions of Doctoral-Affiliated Professionals: Articulated Reflections of Queen Bee Syndrome Experiences

Introduction

Within the world of higher education, women have worked towards inclusion within the academy as not only faculty, but also into positions of leadership. Throughout the women’s journey through graduate studies and joining the academy as a tenure track then tenured faculty member, there are consistent challenges that impact their ability to establish successful careers, in the realms of teaching, research and publication, as well as service. Some academics regress towards insecure members of the academy who may attempt to maintain their own professional progression up the metaphoric career ladder, sometimes by ensuring that the majority of hard-working and ambitious females do not find a welcoming space. Harvey (2018) reflects that,

Yet equally impactful is the recognition that, “While we may imagine that Queen Bees are all mean, evil people, they are often insecure and unaware of the impact of their behaviour” (Harvey, 2018, para. 9). It is equally recognizable, that many women who are acting in unprofessional and demeaning, bullying manners are merely lacking in self-awareness and self-assurance, following into a recognition that some persons falling into a label of Queen Bee may not have been socialized into acceptable professional dispositions and behaviors. Instead, these women have been successful and gotten ahead by acting in inferior and unethical ways. Alternatively, some Queen Bees may have proactively engaged in Queen Bee behaviors as actively chosen and invested in behaviors that progress their own professional journey. It is equally worthy of note, that “women have attained a critical mass in the professional and managerial ranks of a significant percentage of US companies, especially financial and services organizations; and, women constitute the largest segment of the increasingly diverse US labor pool” (Levin & Mattis, 2006, p. 61), recognizing that “management should be particularly concerned about issues of abusive conduct by and toward women” (Harvey, 2018, para. 2).

Background

Over the decades, there has been an underlying narrative that men have proactively ensured a metaphoric glass ceiling that has been touted by innumerable talking heads. Although this may be a correct frame of reference, a worthy consideration may be that women are holding other women back. PRD Newswire Direct communicates that, “According to Harvey’s own research of 100 female executives, published in an economics journal, most women have experienced bullying by other women” (2019, para. 2), with Harvey stating through a Times interview that, “It’s one of the biggest taboos: a successful woman sabotaging her female rivals. But it happens” (Rumbelow, 2018, para. 1), “… the idea of a woman in power deliberately sabotaging the ambitions of any female rivals” (Rumbelow, 2018, para. 1). Parallel is Rodriguez (n.d.), who well articulates that the “Queen Bee syndrome hides a series of deficiencies and insecurities that the affected women project onto other women. This, in the long run, causes them to be left alone due to their toxicity” (para. 1). Reflecting upon the competitive nature of doctoral studies, as well as the parallel competitive nature of faculty tenure-track and tenured promotion efforts, the Queen Bee Syndrome may raise its ugly head. As a final thought, leading into the critically reflective mullings of our co-author’s collective journeys, Rodriguez (n.d.) offers a thoughtful understanding of women who may misinterpret their continued professional journey as a heightened level of competition: