The Devil Wears Bad Pantsuits

In college, I once attended a career training seminar about why women are perfect for today's workplace, as opposed to those old white male dinosaurs. We're flexible, we're empathic, we don't have huge egos. We've been forced to develop skills -- like learning new technology -- that these men hadn't. We were way ahead! Men didn't even see us -- or changes to corporate America -- coming.

It didn't take me long to realize, as a temp, how ridiculous these assumptions were, especially when the dress code required me to wear skirts. How could I operate from a position of power when I had to show my knees, take notes and answer the phone?

The new movie The Devil Wears Prada inspired the New York Times to write about women leaders with the Anna Wintour-type editor played by Meryl Streep. The article admits that women can be hell to work for, too.

As quoted here:

BUT these instincts break down in certain circumstances, studies suggest, namely when women feel insecure because they are a token minority whose competence is in question, said Theresa Vescio, a psychologist at Penn State University.

"In these conditions, women tend to treat the lowest-ranking female workers as poorly as men do," Dr. Vescio said. The social skills that allow many women to be effective leaders also give them access to valuable information that hands-off or dictatorial types don't have. Collaboration not only engages colleagues but also helps expose them as possible allies or rivals. Helping others manage their careers and home life brings out gossip about hidden vulnerabilities and relationships in the organization. A manager, as she ascends, may use this information to protect others — or to keep them in check. (As in: "Can you take this job, given your family situation?")

I love the idea that women use their "collaborative" skillset to form alliances and then crush anyone in their paths. Brilliant! As long as you're not in the way.

For those of us x-ers, who had such a hard time getting so much as a foothold into the workplace (and the Devil plot has to do with desperation -- the lowly assitant gets hired because she's willing to work anywhere, for anyone, even the devil of a boss) without having to worry about whether we had a mentor who would help us. A tyrant, even dressed in Prada, maybe especially dressed in Prada, is still a tyrant.