C-4 Climbing the Rope Ladder to Success

Buller Room 150

Some women, once they have reached the top of the corporate ladder and have secured that coveted corner office, are willing to help other women on their climb. This is the “sisterhood” people often talk about. However, there are other women who will sabotage their “sisters” by pulling up that rope ladder, thus preventing their climb. This type of bullying is prevalent in the workplace. Women are targeted at a higher rate by female bullies (71%) than by male bullies (46%). Women tend to be crueler to other women. This workplace problem persists because there are few anti-bullying ethics and laws in practice. But, it goes deeper than that, not only do managers unwittingly encourage bullying, but women are socialized to bully other women. There is only one effective way to deal with workplace women on women bullying: treat it like a business problem.