Women bullying Women

By MICKEY MEECE
New York Times

Published: May 9, 2009

Yelling, scheming and sabotaging: all are tell-tale signs that a bully is at work, laying traps for employees at every pass.

Peter DaSilva for The New York Times

Kent Kaufman and Laura Stek, right,
of the Growth and Leadership Center,
coach Cleo Lepori-Costello, left,
a vice president at a Silicon Valley
software company,
on communication skills.

During this downturn, as stress levels rise, workplace researchers say, bullies are likely to sharpen their elbows and ratchet up their attacks.

It’s probably no surprise that most of these bullies are men, as a survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute, an advocacy group, makes clear. But a good 40 percent of bullies are women. And at least the male bullies take an egalitarian approach, mowing down men and women pretty much in equal measure. The women appear to prefer their own kind, choosing other women as targets more than 70 percent of the time.

In the name of Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem, what is going on here?

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