It’s hard to be a woman if you have a female boss

New research shows that when it comes to power, women aren’t great sharers.

You’d expect that female bosses who have found it tough to get to the top in their career might be helpful to other women on the way up.

Absolutely not, according to research by scientists from Montreal, who last week revealed that when it comes to power women are very bad at sharing.

They’re also less willing to co-operate with each other than men. The problem is worst of all in situations where one woman is more powerful than the other.

So is that the reason Britain’s first female PM had a male-dominated cabinet? Maggie Thatcher could manage a posse of men, but she wasn’t about to let the sisterhood share her power base.

I’ve got friends who have worked for women as teachers, social workers, secretaries, civil servants and journalists, and they all confirm that it’s seldom easy.

Is it because women in charge are insecure and fear that one of their own sex might connive to steal a march on them? Are they suspicious of female motives? And have they any right to be?

My sister-in-law has spent a long time at the chalk face in schools from Cumbernauld to the north of England. She’s good at her job, conscientious and willing to take on after-school activities.

But, very often, she has encountered snippy comments and put-downs from several female heads of department.

The subtle undermining is hurtful. Women know very well where to strike. We can also be very petty in our attitude at times.

In The Devil Wears Prada, Meryl Streep played Vogue editor Anna Wintour. The New York fashion diva was a nightmare to her female staff.

Every woman who has ever had to work for a tough cookie identified with the humiliation doled out by the scornful bitchy boss.

I’ve known a few who have tried to do it differently. Anita Roddick, who founded The Body Shop, told me that as a boss she tried to support other women and help them in their careers.

She offered flexible working hours, generous career breaks when children came along and she encouraged them to develop their potential. Her main mission was to empower women but she was unusual.

Maybe it’s because women in power is a relatively new concept. Perhaps as it becomes more common, we will learn to be more generous and supportive of other women. But I have my doubts.

If you think of the playground bitching between girls, you can see where this leads. There is hope though that some women can do it differently.

Last week, the three young mums who set up the hugely popular Netmums were given OBEs. The three women pooled their resources and created a website that gives hope and support to over six million parents.

Good on them. Perhaps this is the green shoot of female power-sharing we’ve been waiting for.