Women in leadership positions in universities: are they really queen bees?

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to assess the adherence to the traits of the queen bee phenomenon (QBP) for women who hold leadership positions in Brazilian higher education institutions (HEIs) and to compare their responses with those of women without leadership positions and of men on the same dimensions. Design/methodology/approach - A total of 703 academics from 88 HEIs participated in this study. The data were analyzed using a statistical package to calculate descriptive and inferential statistics. For these, 2 × 2 analysis of variance tests were performed to compare leader women vs nonleader women and leader women vs leader men. Findings - The results indicate that leader women do not fit to all dimensions of the QBP. They report high averages to commitment, agency traits and personal sacrifices to career (Male self-description) and to meritocratic discourse. However, leader women assess their junior counterparts with higher averages to commitment and agency traits than women without leadership positions and leader men assess their junior counterparts. Women in leadership positions report superior identification with same gender colleagues and declare to be more supportive with affirmative policies for women's professional development than nonleader women and leader men. Practical implications - This study reinforces that same gender conflict in the work environment is not a female characteristic and also promotes reflections on the influence of organizational culture, men hostility toward quotas and gender stereotypes for female progression in the academic context. Originality/value - This study provides an empirical analysis of the QBP to academic women in Brazilian HEIs and compares its dimensions to nonleader women and leader men. The analysis of a sexist culture enabled original results, as nondistancing of the self-group, even if leader women presented some QB traits.