What drives ‘catty’ workplace conflict

When women work for other women, clashes are notorious – even inevitable. But that narrative doesn’t tell the whole story.

Adela was 23 years old when she started working for a global consumer-goods company in London. Her team was predominantly female, including her bosses. During her first week on the job, one of the few men she worked with strolled over and dropped a book on her desk. “He told me it would serve as my manual for working here,” she says.

The book was The Devil Wears Prada, the 2003 novel by Lauren Weisberger, about a young woman who endures behaviour that borders on psychological and emotional abuse at the hands of her fashion-magazine editor boss, who’s also a woman. 

“It was kind of hilarious at the time, but with hindsight it was really sad,” says Adela. “Because the book actually did mirror my future relationship with many of my female bosses at that workplace.” 

Adela, who is withholding her surname for career considerations, recalls that the work environment at the company was “toxic”, built on a culture of “secrecy”. Her female bosses, she says, were “image obsessed”, and unwilling to embrace fresh ideas or perspectives. She says that created an atmosphere of fear, where juniors felt uncomfortable speaking out, and everyone seemed defensive. After six months, she quit and made a resolution for the rest of her career: never work in a team of only women again – and be very careful choosing to work for another woman at all.