What’s stopping women from getting to the top jobs in corporations?  Backstabbing sabotage might not even make a list a manager might make.

But two veteran educators who are studying the problem say women are often undermining other women in the workplace. 

In this CVBT Audio Interview podcast, we talk with the researchers… Joy Wiggins, who is founder and executive director of Joy Wiggins LLC, a consulting company focusing on equity, inclusion, and social justice… and Kami Anderson, who is founder and executive director of Bilingual Brown Babies, a company focusing on fostering bilingualism in black families. In their new book, “From Sabotage to Support: A New Vision for Feminist Solidarity in the Workplace,” they detail not just the problem but steps to solve it. 

In the workplace, women often sabotage other women, undermining each other in a battle for opportunities.

Ms. Wiggins says this is supported by research but she is seeing a bit of a change.

“I think it has improved,” she says. “But I think at the same time just knowing from a qualitative standpoint just the stories that we have gotten from women and the ‘Oh, yeah!’ those reactions that we’ve gotten, that it’s still quite prevalent.”

Ms. Wiggins and Ms. Anderson say the problems are rooted in a patriarchal system that maintains the status quo. 

“It’s really not so much about individuals trying to take each other down, but that it’s societal competition and pressure,” Ms. Wiggins says. “It starts early on in elementary and middle school.”

This adds multiple dimensions to the tasks that managers must do to solve conflicts, avert them in the first place, and bring out the best in their staffs.

“I think from a manager’s perspective it’s really important, especially if you see yourself in a leadership position, being able to really understand the full history of the folks that are working with you, not just what they bring in terms of roles and responsibilities but looking at them as a person,” says Ms. Anderson. 

Listen to the CVBT Audio Interview Podcast here: