Real Sisterhood Was Never Rare, It Was Just Rarely the Story Told - Fact 19

THE WOMAN PROJECT — Woman Fact 19

I share a very special bond with a group of ladies, over decades. We worked together, we cried together, we also laughed alot together. It is amazing how we connect, we dont envy, we dont judge, we just hang. We all take turns, and we are always all there when we need each other. That is because we have a sistahood that goes beyond us, it reaches many other women where it is needed most, any day any time. Spread the love and support that only a woman can understand or need.

The "catty woman" stereotype has a real research problem: it's largely a myth. Women mentor other women more than anyone mentors anyone.

READ IT

For decades, a phrase called the "Queen Bee syndrome" convinced people that women in power secretly tear other women down to stay on top. A landmark study by Catalyst, tracking 742 MBA graduates over years, tested this directly, and found the opposite. Among women who received career support themselves, 73% went on to mentor other women. Compare that to men, where only 30% of mentoring specifically supported women coming up behind them.

Even more telling, research finds that in workplaces with more women in senior leadership, this rare "Queen Bee" behavior shows up even less. Harvard researcher Robin Ely's work suggests the stereotype has it backwards: the rare cases of women undermining women are usually a reaction to scarcity and inequality, one seat at the table, fighting to keep it, not something inherent to being a woman at all.

Here's the truth worth spreading louder than the myth: real sisterhood was never rare. It was just rarely the story anyone chose to tell. The actual, measured pattern is women reaching back for the next woman, again and again, far more often than the stereotype ever gave them credit for.

THINK IT

Think of one woman who helped you rise, a mentor, a friend, a stranger who gave you a chance. Have you thanked her for it, out loud?