There is an advert currently playing on commercial radio in the UK that’s really getting on my nerves…! It is for a well-known British retailer and involves a conversation between a male customer and a female representative of the business. At the end of the advert, where the customer has been promised a fantastic deal, he says, “Does the manager know?” and the woman from the business replies, “I am the manager”.
For an advertising campaign in 2025, this is amazingly crass stereotyping, playing into the misogynistic notion that women cannot be managers. I really thought we had moved on from the 1950s. Clearly, the advertising bods at this High Street firm don’t appear to have done so. Perhaps they should read my 14-year-old blog post, which discusses research showing that when customers perceive the company as using stereotypes, their desire to purchase decreases.
I was discussing this with students recently when I told them the story of a flight I took with a friend from Amsterdam back to the UK after a business trip. This was in the days when the door to the flight deck was open during boarding. As we took our seats, my friend grabbed my arm and said, “Did you look in the cockpit?” and then added, “The pilots are women”. My friend was clearly taken aback and concerned that women should be flying an aircraft. I wondered if he had ever heard of Amy Johnson, but decided to tease him by saying, “OK, I’m a bloke, shall I offer to fly the plane instead?” Then when I suggested it might be better to have someone, unlike me, in the cockpit who was trained and qualified, he saw the point. We had a lovely, smooth flight, and he forgot all about the women up front as he sank into his second large gin and tonic, before we even got across the coast of the Netherlands.
Sadly, my friend is no longer with us, but I would have loved to have sent him the latest research on pilots, which shows that in emergencies, female pilots are superior to their male counterparts. Research in Canada demonstrated recently that female pilots made fewer errors in stressful situations than men. The women in the study were also more accurate than the men. So next time you are on a plane and the cockpit door is open, take a look to make sure the people flying you are women.
To many readers, that sounds counterintuitive, though. They have grown up in a world where men are the “natural” choice for leadership tasks or for “technical” functions that “men are better at” (allegedly). Even today, we live in a world dominated by males in leadership positions, surrounded by other men. Assumptions by men about the capabilities of women, combined with systems that inhibit opportunities for women and the male dominance just continues.
But men do not just make assumptions about the abilities of women. They also appear to assume which kind of people are most likely to help them. You may have seen this happen last week when Donald J. Trump took a short break at one of his Scottish golf clubs. There he was met by the British Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, who the President referred to as a “lovely man”, “a good friend”, “a terrific guy” and other such positive comments. Not long after such statements, Donald Trump called the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, a “stubborn moron”. On the one hand, the person providing support and warmth to the President was seen as helpful, whereas the individual showing challenging behaviour was seen negatively.
New research from the University of Nebraska shows that such stereotyping is commonplace. There is a tendency to view the “boot lickers” positively and the “boat rockers” as bad. This was shown in the study where individuals who challenged others were empowered less by their bosses. However, the “boot lickers” were given more freedom and autonomy. As the researchers say, the managers favoured the bootlickers.
This is because they are stereotypically deemed to be supporting the company, helping to take it in the direction the bosses want. The people with more challenging behaviour, however, are thought stereotypically to be harmful to the business. Yet, the research shows that challenging thinkers are the ones who contribute to improved profits, more creativity and higher levels of innovation. Far from inhibiting the “boat rockers”, it turns out they should be encouraged.
If you are a global leader and you stereotypically think the Kier Starmers of the world are the ones who will help you the most, you could be sadly mistaken. The research shows that the people who can provide you with the most significant potential for improvement are the people who are somewhat critical.
Because we live in a world of stereotypes, sometimes, it’s the people you least expect who are actually the most helpful. The “boat rockers” are going to improve your business more than the “boot lickers”. Equally, a female pilot is more likely to save you in an emergency than a man. And an advertising agency that avoids misogyny is likely to improve your income due to consumers preferring to spend money where stereotypes do not exist. If you want someone to help your business, get a critical friend, not a “yes man” who tells you that you are wonderful. That’s the route to less profit, through lower innovation and creativity. If you want more innovation, empower the people who challenge you. They’re the ones who’ll move your business forward.
