The Queen Bee Syndrome: Autoethnographic Insights and Educator Observations: Perspectives from Minority Women

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a Queen Bee Leader on the perspectives of minority female educators. The research design incorporated two qualitative traditions—autoethnography and phenomenology. The autoethnographic model focused on the researcher’s lived experiences as a subordinate to Queen Bee Leaders. The phenomenological model utilized surveys and interviews for theme identification that describe perspectives of five minority women in the K-12 urban educational setting who experienced Queen Bee Leadership. Both methods of research allowed the reader to comprehend the feelings that the participants experienced. The study is expected to provide information that can be helpful to females in educational leadership positions, and to minority women in education. The Social Identity theory and Destructive Leadership theory served as the theoretical framework for this study because these theories examine social behavior and phenomena such as the Queen Bee Syndrome. The Social Identity Theory is applicable when exploring human behavior and self -identification in relation to a larger group in society. The Destructive Leadership theory focuses on the behavior of leaders that can be destructive, abusive and or tyrannical. Both of these theories converge to examine the Queen Bee Syndrome. Primary data were collected using screening questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, transcripts, notes, and a researcher narrative. Several common themes emerged from the data analysis and inquiry. The themes add to current information regarding the effects of the Queen Bee Syndrome on the perspectives of minority female educators. The emerging themes from this study were comprised of: family background and struggles; strong mother- daughter and father-daughter relationships; spirituality and religion in the participant’s life and upbringing; racism and bias in the school or other workplace; and the Queen Bee Leader conflict with subordinates. These themes all bring a connection to the perspectives of the female minority educator who had the experience of a Queen Bee Leader. Some of the connections include family background, strong parental relationships, racism, and experiencing exposure to the Queen Bee Leader. This study provided evidence that the familial connections were important to build, protect, and support the minority female educators in their upbringing and eventually into careers as adults. The findings revealed that female minority educators can become victims of Queen Bee Leaders, regardless of their educational level or position. The study provided evidence that Queen Bee Leaders can have major effects on female minority subordinates’ mental and emotional well-being in the workplace