<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject . You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate . (February 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> A queen bee is the leader of a female group, such as a clique . The term has been applied in several social settings . </P> <P> In a business environment, a "queen bee" may refer to a woman in upper management who advanced in the ranks without the help of any type of affirmative action programs . Many of those executive women tend to be politically conservative and they choose not to publicly identify with feminism . They often see other, usually younger, women as competitors and will refuse to help them advance within a company, preferring to mentor a male over a female employee . Some such "queen bees" may actively take steps to hinder another woman's advancement as they are seen as direct competitors . Such tactics are sometimes referred to as heterophily (in the sense of positive preference and favoritism for opposite - sex colleagues) or the queen bee syndrome . </P> <P> The term "loophole woman", coined by Caroline Bird in her book Born Female: The High Cost of Keeping Women Down (1968), has a similar meaning . Marie Mullaney defines the loophole woman as one who, "successful in a predominantly male field like law, business or medicine, is opposed to other women's attaining similar levels of success . Such success, if attained by women on a large scale, would detract from, if not substantially reduce, her own status and importance ." (The term "honorary male" is related, but does not imply opposition to other women's success .) </P>

How to be the queen bee of a clique