Do men or women make better bosses, or is there no difference? The question was put to respondents to the latest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI Women at Work survey.

It found that just 12 per cent of women think females are better bosses while 22 per cent of women said men made better bosses. However, a majority of women – 63 per cent – said there was no difference between the genders when it came to competency in the most senior managerial role. Men who expressed a preference also favoured male bosses.

A larger majority of men than women – 74 per cent – said there was no difference between the genders.

However, those men with a preference opted for male over female bosses by a factor of almost two to one. Just 8 per cent of men said women make better bosses, while 15 per cent preferred a male boss. Among those surveyed, it was more common to have a male manager with 60 per cent of respondents saying their immediate superior at work was a man.

Men reported they were more likely to be managed by other men, with 73 per cent saying their boss was male, while half of the women surveyed said their immediate superior was female.

A nationally representative sample of 1,000 people was interviewed between May 16th and May 23rd after being contacted on landline and mobile phone numbers selected randomly.