Top Eight TV Female Bosses Who Aren’t Afraid To Get Bossy

Despite a childhood and adolescence throughout which I was routinely described as “bossy,” I find the day-to-day realities of being the boss to be very challenging. For example, sometimes I feel like the worst boss ever and at those times I want to run away and live on a raft on the ocean or go write a novel in the woods! Sometimes I want to smash pudding into my face! Sometimes I want to fire myself / everybody! Sometimes I don’t want to ever have to tell anybody else what to do, ever! Sometimes I want The Internet to die in a fire! But most of the time I feel lucky to have such a wonderful team and to work for such a wonderful group of readers.

It doesn’t help that there’s not much out there in terms of role models for Ladies in Charge. The archetypal female boss in the media is either incompetent or cold, ruthless and impersonal. She has no romantic life ’cause she’s “married to the job.” She is especially brutal to female underlings. She’s often a conceited meglomaniac! But every now and then, a lady comes along who breaks the mold and I cling to these precious few with obsessive fervor.

So, let us present our favorite television bosses — mine, with some expert opinions thrown in from other Autostraddle team members.


Top Eight Lady TV Bosses

janeway

Captain Janeway, Star Trek Voyager

Much like Adama in Battlestar, Janeway started Voyager in a hopeless place — marooned in the Delta Quandrant, 75,000 light years from earth, unsure if they’d ever see their home again. She was not only forced to lead fairly and ambitiously, but also to keep morale high in uncharted waters. The first female captain on a Star Trek show, she boldly went there with a style that wasn’t reminiscent of previous captains but firmly and uniquely her own. Plus then she went to prison with a bunch of lesbians and became Boss of the Kitchen and then Boss of the Greenhouse, so.


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Leslie Knope, Parks & Recreation

Hansen: “Leslie Knope would be the best boss of all time because she’s an amazing, driven role model for all of her employees… even though they take her for granted. She puts her community first, because she believes in the goodness of people. She listens to the woes of her community and department and makes honest attempts to fix what is wrong, even when it may not be super convenient for her. She believes in the power of women and champions female leadership, never shying away from moving on up in politics despite the rampant misogyny in city council elections. She’s not perfect, either, and forgives others for their imperfections, as well. She also knows all of the words to Parents Just Don’t Understand, which is vital.”


Friday Night Lights

Tami Taylor, Friday Night Lights

Tami Taylor is the best parent and the best wife and the best human and THE BEST BOSS EVER. She’s got this polished Southern charm that somehow softens the repeated blows she delivers to the bureaucrats and lazy assholes standing between her students and their education. She wants a better system and will fight for it, no matter what, and even stands up to her co-worker’s apathy. This tenacity lands her a job as the BIG BOSS of a University. Then there’s how she tells her husband that it’s time her career takes precedence over his for once, which is one of the best Tami Taylor moments and one of the best Friday Night Lights moments ever. I JUST LOVE THIS WOMAN I CAN’T STOP TALKING ABOUT HER ALL THE TIME


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Miranda Bailey, Grey’s Anatomy

Cleo: “Dr. Miranda Bailey is the best boss at Seattle Grace Hospital. She rules her interns with an iron fist and a set of rules for their residency that include “not waking up her unless a patient is dying” and “not sucking up” — because she already hates them. She doesn’t play favorites, so each wannabe surgeon must meet her high standards of care when treating patients in order to earn the right to enter an OR. She instills in them the idea that residency isn’t about the glory of being surgeon, it’s about healing. On the flipside, she calls the interns her babies and takes time to give them what they needed to become better doctors as well as people. She never asks Christina to turn down her intellect or drive, but makes sure to remind her that each patient is person, not a career stepping stone. And while all of the aforementioned things contribute to her awesome bossness, the thing that makes her a truly awesome boss is her creation of the clinic at Seattle Grace. She created it because she was losing faith in medicine being about healing and needed a way to help people in a manner that was meaningful and drama free. By doing this she showed her interns and residents that self-care and career advancement don’t have to be mutually exclusive. And maybe more importantly, that you can change your plan and the world won’t end. Dr. Bailey is a surgeon, clinic head, mother and The Boss.”


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Ellen Morgan, The Ellen Show

You guys, she’s a lesbian independent bookstore owner. That’s just inherently perfect.


30 Rock - Season 7

Liz Lemon, 30 Rock.

Stef: “As the acting Kermit the Frog to TGS’ Muppet Show, Liz Lemon is in charge of keeping a thousand moving parts and unreliable human beings operational. She’s refreshing to watch as a character because she’s a smart, single woman attempting (and often failing) to balance a personal life with her demanding career. As a boss, she’s shown as mostly trying to remain rational, dealing with issues between her staff that logically shouldn’t be her problem (but often are). The staff of TGS operate as an enormously dysfunctional family with questionable strengths and often absurd complications. At the heart of all of this confusion is Liz Lemon, who cares enough to keep her team centered and on their game enough to deliver a live show week after week. Without Lemon at the helm, it’s unlikely that TGS would be able to thrive or even continue to exist as a show. Lemon is happy to go to bat for her colleagues, and recognizes potential and positive qualities in each of them. In rare episodes where Liz is presented with the option of a promotion or a more appealing job, it’s clear that her focus is on the quality of her work with TGS and her connection with all the people who make it happen.”


bette-porter

Bette Porter, The L Word

This sounds fucked up — but then again, so is the entire damn world — but until seeing The L Word, I’d never seen an example of a woman getting ahead in the workplace without pandering to male attention. I’d personally found my advancement and level of acceptance in every workplace I’d worked in, especially restaurants and temp jobs at banks, tightly linked to my ability to charm, attract or date male higher-ups or even well-liked male co-workers. But Bette didn’t take shit from anybody and often verged deliciously into misandry, whether she was heading up the California Center For the Arts, the Art Department at California University or that gallery situation with Jessie Spano. When in doubt, I tend to go meek, but when Bette Porter is in doubt, she defaults to strong. Plus she looks hot in pantsuits HEY-O.


KERRY WASHINGTON

Olivia Pope, Scandal

This weekend Kerry Washington spoke at BlogHer, an annual convention primarily geared towards lady-writers and I was there teaching people how to start their own Media Company (which required a certain degree of confidence I’m not always comfortable with). Prior to Kerry Washington’s moment on stage, I was telling a tablemate about how before business meetings, Alex and I will try to channel Olivia Pope and remind ourselves not to Take Anybody’s Shit and that We Know What We’re Doing and will Own The Room, and she said she does the exact same thing! Olivia Pope: inspires all of us to own the room and keep it pro. Oh, by the way, Kerry Washington is even more beautiful and perfect in person.


If you need more bossy inspiration, I suggest listening to this playlist my special activity partner made me to inspire me to remember that I Am The Boss, even when I Really Don’t Feel Like One.

https://play.spotify.com/user/gohomeyankee/playlist/3FcSvLzgbq8pyxeHR8MTGj

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Riese

Riese is the 41-year-old Co-Founder of Autostraddle.com as well as an award-winning writer, video-maker, LGBTQ+ Marketing consultant and aspiring cyber-performance artist who grew up in Michigan, lost her mind in New York and now lives in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in nine books, magazines including Marie Claire and Curve, and all over the web including Nylon, Queerty, Nerve, Bitch, Emily Books and Jezebel. She had a very popular personal blog once upon a time, and then she recapped The L Word, and then she had the idea to make this place, and now here we all are! In 2016, she was nominated for a GLAAD Award for Outstanding Digital Journalism. She's Jewish and has a cute dog named Carol. Follow her on twitter and instagram.

Riese has written 3164 articles for us.

27 Comments

  1. The fact that this list has Liz Lemon and Cream by the Wu-Tan Clan is amazing. Only thing missing is a Wanda Sykes joke, and I’d probably be lizzing. lol

  2. I feel kind of bad that I only watched two of these shows! Will be Netflixing some of these. (Is Netflixing a word? IDEK.)

    Editing note: Voyager was stranded 75,000 LIGHT YEARS from home. If they were only 75,000 miles away, they would’ve been in orbit of Earth. The moon is 238,900 miles away. :)

  3. For me, one of the greatest things about autostraddle is that I feel like you guys have every problem I have ever had, or will ever have, covered. Like, I’m hungry? Food columns. Bad breakup? playlists and self care. Don’t know what to wear? fashion columns. Worried about The World? I’m not alone, you smart people are talking about politics! Sad? Vapid Fluff. Like, really anything.
    But one thing I really worry about a lot is how I’m going to keep running this small business my mum and I have started. I’m learning and trying and not sleeping enough and working working working, and it’s going pretty well but AHH it’s SO STRESSFUL. There’s so much to do and learn, and I feel like a child whenever I’m around successful people, and I’m a queer lady in the wedding industry? Like, who does that?
    But then I come here, and I feel like I’m home. And this is a website made by queer ladies and it’s just so incredibly wonderful! You guys are my role models for being a Boss Lady who kicks ass and makes awesome shit, so you’ve got that covered, too.

    • awww probs if you saw our bossing in action you might not consider us role models but thanks! one time i read this article about decision fatigue and it really hit me in the heart.

      • Decision fatigue…I can absolutely relate. I’ve had times when I’m thinking “Why are you asking me questions non-stop???? Oh wait, because I’m supposedly the decision-maker. Crap.”
        I also never appreciated that managing is 95% parenting/babysitting/counseling before I began. So many emotions and issues ALL the time!!

  4. Janeway!!
    JANEWAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I mean, I started watching Voyager for Seven of Nine, but I stayed and will love it forever for Janeway.

  5. Regina Mills, Mayor.
    I actually channeled her for a couple of weeks,once upon a time.
    Couldn’t stand myself after week number one, but, it totally worked!
    What about Xena, btw.? Wasn’t she the ruler of armies, yada, yada?
    And:Kerry Weaver!!!

  6. I like this list. I like it a lot.

    But I also think that -based on the range of jobs I’ve had- what makes a good boss is someone who cares about the people they work with (and/or who work for them), can be funny when needed, know how to be approachable, and encourage you.

    And good bosses have to not be assholes. They have to be at least somewhat decent people, because otherwise working with them will be difficult.

  7. So…I’ve seen all of Next Generation and m’lady & I just finished season 4 of Deep Space 9 with plans for Voyager next….and, like, I knew there was a female captain (because I’ve been fucking pumped for it) BUT I DIDN’T KNOW IT WAS RED OH MY FUCKING GOLLY!!!

    Also, I hope to be an anti-capitalist version of Leslie Knope in my future. It will happen.

  8. How do you do that? How do you know?!… today was a really rough boss day. It started with having a serious sit down- disciplinary action conversation with one of my staff members and ended with a mediation session for 6 more… and the rest of the day was filled with issue after issue every time I turned around. And then after finishing all the incident reports I find this… absolutely perfect timing!

  9. Great list and all but, come on, PORTIA DI ROSSI, Better Off Ted, as Veronica. HILARIOUS, on her shit, making 3x as much as her next-in-charge (Ted), who basically exists to do her bidding. (Also super hot and married to Ellen IRL but w/e n.b.d.)

  10. Bette Porter is my primary means of reminding myself how to be a person in the workplace <3

  11. I’d also like to add Jessica Pearson from ‘Suits’. She’s smart and resourceful and she runs a huge, super successful law firm. Also, she’s played by Gina Torres!

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