As a woman I have developed an adaptive approach to leadership that is critical in today's world of rapid change. For me, this means dealing with woman leadership with open eyes, open ears, an open mind and an open heart.

In my lifetime I have observed and encountered many labels of women by women such as when another sister is goal-oriented, she is seen as aggressive, pushy, rude, and tactless.

If she sympathises with subordinates, does not shout at them, let them take important decisions, women colleagues and subordinates say she is not fit for the job.

But the same women are not shy to describe a goal-oriented man as assertive and having guts.

As we celebrate International Women's Day 2017 today, with the theme "Be Bold for Change", let us remember that a more gender inclusive world is as elusive as ever, courtesy of many of our sisters. Why are we perplexed that Hillary Clinton lost the US presidential elections?

A startling fact was that more white women and white men voted for Donald Trump than her. Why women vote for a man who delights in sexism, chauvinism and misogyny beats me.

Is it confirmation that for centuries research has showed that so-called Queen Bee syndrome and gender bias have been a major obstacle to women climbing the leadership ladder. Some of the research findings, published in the journal of Social Science Research, add to previous evidence that so-called Queen Bee syndrome can be a major obstacle to women climbing the managerial ladder.

Far from encouraging other ambitious women, psychologists at the University of Cincinnati found female bosses are more inclined to obstruct other women.

The research showed that men who report to a female manager get much more mentoring and support than their female colleagues.

As well as the unwanted competition, researchers think this may partly be due to the fact that women occupying senior posts want to blend in as much as possible with their male counterparts.

A survey by the University of Lancaster University showed two-thirds of women preferred a male boss as they are straight-talking, less likely to talk about staff behind their backs and not prone to mood swings.

In this study, men exceeded women in receiving job-related support from female supervisors and were more optimistic about their promotion chances as a result.

The results were consistent with the notion that female managers have little or no effect on the career prospects of female subordinates and instead foster men's career prospects. For example, in the US, women chose Trump over a woman to lead. Trump ridiculed and insulted women, faced multiple allegations of sexual assault and a recording of him bragging about groping women's genitals, made fun of a disabled person, threatened to ban people because of their religion and maligned immigrants.

At the end of the day, the qualms about working with female bosses have more to do with the prevalent perceptions which are baseless.

We don't have enough women in leadership positions and it is not getting better anything like fast enough. We do have more women going to university than ever before. The participation rate of women in the labour force has never been higher.

When women lead, new concerns are placed on the agenda. When women speak, different voices are heard. Despite worldwide gender bias against women, ladies must be at the heart of decision-making in all spheres - from parliaments, the judiciary and peace-making forums to global governance institutions; from local governments to households; and from multinational corporations to small businesses.

We want all decision-makers - from heads of state, heads of governments and parliamentarians to chief executives, trade unions and party leaders - to advocate for substantive gender equality. We want to see more women in economic leadership to ensure that women shape markets and drive economic growth. As women, we don't want favours. We want understanding. We want to work equally hard and have the same challenges as our male colleagues.

How long should misogyny, chauvinism and patriarchy remain embedded in our societies?

As we observe International Women's Day this year, let us ignite the inner sister in each of us. Let us reach out and touch the little girl waiting for us to build a world with no gender bias. Mindsets have to change and acceptance towards women in leadership positions and acceptance towards women needs to increase.

lBouwer is CEO of Carol Bouwer Productions