“Man’s inhumanity to man”—the phrase is all too familiar. But until Phyllis Chesler's now-classic book, a profound silence prevailed about woman’s inhumanity to woman. Women's aggression may not take the same form as men's, but girls and women are indeed aggressive, often indirectly and mainly toward one another. They judge harshly, hold grudges, gossip, exclude, and disconnect from other women.
Like men, women are exposed to the messages of misogyny and sexism that permeate cultures worldwide. Like men, women unconsciously buy into negative images that can trigger abuse and mistreatment of other women. But like other social victims, many do not realize stereotyping affects members within the victimized group as well as those outside the group. They do not realize their behavior reflects society's biases.
Woman’s Inhumanity to Woman—Understanding Female Power Struggles, Workplace Mobbing, and
Social Control
Woman’s Inhumanity to Woman by Dr. Phyllis Chesler is a groundbreaking exploration of female aggression, social exclusion, and power struggles within professional, institutional, and personal relationships. Challenging the assumption that women are inherently more empathetic and cooperative, Chesler reveals how competition, indirect aggression, and relational bullying manifest in social and workplace hierarchies—often in ways that are covert, unspoken, and difficult to confront. At the Center for Integrative Neuroscience, this book aligns with our research on power dynamics, workplace mobbing, trauma bonding, and the mechanisms of exclusion and control used to suppress threats within hierarchical systems.
How This Book Connects to Our Work
✔ Relational Aggression & Status Enforcement – Unlike overt dominance-based power struggles, female aggression often takes the form of exclusion, passive aggression, and strategic reputation destruction. This aligns with our Status Marble Game model, which explains how power, credibility, and influence are stolen, hoarded, or exchanged within group settings.
✔ Why High-Performing Women Become Targets— Women who excel, challenge authority, or disrupt existing social hierarchies frequently face mobbing, professional sabotage, and exclusionary tactics from female peers and leadership. This mirrors our research into how institutions enforce compliance through status attacks, forced exile, and psychological warfare.
✔ The Psychological Toll of Social Exclusion— Being ostracized, undermined, or strategically isolated is not just an emotional experience—it is a neurological stressor that triggers cortisol dysregulation, nervous system dysregulation, and long-term trauma responses. This aligns with our focus on helping individuals recover from psychological manipulation and social betrayal.
✔ The Role of Female Gatekeeping in Institutional Power—Chesler explores how women in leadership roles often enforce the same hierarchical structures that once suppressed them, ensuring loyalty to dominant figures while eliminating perceived threats. This supports our research into why institutions protect toxic leaders and why women who rise in male-dominated fields often engage in strategic exclusion to maintain their own standing.
✔ Breaking Free from Relational Bullying & Social Conditioning—Woman’s Inhumanity to Woman provides insights into how women can resist social programming, break free from toxic group dynamics, and foster genuine collaboration rather than competition. This aligns with our focus on psychological resilience, energy sovereignty, and navigating power structures without falling into manipulative cycles.
Essential Reading for Those Navigating Workplace Mobbing, Professional Sabotage, and Social Exclusion
For individuals who have experienced female-driven workplace hostility, professional backstabbing, or social sabotage, Woman’s Inhumanity to Woman provides a critical lens for understanding these patterns and developing strategies for self-protection and empowerment. It reinforces the mission of the Center for Integrative Neuroscience to help individuals recognize, resist, and outmaneuver manipulative power structures using neuroscience-backed strategies for resilience, healing, and long-term success.
How women view and treat other women matters. Are women oppressed? Yes. Do oppressed people internalize their oppressors' attitudes? Without a doubt. Prejudice must first be acknowledged before it can be resisted or overcome. More than men, women depend upon one another for emotional intimacy and bonding, and exclusionary and sexist behavior enforces female conformity and discourages independence and psychological growth.
Continuing the pioneering work begun in Women and Madness—Chesler's bestselling book that broke the story on double standards in psychology—Woman's Inhumanity to Woman draws on important studies, revolutionary theories, literature, and hundreds of original interviews. Chesler urges us to look within, to treat other women realistically, ethically, and kindly, and to forge bold and compassionate alliances. This is a necessary next step for women, without which they will never be liberated.