Women in the Workplace: Frenemy?

Sept. 29, 2007 — -- In a fast-paced, fiercely competitive workforce, tales run wild of ambition, rivalry, and office politics turning professional women into "mean girls."

Good Morning America gathered a focus group, five working women, of varying generations and experience levels, who agreed to speak extremely candidly about how women help and hurt each other in the workplace these days:

Michela O'Connor said "I was in my 20s when I was in a 'Mean Girls' scenario."

She remembers how her older female boss at the time first acted as her mentor and friend, then quickly became her enemy when she was offered a big promotion, even trying to prevent the promotion.

"Pretty much tried to stop it, and made some phone calls to try and stop it," O'Connor said, adding she thought insecurity was the woman's motivation.

Sandy Moose believes that sometimes the "queen bee" syndrome still comes into play, even at the very top levels of power.

"There are, you know, a couple of queen bees who are quite pleased that they're the only women," Moose speculated. "Some of them are fearful that if they reach out for women, junior women, that somehow or other they're going to become alienated from the circle of men that they have joined in this very small executive suite."