LAST WEEK, a reader wrote in and told a shocking story about a female boss, a woman who actually suggested the reader get an abortion to keep her job in accounting. This was an unflattering story about a woman. I apologize if I gave the impression that every single female boss is mean.

I personally know some women bosses who are understanding and kind, as well as smart and authoritative. I would like to offer a story about one of these heroic women in order to rectify any bias I may have displayed.

There was a man, we’ll call him George, who used to lay out snacks for his fellow workers at 5 p.m. every day on his desk in a large, heartless corporate office.

This was known as “George’s Buffet,” and the table filled with popcorn and pretzel sticks was a big hit among employees. Every day, without fail, a small crowd gathered at George’s desk. This went on for years and the employees grew fat and happy, all because of this little touch of love at 5 p.m. Then, lo and behold, a new woman vice president was hired. Things began to change. In fact, she decided that George’s Buffet was not appropriate for a professional work environment and, besides that, it was unsanitary. Crumbs were everywhere. She ordered that the practice come to an immediate end.

George and all his coworkers were in shock and deep mourning as the snacks had become more than a daily junk food binge. It was a form of bonding, a ray of sunshine in this heartless corporate office. They were glum and inconsolable.

One day, one of the employees was walking out of the office when he ran into the woman vice president.

She said, “Do you believe this flap over George’s Buffet?”

Without thinking twice, the employee said, “Well, you see, George is pretty upset.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, well, you know he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam. He was starving for six months.”

This, of course, was not true. George was a low-level administrator for most of his life and had rarely missed a meal. Nevertheless, the story was told and it plucked the strings of a woman’s soul. The next day George’s Buffet was summarily reinstated. The happy work atmosphere was restored. People regained their lost weight, or rather continued their upward trajectory on the obesity scale.

This was a happy ending. All because of one enlightened female boss.

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