For many years I had worked for a state government. I watched one incompetent 20-something political appointee after another rise to instant administrative power. Almost always they were in way over their heads and convinced they got their position based on skill and merit.
Worse, they were typically deliriously intoxicated with their sudden responsibility over others. You had to handle them with kid gloves and ever so gently guide them through their inexperience and incompetence. And to be brutally honest, the women appointees were almost always the most prickly and the worst to deal with. So glad that’s long gone.
I feel your pain.
I used to tell my wife that a group of men could walk into a room and within moments, the pecking order was known. And in most cases, everyone fell into their role.
Different rooms, different pecking orders.
Women take ages to figure out who is who.