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Judging Leadership
Compelling Education:Climate
K-12for
andProspective Women Leaders
Early Computing Concepts
A way to develop women leaders
A formal assessment of an organization’s climate can be quite
complex, but short of such an investment, a bit of self study
can help identify some markers of congeniality. For example, a
simple organizational chart will highlight how hierarchical the
organization’s structure is, and perusal of one’s performance
appraisals likely will reveal the styles and behaviors of leaders
that the organization values. Discussions with successful peers
of a prospective woman leader might explore their attitudes
about power and empowerment, their relationships with
and expectations for followers, and their definitions of good
leadership. A diagnostic tool that has been used effectively
to raise these issues is a 15-item measure developed by Roger
Harrison and published with Herb Stokes (1992), Diagnosing
Organizational Culture Instrument. San Francisco, CA:
Wiley.
Ignoring Stereotyping in a Challenging Climate
In Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins (1990), the U.S. Supreme Court for the first time included psychological evidence about sex
stereotyping to conclude that Ann Hopkins was refused a partnership at this accounting firm because of “gender-based stereotyping”
(Fiske at al., 1991, p. 1049). This case highlights the low congeniality of this context where Ms. Hopkins objectively brought in $25m
in business and was praised as driven, hard working, and exacting (i.e., masculine), yet where only 7 of 662 partners were women and
where Ms. Hopkins was denied promotion because of “interpersonal skill problems” (p. 1050).
Lessons: The solution cannot rest on individuals alone. No matter how similar to a high-achieving man Ms. Hopkins performed, she
was caught in the catch-22 of an uncongenial climate. To correct this situation in the long-range, the organization could work to add
women and change the climate. In the short-range, the organization could reward task performance and discount subjective evaluations
that are likely to reflect the discrepancy between others’ expectations for Ms. Hopkins as an accountant and as a woman.
Fiske, S.T., et al. (1991). Social science research on trial: use of sex stereotyping research in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins. American
Psychologist, 46, 1049-1060.

The Power of Legitimacy

We conducted a controlled experiment by first establishing a climate that was purposively inhospitable to women’s leadership.
We formed groups of 4-6 men, gave the group a task to do together that was highly masculine stereotyped, and appointed a solo
woman to lead them. We then simply let the group do the task and scored their group’s performance as our baseline measure of
task performance.
In two other conditions, we enacted the same conditions but brought the woman leader into the lab in advance of the group. She
completed the task alone, was given the answers, then re-tested, scoring higher after training. Half these women went on to lead
groups unaware of her training, and they fared no better than our baseline. The other half also lead groups, but the groups were
told beforehand that the woman had been trained and knew a lot about the task. These groups outscored our baseline.
Lesson: Skill is not enough to make a woman an effective leader in challenging contexts. Having the organization validate her
credentials makes her input credible and effective.
Yoder, J.D., Schleicher, T.L., & McDonald, T.W. (1998). Empowering token women leaders: The importance of organizationally
legitimated credibility. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 22, 209-222.
 How can IT organizations develop women leaders?
How effectively an organization develops its women as leaders depends
on the climate of the organization and its specific work groups.
Additionally, it depends on how congenially being a woman fits with
the styles and behaviors subordinates expect from leaders in that
climate. There is no one-size-fits-all answer.
Organizational and work group climates vary widely. Some climates are
largely challenging for women; others are more congenial. Recognizing
that most climates fall somewhere in between these extremes, a good
jumping-off place is to consider the endpoints.
The least congenial climate for women’s leadership development is
characterized by rigid hierarchy and vertical communication through
the chain-of-command, by emphasis on leaders’ power and resources,
and by singular attention to task performance. The leadership style that
is most effective in these contexts - Contingent Reward - concentrates
on rewarding subordinates’ satisfactory job performance. This context
also can foster a management style that focuses on correcting mistakes
and failures, although this approach is ineffective.
In power-oriented Contingent Reward climates, women leaders can
be seduced into adopting leadership strategies associated with power,
dominance, and masculinity such as assertiveness, being autocratic
and directive, and promoting one’s self. Each of these strategies can
establish men’s leadership and power. For women, however, they often
bring unintended negative consequences because they violate others’
expectations or stereotyping for women, and they can bias performance
appraisals (see the case of Ann Hopkins). Teaching women in a
Contingent Reward climate to behave in this way is likely to fail for
both the individual woman and for the organization.
Without addressing climate itself, these less congenial organizations still
can work to develop women leaders. Leadership effectiveness in these
settings is dependent on status, some of which comes automatically
from being male, but also from have having the resources to reward
subordinates. To level the playing field for women leaders, women need
to have rewards to distribute and to be regarded by their subordinates
as legitimate. Organizations can facilitate both of these outcomes by
empowering women leaders with resources and by publicly recognizing
their qualifications and skills.
At the more congenial extreme are climates that develop in flatter,
horizontal structures with open lines of communication; emphasize
empowerment over power; and value outcomes beyond task
performance such as followers’ satisfaction with the job and leader,
followers’ motivation and professional development, leaders’
effectiveness as judged by followers and superiors, and leader, group,
and overall organizational performance. In these contexts, the kinds of
leadership styles and behaviors shown to be effective include being an
inspirational role model by building on followers’ trust and confidence,
stressing team building and collaboration, valuing creativity and
“The role an organization can
play to develop this favorable
synerg y between leaders and
climate is to work on climate,
that is, to foster a climate that
values change and innovation,
that rewards performance as
well as social cooperation and
social complexit y, and that
encourages the sharing of power
and information.”
innovation, and serving as a mentor who actively seeks to empower
followers.
Sometimes the kinds of leadership styles and behaviors shown effective
in these climates are referred to as “women’s ways of leading,” suggesting
that these strategies are specific to women. Indeed, these approaches
are compatible with stereotyping of women, avoiding the role conflicts
inherent in more masculine views of leadership as power. However,
men exercise this transformational form of leadership as effectively as
women.
The role an organization can play to develop this favorable synergy
between leaders and climate is to work on climate, that is, to foster a
climate that values change and innovation, that rewards performance as
well as social cooperation and social complexity, and that encourages the
sharing of power and information. Revisiting performance appraisals
with these goals in mind takes a positive step toward changing, or
capitalizing on existing, climate.
Across all climates, paying attention to the proportions of women in
upper and lower echelons of the organization can serve as a marker
of the organization’s success in promoting women’s leadership. In
addition, having women as both superiors and subordinates can have
a positive impact on women’s performance appraisals. Finally, by
assessing the climate of one’s organization, organizational leaders can
identify the types of leadership style and behaviors documented to be
most effective in that climate and train potential leaders to be cognizant
of and responsive to those parameters.

National Center for Women & Information Technology

Revolutionizing the Face of Technology SM

Janice Yoder, author

www. nc w i t.o r g • N a ti o n a l C e n te r for Women & Informati on Technol ogy • copyri ght 2007