Chapter 12 - Women and Leadership

Women and Leadership

Leadership
Theory and Practice,
3/e
Peter G. Northouse, Ph.D.

William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

Presenter

SAGE Publications 2003 Jan Krieger 1

 Chapter 12 - Women and Leadership

Overview
Women and Leadership Perspective
Overview of Research Trends
Can Women be leaders?
Do female and male leaders differ in their behavior and
effectiveness?
Why do so few women reach the top?
How Does the Women and Leadership Approach
Work?
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 Chapter 12 - Women and Leadership

Women and Leadership Approach Description

Perspective The Gendered Workplace
Gender (learned beliefs) - Has
Gender affects assignment of
significant impact on the degree to
which males and females are organizational responsibilities
expected to: and most decisions regarding:
Behave differently
Career progress
Be treated differently
Be valued differently Resources
Implications of a two-category Salaries
(male/female) set
Cognitive distortions arise Power
Implies those within each category Authority
are identical
One category valued as superior to Appropriate work behavior
the other

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 Chapter 12 - Women and Leadership

Overview of Research Trends

Can Women Be Leaders?
People Employed in U.S. in 2001

135M People Employed

For Each Dollar Earned by Men in 2001

Women over 20 Yrs 58 %
$1.00
$1.00
Women Managers 46.6 % $.76
$0.80
0 20 40 60 80 100 $.66
$0.60
Sources: Womens Bureau, 2001; Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2002
$0.40

$0.20

$0.00

Women Overall Women Managers Men

Sources: Womens Bureau, 2001; Garofoli , 2002

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 Chapter 12 - Women and Leadership

Overview of Research Trends

Can Women be Leaders?
Fortune 500 Top Management Positions in 2002
15.7%
Corporate Officer 84.3 %
16.1%
General Counsel 83.9 %
7.1%
CFO 92.9 %
5.2%
Top Earning Slots 90.1 %
9.9 %
"Clout Titles" 94.8 %
12.4 %
Corp BOD 87.6 %

0 20 40 60 80 100
Men Women
Source: Catalyst, 2002
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 Chapter 12 - Women and Leadership

Overview of Research Trends

Can Women be Leaders?
Women Who Government
Own & Run Leadership Positions
Their Own
Companies
14%
U.S. House 86%
13%
U.S. Senate 87%
20.4 M 44% 5% 3% 12%
Govenors 88%
Small Owned Venture Govt
Businesses by Capital Contracts 0 50 100
in U.S. Women to to Men Women
Women Women

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 Chapter 12 - Women and Leadership

Overview of Research Trends

Can Women be Leaders?

Women of Differing Racial & Ethnic

Backgrounds Holding Top Management Positions

Fortune 500
Executive
12.5%
Women Overall 8.7% Positions

1.3%
Women of Color 1.3%

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Source: Scott, 2001

1995 2000
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 Chapter 12 - Women and Leadership

Overview of Research Trends

Can Women be Leaders?
2001
18.1% Fortune 1000
Women Overall
2% = 178 positions Corporate Board
Women of Color
Positions
African Am. 74%

Latino Am. 17%

Asian Am. 8.4%

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Source: Catalyst, 2002

Primary Organizational Benefits in Developing and Promoting Women

Enhanced Productivity
Competitive Advantage
Financial Performance
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 Chapter 12 - Women and Leadership

Overview of Research Trends

Do Female and Male Leaders Differ in Their
Behavior and Effectiveness?
Meta-Analyses/Literature Review Results Over a 15-Year Period
160 Studies of sex-related differences in leadership (Eagly & Johnson,
1990)
Women use a more participative or democratic style and a less autocratic or directive
style than men
Both men and women emphasized task accomplishment when organization dominated
numerically by members of their own sex or leadership role is viewed as gender
congruent
82 Studies measuring leader effectiveness (Eagly, Karau, & Makhijani,
1995)
No difference in overall effectiveness between male and female leaders

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 Chapter 12 - Women and Leadership

Overview of Research Trends

Do Female and Male Leaders Differ in Their
Behavior and Effectiveness?
Meta-Analyses/Literature Review Results Over a 15-Year Period
Male and female leaders evaluated differently (e.g., Eagly, Makhijani, & Klonsky, 1992; Dreher &
Cox, 1996)
Impacts
Management training
Assignments
Mentors
Promotion
Female and male leaders evaluated favorably when they used a democratic leadership style (stereotypically feminine)
Females evaluated unfavorably when they used a directive or autocratic style (stereotypically male)
Women were devalued when they worked in male-dominated environments and when the evaluators were men

82 Studies measuring leader effectiveness (Eagly, Karau, & Makhijani, 1995)

No difference in overall effectiveness between male and female leaders

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 Chapter 12 - Women and Leadership

Overview of Research Trends

Do Female and Male Leaders Differ in Their
Behavior and Effectiveness?
Meta-Analyses/Literature Review Results Over a 15-Year Period
Conditions of effectiveness (Eagly et al., 1995)
While overall effectiveness did not differ for male and female leaders, comparisons of leader
effectiveness favored men more under three conditions:
In a male-dominated setting (particularly the military)
When a high percentage of subordinates were male
When the role was viewed as more congenial to men in terms of:
Self-assessed competence
Interest
Low requirements for cooperation with high requirements for control
Effectiveness comparisons favored women to the extent these conditions were reversed
With the exception of the military, womens effectiveness increased as they moved up the hierarchy and as
cooperation rather than control was required

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 Chapter 12 - Women and Leadership

Overview of Research Trends

Do Female and Male Leaders Differ in Their
Behavior and Effectiveness?
Meta-Analyses/Literature Review Results Over a 15-Year Period
Patterns of women leaders effectiveness (Micco, 1996; Women May, 1997)
Advanced Teamware, Inc., study of 915 middle-senior level managers
In 31 areas examined, women outperformed men in 28 (i.e., conflict resolution, work quality,
adaptation to change, productivity, idea generation, & motivation of others)
Men handled their frustration and coped with pressure better; both groups scored equally on
delegating authority
Saville & Holdworth study of 3,000 managers
Women emphasized planning and organizing work and an empathic approach
Women placed less emphasis on winning at all cost

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 Chapter 12 - Women and Leadership

Overview of Research Trends

Do Female and Male Leaders Differ in Their
Behavior and Effectiveness?
Meta-Analyses/Literature Review Results
CONCLUSIONS

Women leaders are apt to be more participative and less autocratic, a pattern
that is well suited to 21-century global organizations
The range of behavior viewed as appropriate for women leaders is more
restricted because of mens negative evaluation of women demonstrating
stereotypically masculine behaviors
Outside of the military, women were seen as more effective in middle
management positions and in settings requiring cooperation with a balance of
men and women

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 Chapter 12 - Women and Leadership

Overview of Research Trends

Why Do so Few Women Reach the Top?
CEO Explanations
Pipeline Theory - Women have not been in managerial positions long enough for
natural career progression to occur (Heilman, 1997; Ragins et al., 1998)
Women lack general management or line experience (Ragins et al., 1998)
Women themselves are the issue; they are less suited to executive demands than men
(Heilman, 1997)
Women are unavailable to fill executive positions because few are sufficiently
qualified (Morrison, 1992)
Women lack self-confidence (Morris, 1998)

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 Chapter 12 - Women and Leadership

Common Barriers to Womens Advancement

The Glass Ceiling

Organizational Barriers
Higher standards of performance and effort
Inhospitable corporate culture
Promotion decisions based on homophily (gender similarity)
Ignorance/inaction by male CEOs and silent majority male peers
Imbalance of adequate recognition & support with excessive difficulties
Lack of definitive development opportunities

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 Chapter 12 - Women and Leadership

Common Barriers to Womens Advancement

The Glass Ceiling

Interpersonal Barriers Personal Barriers

Male prejudice, stereotyping, preconceptions
Lack of political savvy
Lack of emotional and interpersonal support
Work-home conflict
Exclusion from informal networks
Lack of white male mentors

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 Chapter 12 - Women and Leadership

How Does the

Women and
Leadership
Approach Work?
Strengths
Criticisms
Application

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 Chapter 12 - Women and Leadership

Strengths
Understanding gender dynamics in leadership and
uncovering and recognizing unconscious patterns and
beliefs will foster workplace and societal improvements

Considering the sex of leaders and employees can yield

insights within the major leadership theoretical frameworks
(e.g., contingency theory)

Research on gender dynamics in leadership has contributed

to broader conversations regarding what values are most
important and what the good life really means in the U.S.
society

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 Chapter 12 - Women and Leadership

Criticisms
A disadvantage of a singular focus on individuals sex is
that it can become the only or primary attribute
identifying them, rather than one of a myriad of
attributes that influence their worldview and experience
Research on sex and gender differences has fostered an
implicit assumption that members of each category are
identical in race, sexual orientation, age, etc.

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 Chapter 12 - Women and Leadership

Application
The research findings on women and leadership can be applied to a number of
organizational issues:
Retention of talented women
Developing effective leaders
Barriers to womens advancement
The findings on womens effectiveness and the choices required for advancement
can inform women of what they need to do to develop as leaders
The findings on gender dynamics in leadership can inform men of the subtle
patterns enacted in the everyday workplace that impede fairness and excellence

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