Leadership
Lecture & Articles Summary
,Week 1: Gender differences
Topic 1: Gender and Leadership
The CEO effect: The study shows that CEO leadership explains 29.2% of the variance in firm
performance (ROA) far more than the corporate (7.9%), industry (6.2%), or year (0.7%) effects.
Conclusion: Who the CEO is matters greatly for company performance.
Leaders have a major impact, their traits and behaviors strongly influence team performance,
satisfaction, and effectiveness.
,Gender-Based Discrimination in Leadership
Leadership roles have traditionally been dominated by men.
Why?
Because of three main factors:
1. Stereotypes: What men and women are believed to be like (“as is”)
2. Implicit Theories: What people think leaders should be like
3. Role Expectations: What society believes men and women should do (“as should be”)
1.Gender Stereotypes (“As Is”): People hold different assumptions about men and women, believing
they have in-built differences in interests and characteristics.
Female Qualities (Communal Traits)
Women are often viewed as:
❖ Affectionate, cooperative, and sympathetic
❖ Helpful, sensitive, and interpersonally oriented
❖ Focused on equality and relationships
❖ Nurturing, gentle, and emotionally expressive
❖ Concerned with the welfare of others
In short: women are seen as warm and caring, skilled at supporting others.
Male Qualities (Agentic Traits)
Men are often viewed as:
❖ Assertive, ambitious, and dominant
❖ Controlling and competitive
❖ Result-oriented and decisive
❖ Independent and self-sufficient
❖ Respectful of hierarchy, confident, and tough
❖ Unaffected by criticism
In short: men are seen as confident, assertive, and goal-driven — traits typically associated with
leadership.
2. Implicit Leader Theories (“Think Manager, Think Male”): People hold biased mental models of what
makes an effective leader.
Leaders are stereotyped as:
➔ Task-oriented
, ➔ Competitive
➔ Assertive
➔ Decisive
These are typically masculine traits, reinforcing the idea that effective leadership is “male.”
Schein’s Findings:
● People tend to associate “successful manager” with masculine characteristics such as
competitiveness, confidence, ambition, and leadership ability.
● There is a strong correlation between “men” and “managers,” but a weak correlation between
“women” and “managers.”
Interpretation: Across all ages, people associate leadership success more strongly with men than with
women.
3. Role Expectations (“As Should Be”): There is often a perceived mismatch between female gender
roles and leadership roles.
❖ Female roles emphasize being caring, communal, and supportive.
❖ Leadership roles emphasize being assertive, dominant, and decisive.
This incongruity makes it difficult for women to be viewed as fitting leaders. When women act in line
with traditional gender roles, they may seem less leader-like. When they act assertively, they may be
judged negatively for not being “feminine enough.”
Illustration: Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada — a woman leader criticized for traits that are
often admired in male leaders.
Gender Discrimination and the Glass Ceiling
Role Incongruity & Backlash
● Gender stereotypes say how men and women should behave.
● When women act against these roles, they face criticism — this is the backlash effect.
● Women are caught in a double bind:
○ If they act caring → seen as weak.
○ If they act assertive → seen as too aggressive.
Results
● Fewer chances for hiring, promotion, or leadership.
● Example: Ann Hopkins case — punished for being too “masculine.”
The Glass Ceiling
Lecture & Articles Summary
,Week 1: Gender differences
Topic 1: Gender and Leadership
The CEO effect: The study shows that CEO leadership explains 29.2% of the variance in firm
performance (ROA) far more than the corporate (7.9%), industry (6.2%), or year (0.7%) effects.
Conclusion: Who the CEO is matters greatly for company performance.
Leaders have a major impact, their traits and behaviors strongly influence team performance,
satisfaction, and effectiveness.
,Gender-Based Discrimination in Leadership
Leadership roles have traditionally been dominated by men.
Why?
Because of three main factors:
1. Stereotypes: What men and women are believed to be like (“as is”)
2. Implicit Theories: What people think leaders should be like
3. Role Expectations: What society believes men and women should do (“as should be”)
1.Gender Stereotypes (“As Is”): People hold different assumptions about men and women, believing
they have in-built differences in interests and characteristics.
Female Qualities (Communal Traits)
Women are often viewed as:
❖ Affectionate, cooperative, and sympathetic
❖ Helpful, sensitive, and interpersonally oriented
❖ Focused on equality and relationships
❖ Nurturing, gentle, and emotionally expressive
❖ Concerned with the welfare of others
In short: women are seen as warm and caring, skilled at supporting others.
Male Qualities (Agentic Traits)
Men are often viewed as:
❖ Assertive, ambitious, and dominant
❖ Controlling and competitive
❖ Result-oriented and decisive
❖ Independent and self-sufficient
❖ Respectful of hierarchy, confident, and tough
❖ Unaffected by criticism
In short: men are seen as confident, assertive, and goal-driven — traits typically associated with
leadership.
2. Implicit Leader Theories (“Think Manager, Think Male”): People hold biased mental models of what
makes an effective leader.
Leaders are stereotyped as:
➔ Task-oriented
, ➔ Competitive
➔ Assertive
➔ Decisive
These are typically masculine traits, reinforcing the idea that effective leadership is “male.”
Schein’s Findings:
● People tend to associate “successful manager” with masculine characteristics such as
competitiveness, confidence, ambition, and leadership ability.
● There is a strong correlation between “men” and “managers,” but a weak correlation between
“women” and “managers.”
Interpretation: Across all ages, people associate leadership success more strongly with men than with
women.
3. Role Expectations (“As Should Be”): There is often a perceived mismatch between female gender
roles and leadership roles.
❖ Female roles emphasize being caring, communal, and supportive.
❖ Leadership roles emphasize being assertive, dominant, and decisive.
This incongruity makes it difficult for women to be viewed as fitting leaders. When women act in line
with traditional gender roles, they may seem less leader-like. When they act assertively, they may be
judged negatively for not being “feminine enough.”
Illustration: Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada — a woman leader criticized for traits that are
often admired in male leaders.
Gender Discrimination and the Glass Ceiling
Role Incongruity & Backlash
● Gender stereotypes say how men and women should behave.
● When women act against these roles, they face criticism — this is the backlash effect.
● Women are caught in a double bind:
○ If they act caring → seen as weak.
○ If they act assertive → seen as too aggressive.
Results
● Fewer chances for hiring, promotion, or leadership.
● Example: Ann Hopkins case — punished for being too “masculine.”
The Glass Ceiling
