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How do gender-based stereotypes influence female communication styles and the lack of
female executives?
Holly Elko
elkohn@dukes.jmu.edu
SCOM 280
Maymester: Session 1
GENDER STEREOTYPES ON LACK OF FEMALE EXECUTIVES 2
Abstract
among corporations. It questions how gender stereotypes of men and women influence
female communication styles. This issue is important to analyze in attempt to uncover the
reasons behind the phenomenon of such few women executives, and what women are
doing in response. Using a quantitative method, college students, middle managers, and
research study will hope to discover truths of how language of a dominant group can be
corporations, the amount of female CEOs continues to be drastically low. Men seem to
have a monopoly over these executive positions, leading Oakley (2000) to believe the
glass ceiling is seen most clearly in the statistics. Although this issue has a simple
solution of hiring more women executives, doing so would disturb the status quo. The
men that are making hiring and promoting decisions benefit from other men remaining in
power. Across various organizations, the most powerful men create alliances and have an
informal social system that preserves their power (Oakley, 2000). If more women were
hired in these roles, it would disrupt the old boy network, causing men to lose control
across institutions (Oakley, 2000). Men who want to maintain this power see no
for the purpose of challenging stereotypes. Its crucial to understand how these
generalizations of gender roles reinforce the status quo. The majority of stereotypes are
negative perceptions of a group that make it difficult to perceive the group any other way.
For this reason, Portilla (2016) asserts that dominant groups create stereotypes of
subdominant groups. Because men have been the dominant group throughout history, it
can be concluded theyve constructed these perceptions of women. Schneider (2005) lists
common female stereotype traits as: emotional, sympathetic, sensitive, and affectionate;
while stereotypic males traits include dominant, aggressive, self-confident, rational, and
unemotional. People generally associate the later traits with that of an effective leader,
while perceiving women as less suitable for the job. (Schenider, 2005). Interestingly
enough, successful corporate leaders, men and women, tend to conform to the male
GENDER STEREOTYPES ON LACK OF FEMALE EXECUTIVES 4
stereotype; this includes behaviors such as dressing more masculine or hiding their true
emotions. (Peacock, 2013). This tells us stereotypical male characteristics almost always
Lastly and most importantly, this issue must be discussed because women will
and do make great executives. A study done by Business Insider reveals women scored
higher than men on 12 of the 16 leadership competencies, which included traits such as:
companies that are fortunate enough to have female leaders are generally very successful.
Acting as executives, women such as: Indra Nooyi, Irene Rosenfeld, and Sheryl Sandberg
have generated substantial profit increases and overall benefited each of their companies
greatly (Powerful Business Women, 2017). The reasons women arent represented in
more leadership roles are supported by false perceptions of femininity and stereotypes
created to oppress. For these reasons, these questions must be asked: How do gender-
based stereotypes influence female communication styles? How does that effect the lack
of female executives?
In an effort to discover reasons behind the issue of too few female executives,
research on the topic within must be analyzed. The literature review section of this paper
will provide the reader with previous research on gender stereotypes, female
communication styles, management styles between genders, and the lack of female
executives. The methodology section will outline the data sources, operationalization
variables, and other ways in which this study can be conducted and analyzed. Finally, the
conclusion will discuss the overall importance of the project and any strengths or
limitations to consider.
GENDER STEREOTYPES ON LACK OF FEMALE EXECUTIVES 5
Literature Review
Gender Stereotypes
results conclude phenomenas such as: the construction of these stereotypes, how they
influence society as a whole, and the ways men and women act in response. One study
examined the congruence of childrens personal interest in toys and their attitudes
towards stereotypical tendencies (Dinella, Fulcher, & Weisgram, 2014). It proposed two
possible pathways children will take when interested in toys, one suggests stereotypes
shape interests, study 1, while the other says personal interests lead to the construction of
stereotypes, study 2. Researchers introduced novel toys to children in both studies; study
1 included toys with no gender association, the results concluded that the 3-4 year old
boys and girls held more interest in the toys associated with their gender, or both genders.
Study 2 gave children gender labeled toys, results showed those children who are gender-
schematic valued the toys associated with their gender, while gender-aschematic children
showed minimal bias when becoming interested in the toys. In conclusion, Dinella,
Essentially, most gender normative children, that value sex aligning with gender, are
discusses the stereotype threat and how that influences female communication styles
GENDER STEREOTYPES ON LACK OF FEMALE EXECUTIVES 6
(Bowden et al., 2011). They gave female participants fake articles about effective
leadership skills; some articles included how male characteristics reflect the skills, others
didnt mention males at all. Results showed those who were told the gender differences
made their communication more masculine because of stereotype threat; the controlled
group didnt adopt their communication styles (Bowden, 2011). These conclusions
showing women intentionally acting masculine, resembles the fear some women have of
Stereotype threat effects decisions made in the professional and public sphere
(Barth, Rice, 2015). Focusing on hiring decisions, a study done by Barth and Rice (2015)
was interested in how the gender stereotype characteristics of evaluators influenced how
stereotype-incongruent sheet of paper that listed traits of either males or females; they are
then asked to evaluate a job applicant of the corresponding sex. After stereotype-
congruent priming, the results found men valued other male applicants over female; when
situation, where applicants are perceived to fit gender roles, such as: men being seen as
leaders with analytical ability or women working well with others and sensitive. Overall,
these stereotypes hurt women when being evaluated for positions, while benefitting men
(Barthe, 2015).
(McCormick, Morris, 2015). Stereotype threat of women being less competitive and
assertive than men can deter them from successful negotiations. A study conducted by
GENDER STEREOTYPES ON LACK OF FEMALE EXECUTIVES 7
McCormick and Morris (2015) analyzed differences in negotiation outcomes based on
sex, and how stereotype threat results in salary differences between sexes. They
Participants were given informational packets that included: guidelines, salary goal
sheets, and increased or minimized stereotype threat manipulation. The results concluded
that within the mixed-sex groups, in both face-to-face and email, the stereotype threat
positively increased men outcomes while negatively affecting the women (McCormick,
Morris, 2015). Within the same-sex pairs, no significant difference in outcome existed.
In addition to many others, this study shows the benefit men receive from gender-based
with a better sense of reading emotional non-verbal expressions, listening skills, and
sensitivity (Baird, Bradley, 2003: & Berryman-Fink, 1985: & Byron, 2007). A study
done by Byron (2007), predicted managers that are effective in reading non-verbal
emotions, also receive higher ratings of satisfaction from their employees. MBA students
and hospitality managers took a brief non-verbal emotional perception test, then, their
satisfaction with the manager, and the managers performance (Byron, 2007). The results
show female managers who more accurately perceived nonverbal emotions on the initial
test also received higher performance ratings (Byron, 2007). Although the stereotype of
women being more sensitive can be seen as negative, skills like reading the faces of your
their own level of interaction involvement, or how attentive and perceptive they are in
took a test called the Interaction involvement scale, or IIS, which included statements
such as: I am keenly aware of how other perceive me in a conversation, and my mind
wanders during conversations and I often miss parts of what going on (Cambra, Klopf,
1983). The results support one main conclusion that females are more attentive and
perceptive in oral communication situations. Despite this research being conducted over
30 years ago, these interpersonal communication skills of women are still true more
women and how that translates to them as effective managers. Cynthia Berryman-Fink
related to managerial effectiveness and what training they should receive to promote their
effectiveness. After asking male and female managers to answer these questions with an
open response, Berryman-Fink (1985), analyzed the frequency of similar responses. She
found both men and women saw skills such as: listening, nonverbal communication, and
confidence building, and public speaking (Berryman-Fink, 1985). The skills of the latter
When analyzing how women are viewed, its important to disregard reality and
focus on the perceptions of the viewers. Furthering research on men and womens
GENDER STEREOTYPES ON LACK OF FEMALE EXECUTIVES 9
perception of leadership, one study questions how students perceive their group members
and if it differs based on groups (Neal, Waner, & Winter, 2001). Participants had been
placed in groups in the beginning of the semester, either all male, all female, or a mixed
gendered group. The students then took surveys rating the cooperativeness,
competitiveness, workload sharing, and leadership roles of their group members. The
but male and mixed gender groups perceived themselves as more competitive, and had
more natural leaders than the all female group (Neal, Waner, & Winter, 2001). This
revelation isnt uncommon, stereotypes tell women they are less competitive and possess
executive positions, studies show some organizations prefer a more feminine style of
a Danish corporation to simply record their everyday task, such as giving direction to
staff (Ladegaard, 2011). The results showed male and female executives both seem to
prefer an indirect and more feminine style of management, but stated that no organization
executives has influenced researchers to study why this phenomenon occurs. Judith
Oakley (2000) found explanations for this such as: inadequate career opportunities and
based corporations by finding relevant data on corporate policies and preferred leadership
GENDER STEREOTYPES ON LACK OF FEMALE EXECUTIVES 10
styles; this enabled her to conclude that many these reasons are due to the status quo that
men seek to uphold (Oakley, 2000). Similarly, when women are the ones making
decisions, more females tend to be hired (Duncan, Skaggs, & Stainback, 2012). A social
level) (Duncan, Skaggs, & Stainback, 2012). Using multi-level modeling, the researchers
characteristics. The results show a significant positive relationship between female board
There are several ideas on what women can do to break through this glass ceiling,
according to a study done by Brennda Wrigley (2002). She questioned the factors
reaffirming the glass ceiling, specifically within public relations and corporate
communication management. Wrigley (2002) asked only women questions such as: their
perception of the glass ceiling, why they think it remains, and how they believe they can
eliminate it. Focus groups and in-depth interviews concluded denial from women and
role socialization, their advice for breaking the glass ceiling includes: mentoring, working
harder, and changing jobs (Wrigley, 2002). These results portray the idea that women are
doing things wrong, such as working easier and in the wrong field or career. In reality,
the social constructions of gender and gender stereotypes have taught women normalized
stereotypes, female communication styles, management styles, and the lack of female
executives. However, not much research has been done on the relationship between these
GENDER STEREOTYPES ON LACK OF FEMALE EXECUTIVES 11
concepts. Understanding socially constructed gender norms and its influence on the
background on stereotype threat can help answer why gender stereotypes influence
styles can enable the researcher to discover why there are so few female executives.
will further enhance the notion of unfair gender stereotypes as barriers for women.
Methodology
Data Sources
When conducting research, one of the first and most important steps is choosing
appropriate participants. For this study in particular I will be examining three different
groups of people: college seniors interested in a corporate job, middle managers within
Fortune 500 companies, and top-level executives within Fortune 500 companies. Through
convenience sampling, I will be able to collect data from college students around my
campus, regional job fairs, and through the assistance of professors. I will also collect
some data from students in the SCOM subject pool, considering its free of charge. The
middle managers and executives of these large corporations will be contacted through
email, requesting 10 minutes of their time for a brief questionnaire. My sample size will
consist of 100 college students (50 male/50 female), 50 middle managers (25 male/25
Procedures. The independent variable in this study is gender-based stereotypes and its
those two will serve as an independent variable on the lack of female executives as the
GENDER STEREOTYPES ON LACK OF FEMALE EXECUTIVES 12
dependent. Demographics of each participant will also serve as independent variables,
depending on the results. We will use Schneiders (2005) list of common female
stereotype traits: emotional, sympathetic, sensitive, and affectionate; and common male
of our stereotype.
continuous variables (1-5), on the left 1 represents adult women, 3 represents gender
neutral and 5 represents adult male. Above each scale contains an adjective. There
female stereotypes, or gender neutral. They will circle the number from adult woman to
adult male based on what they believe the adjective is describing. After collecting the
survey, participants will be given another sheet; this one will contain the same adjectives
as before but in a list format with a box next to each. They will be asked to check the
boxes of the adjectives they believe describes a successful CEO. The middle managers
will be given a similar format, except on the second sheet of paper they will be asked to
identity the adjectives they believe describe themselves as managers. This self-report data
will tell us how they perceive their communication styles to be. Finally, the group of
executives will receive the same survey, but on their second sheet of paper they will be
asked to check the adjectives that best describe their co-executives. In addition to these
forced choice responses, on the bottom of each second sheet will be an open-ended
question, simply asking the participant why they choose what they did.
successful CEOs can influence the change of female communication styles. The first
GENDER STEREOTYPES ON LACK OF FEMALE EXECUTIVES 13
group, of college seniors, provides a unique perspective of undergraduates attempting to
enter the corporate world. Their views on gender characteristics of successful CEOs will
provide us with insight before they're influenced by the corporate world. Based on the
fact that middle managers have experienced day-to-day work and growth in the company,
its crucial to study their current communicative habits. The successful executives must
be asked about their co-workers to show the communicative environment in these C-level
suites.
Pilot testing may need to be done on less students and middle managers in order
to save money and time. To ensure validity, I will give provide each participant with
informed consent, remove any and all bias from the survey, and carefully select my
sample size to represent the true parameters. In order to obtain reliability, I will continue
the study with a greater sample size and more variety in groups. For the current study, I
will compare the consistency of the data between the three groups discussed.
Analysis. When analyzing the data, the three groups will have to be examined
individually and collectively. Using two-way, factorial analysis of variance, the two
order to define female communication styles, I will analyze middle managers responses
against each groups attitudes towards the adjectives. If more women describe themselves
with masculine stereotypes, this could tell us theyre reacting against the stereotype
Analyzing the similarities and differences in responses between male and female students
Comparing the data between college senior and middle managers will show a
distinction between what students believe are good communication skills to have and
what skills managers have that have already made them successful. The managers also
answering on adult males and adult females can enable us to see if gender stereotypes
lessen after age of participant and overall professional experience. When looking at the
responses of current executives, its essential to understand what they represent. The data
associated with this group is key in answering the question on the lack of female
executives. If their responses indicate more male characteristics, its clear these
Permissions, limitations, and ethics. Firstly, and most importantly, each participant
will receive an informed consent form. This will ensure weve communicated risks and
benefits, answered any questions, and secured their written permission. Permissions
required for the college seniors could be from the school itself or from professors that
could provide classroom time. In order to survey middle managers and executives, I
might need permission from their secretaries or scheduling assistant in order to even
contact them. The limitations involved in this study also rely heavily on the availability
of the participants and the time required to reach all of them at once. In addition to time,
the amount of money required to conduct this study could be a limitation. In order to
GENDER STEREOTYPES ON LACK OF FEMALE EXECUTIVES 15
analyze the frequencies of similar characteristics, and relationships between gender of
participant and the nature of their responses, expensive software programs are needed.
confidentiality will be used for each participant. No one outside of the researchers will
know the identity of the participants. This is especially important when analyzing the data
our data, anonymity will not be provided. Another ethical concern could include bias
among participants that done want to seem sexist. To lessen this concern, I chose to
collect the first sheet of paper before the second so participants are less likely to
remember their Reponses. Also, because the majority of this study relies on self-reporting
data, the factor of social desirability bias must be considered. In order to ensure my
research proposal meets ethical standards, I will also need to have it reviewed and
approved by an Institutional Review Board, perhaps the one run by James Madison
University.
Conclusion
Due to the fact that women are increasingly pursuing careers in the professional
women have caused an overall perception towards women in society as not fit as leaders.
This proposal is very important because research has shown women make great
executives, regardless if theyre confirming stereotypes or not. The strengths of this paper
include the extensive research done on the topics of stereotypes, communication styles,
and lack of female executives. Some limitations include the time allowed for the proposal
References
111. doi:10.1080/03637757909375995
Barth, J. M., & Rice, L. (2015). Hiring decisions: the effect of evaluator gender and
Bowden, J., Hippel, C.V., Shochet, M., & Wiryakusuma, C. (2011). Stereotype threat and
Byron, K. (2007). Male and female managers ability to read emotions: relationships with
doi:10.1348/096317907x174349
12(2). 5-31.
Duncan, P., Skaggs, S., & Stainback, K. (2012). Shaking things up or business as usual?
doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2012.01.006
GENDER STEREOTYPES ON LACK OF FEMALE EXECUTIVES 17
Ladegaard, H. J. (2011). Doing power at work: responding to male and female
Mccormick, J., & Morris, W. L. (2015). The effects of stereotype threat and power on
womens and mens outcomes in face-to-face and e-mail negotiations. Psi Chi
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Neal, J. C., Waner, K. K., & Winter, J. K. (2001). How male, female, and mixed-gender
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GENDER STEREOTYPES ON LACK OF FEMALE EXECUTIVES 18
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GENDER STEREOTYPES ON LACK OF FEMALE EXECUTIVES 19
Appendices
Directions: given each adjective, circle on the scale from 1-5 whether the adjective seems
to describe an adult female, an adult male, gender neutral, or if its somewhere in between
1. Emotional 1 2 3 4 5
2. Aggressive 1 2 3 4 5
3. Self-confident 1 2 3 4 5
4. Sympathetic 1 2 3 4 5
5. Dominant 1 2 3 4 5
6. Sensitive 1 2 3 4 5
7. Unemotional 1 2 3 4 5
8. Rational 1 2 3 4 5
9. Etc. 1 2 3 4 5
Second Sheet
Check the adjectives you would use to describe (a successful CEO, your own