Running head: STEREOTYPING AND GENDER IN LEADERSHIP 1

Stereotyping and Women’s Roles in Leadership Positions

Cortney Baker

Pepperdine University
STEREOTYPING AND GENDER IN LEADERSHIP 2

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to provide a literature review of current trends with

regard to women in leadership positions. Women are increasingly reported as having excellent

leadership skills. In fact, women, more than men, are praised for having traits and styles that are

associated with effective leadership performance.

Design/methodology/approach: The design of this paper was a literature review of current

research on gender differences in men and women in top leadership roles.

Findings: Despite the evidence that women are capable of being top performers, women are still

not attaining top-level leadership positions in comparison to their male peers. This paper will

consider some of the reasons that women have difficulty in climbing the corporate ladder as well

as discuss stereotyping and gender as it relates to leadership traits.

Research limitations/implications: Not applicable

Practical implications: Not applicable

Social implications: As a result of this paper, employers are encouraged to hire and promote

women into their corporations top leadership positions

Originality/value: This paper further contributes to the discussion of women in leadership and

the disparity that continues in having women employed in the upper echelons of corporations.

The value of this paper is to provide employers further evidence that women comprise skillsets

that necessary for company advancement.

Keywords: leadership, gender, gender roles, stereotypes

STEREOTYPING AND GENDER IN LEADERSHIP 3

Introduction

Women comprise approximately 60 percent of the worldwide workforce and are

obtaining advanced degrees more rapidly than their male counterparts (Treasurer et al., 2013).

However, despite the fact that 90 percent of the general public have reported that they would be

comfortable reporting to women in leadership positions, only six percent of corporate CEOs and

top executive positions are held by women (Matsa and Miller, 2011). Among Fortune 500

companies, only eight percent of the top wage earners are female [ CITATION Cat14 \l 1033 ].

Recent studies have even suggested that women out-perform their male peers in top-level

positions (Treasurer et al., 2013). Despite the fact that several reasons have been suggested to

explain the scarcity of women in leadership roles, including social, legal, cultural, educational,

and organizational factors, there has been no agreement reached to explain and amend the issue

(Alimo-Metcalfe, 2010).

The fact that gender plays a significant role in attaining a leadership position within a

corporation does not appear to be limited to a specific country or culture. “The lack of significant

proportions of women in leadership and senior management positions in almost every

organization, irrespective of whether in the commercial industrial, military, or public sector

appears to be a worldwide phenomenon” [CITATION Ali10 \t \l 1033 ]. So what causes the

disparity? Despite what it may appear, the underrepresentation of women in executive positions

is generally not the result of blatant discrimination. However, the disparity is a consequence of

invisible barriers and cultural beliefs surrounding gender and structures that favor men in

leadership positions in the workplace (Treasurer, et al., 2013). Addler [CITATION Adl \n \t \l

1033 ] stated, “About the single most uncontroversial, incontrovertible statement to make about

women in management is that there are very few of them.” Now, even 20 years after that
STEREOTYPING AND GENDER IN LEADERSHIP 4

statement was made, there sadly does not seem to be much progression for women in leadership

positions.

Gender stereotyping and leadership traits have been researched extensively since the

1970s (Coder and Spiller, 2013). Trends in the literature have assigned gender to various

leadership traits, resulting in the tendency to perpetuate stereotypes. In general, male decision-

making approaches have been described as being quick, action oriented, and analytical; women

have been typically described as not making snap decisions and that they make the time to

familiarize themselves with key aspects of the situation (Alimo-Metcalfe, 2010). However, when

considering the paucity of women in leadership roles, is it perhaps necessary for women to

demonstrate the same qualities as men in order to attain success? Are there specific leadership

qualities that are considered more ideal than others and that are more aligned with men than

women? According to a 2009 article published in the Harvard Business Review, the answer is

yes [ CITATION Iba091 \l 1033 ]. The authors of that study evaluated the outcomes of the

Global Executive Leadership Inventory (GELI), a 360-degree survey completed by 2,816 male

and female students from 149 countries enrolled in executive education courses at Insead

University. The GELI was utilized as a self-assessment and then given to subordinates,

supervisors, peers, and other people within a professional context to evaluate the students on

their dimensions of leadership. The instrument assessed the performance of leadership skills in

ten different aspects: envisioning; empowering; energizing; designing and aligning; rewarding

and feedback; team building; outside orientation; global mind-set; tenacity; and emotional

intelligence. The results concluded that women earned better rankings than their male

counterparts in nine out of the ten qualities considered important for effective leadership

[ CITATION Iba091 \l 1033 ]. The one area that women fell short was “envisioning”, which was
STEREOTYPING AND GENDER IN LEADERSHIP 5

defined as “the ability to recognize new opportunities and trends in the environment and develop

a new strategic direction for an enterprise” (Ibarra and Obodaru, 2009).

In another 360 degree study completed by Zenger and Folkman in 2011, a pool of 7,280

leaders were asked to rate their peers, bosses, and subordinates. Men and women leadership

characteristics were compared using 16 different competencies that top leaders exemplify most:

takes initiative; practices self-development; displays high integrity and honesty; drives for

results; develops others; inspires and motivates others; builds relationships; collaboration and

teamwork; establishes stretch goals; champions change; solves problems and analyzes issues;

communicates powerfully and prolifically; connects the group to the outside world; innovates;

technical or professional expertise; and develops strategic perspective (Zenger and Folkman,

2012). The results of the study were astounding; women outscored men in all aspects except in

“developing a strategic perspective,” complementing the results of the 2009 study by Ibarra and

Obodaru. While women consistently have outscored their male counterparts in a majority of

leadership traits, they were deemed by their colleagues as lacking in strategic vision. This

finding, consistent across a number of studies exploring differences in men’s and women’s

leadership traits, may provide a key to the reason why women are underrepresented in executive

positions.

Being visionary and having the skills to implement strategic vision appear to be the keys

to helping women break the glass ceiling. If women can rise to the same level as men in the

developing their strategic abilities, do they, too, have the chance of reaching the top of the

corporate ladder? That is debatable.

Vision and Strategy

Leadership is typically about realizing and enacting change; therefore it appears obvious

that creating and expressing a vision for the future and enrolling others in that vision is a
STEREOTYPING AND GENDER IN LEADERSHIP 6

leadership requirement (Ibarra and Obodaru, 2009). Visionary leaders ensure that others around

them know the direction that the company is going by communicating it to them in an inspiring

way. Typically, as these leaders look for new paths they enroll many others inside and outside

their organizations to help craft the overall vision.

Are women leaders’ strengths and visionary characteristics present but demonstrated in

different ways than that of men? Well, yes. Therefore, to say that women need to prove they are

visionary in the same way that men are creates a dangerous trap for women to fall prey to. In

fact, to say that women need to exhibit any leadership skills in the same way that men do is

troubling. Let us examine some of the traps that exist for women in leadership by looking at two

theories that consider managers’ evaluations of women in top management positions.

Social Role Theory

Social role theory describes the ways in which managers have expectations for

individuals to comply with the tendencies and actions that are commensurate with their social

roles (Skelly and Johnson, 2011). These roles can be based on characteristics such as age, race,

or religion, but for the purposes of this discussion we are particularly concerned with gender.

Because role assumptions do not exist in isolation, these assumptions carry over into the

corporate setting. Therefore, those candidates who are deemed more qualified to fulfill the social

expectations of a leader are typically favored by a hiring manager over those who do not seem to

possess such qualities.

Managerial positions have social expectations of needing well-developed technical and

relational skills, as well as having an accepted perception of masculinity (Skelly and Johnson,

2011). Social role theory argues that there are specific traits, such as assertiveness, that society

has linked to qualities typically demonstrated by a man. As a result, some managers may believe

that women do not possess enough male-type characteristics, and fail to promote them to senior-
STEREOTYPING AND GENDER IN LEADERSHIP 7

level positions. As evidenced, social role theory proposes the existence of a significant

stereotype against females in leadership positions (Lyness and Heilman, 2006).

Role Congruity Theory

Another theory that possibly could explain gender stereotyping is the role congruity

theory. This theory, developed by Eagly and Karau (2002), is grounded in social role theory’s

treatment of gender roles and their emphasis on promoting gender differences as a result of

characteristics in behavior. Role congruity theory extends beyond social role theory, however, to

factor in gender roles with leadership roles (Buckalew, et al., 2012).

According to role congruity theory, individuals are penalized when they do not perform

according to expectations of society (Skelly and Johnson, 2011). “Because women who are

effective leaders tend to violate standards for their gender when they manifest male-

stereotypical, agentic attributes and fail to manifest female-stereotypical, communal attributes,

they may be unfavorably evaluated for their gender role violation, at least by those who endorse

traditional gender roles” (Eagly & Karau, 2002, p. 575). Even while obtaining some positive

evaluation for the fulfillment of a leader role, a woman may still expect to receive negative

reactions. For example, in a study completed by Heilman, Block, and Martell (1995) even when

the researcher characterized women managers as successful, participants described the women as

more hostile (e.g., bitter, devious, selfish) and less rational (i.e., less logical, objective, or able to

isolate ideas from feelings) than successful male managers.

How can women work to overcome the expectations that society has set for them? Can

women achieve corporate status at the highest levels without having to compromise, bend, or

learn how to “act like a man”? Is there a way that women can avoid falling into the traps that

gender stereotyping create? Indeed there is.

STEREOTYPING AND GENDER IN LEADERSHIP 8

Fallacy 1: Women and men are alike

It has long been assumed that women and men need to have the same leadership

characteristics as each other. This assumption has been perpetuated by the use of 360 degree

evaluation tools. However, Insead’s assessment and other popular evaluation tools that are used

to assess successful leadership qualities are not gender neutral. In fact, the GELI was validated

on 253 men and only 47 women (Kets de Vries et al., 2004). It is not surprising, then, that the

instruments used to evaluate leadership characteristics may contain biases toward what men

considered positive leadership traits in previous years.

It should also come as no surprise that leadership has traditionally been described and

defined in mostly masculine terms (Eagly, 2007). It is surprising, however, that men and women

have the expectation that male and female leadership styles will differ (Vinkenburg et al., 2011).

Therefore, women and men typically demonstrate different leadership qualities. However,

organizations continue to measure leaders, regardless of gender, on characteristics that apply to

leadership in male-dominated companies [ CITATION Van10 \l 1033 ].

Fallacy 2: Do what the boys do

Recognizing that women and men have different leadership styles is an important first

step. However, it does not result in any strategies for women to focus their efforts for leadership

development, which leads us to the second trap. Women have believed that in order to climb the

corporate ladder they must model their characteristics after the patterns of men [ CITATION

Van10 \l 1033 ].

It appears that, historically, this strategy has been somewhat successful. Findings by a

study completed by Management Research Group found that the differences in behaviors

between men and women decreased the further up the corporate ladder they went (Peters and
STEREOTYPING AND GENDER IN LEADERSHIP 9

Kabacoff, 2013). Women who were in top-level management positions were viewed as both

strategic and as willing to take chances as their male counterparts; this was different than the

women in middle management positions (Peters and Kabacoff, 2013).

However, additional research has proven that the issue is not as easy for women to “do as

the boys do”. Women are expected to be feminine, and those that show toughness, decisiveness,

and assertiveness (all “male” traits) are not well accepted by their peers (Broughton and Miller,

2009). On the other hand, women who do not show enough of those characteristics are deemed

not suitable for the top positions. It is obvious that women are in a double bind (Eagly, 2007).

Next Steps

Instead of comparing the similarities in men and women’s leadership styles, the key may

actually be found in leveraging the differences between them. For women to progress as leaders,

it is imperative that they establish and cultivate their own styles, without comparing themselves

to the styles and characteristics that comprise men. Women need to take personal inventories of

their skill sets and become familiar with those characteristics that are their strengths, as well as

looking closely at what skills need further development. It is important to acknowledge that

everyone has some weakness, and most individuals do not possess all the attributes of being a

perfect leader.

Finally, it is imperative for organizations to acknowledge the value of gender

diversification among corporate leadership teams. When determining successors for top

executive spots, it is important that companies consider not only if the candidate meets the job

requirements but also if they are able to complement and add value to the existing leadership

team. Dedication must also be given to ensuring there is more gender diversity among the

candidate pool.
STEREOTYPING AND GENDER IN LEADERSHIP 10

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