User:Sharp-shinned.hawk/sandbox/LeadDiffOld
This page is an old version of "Leadership differences affected by gender" section on the Leadership page. I have marked it up to show how I am editing the revised version, and to explain what sources I'm including and not including, and why.
Leadership differences affected by gender
[edit]Another factor that affects leadership style is whether the leader is male or female.
Editor: The leader’s gender is not the only way in which gender affects the leadership dynamic. Also better to say, the gender of the leader, to allow for gender diversity (including trans, nonbinary, and intersections of gender with race, class, etc.)
When men and women come together in groups, they tend to adopt different leadership styles. Men generally assume an agentic leadership style. They are task-oriented, active, decision focused, independent, and goal oriented. Women, on the other hand, are generally more communal when they assume a leadership position; they strive to be helpful towards others, warm in relation to others, understanding, and mindful of others' feelings. In general, when women are asked to describe themselves to others in newly formed groups, they emphasize their open, fair, responsible, and pleasant communal qualities. They give advice, offer assurances, and manage conflicts in an attempt to maintain positive relationships among group members. Women connect more positively to group members by smiling, maintaining eye contact, and responding tactfully to others' comments. Men, conversely, describe themselves as influential, powerful, and proficient at the task that needs to be done. They tend to place more focus on initiating structure within the group, setting standards and objectives, identifying roles, defining responsibilities and standard operating procedures, proposing solutions to problems, monitoring compliance with procedures, and emphasizing the need for productivity and efficiency in the work that needs to be done. As leaders, men are primarily task-oriented, but women tend to be both task- and relationship-oriented. However, these sex differences are only tendencies, and do not manifest themselves within men and women across all groups and situations.[1] Meta-analyses show that people associate masculinity and agency more strongly with leadership than femininity and communion.[2] Such stereotypes may have an effect on leadership evaluations of men and women.[3]
Editor: Agentic vs. communal leadership styles are only one approach taken by scholars who research leadership differences affected by gender. See Sex and gender differences and leadership. Despite the disclaimer “these sex differences are only tendencies” most of the above paragraph makes it sound like “women are like this, men are like that.” The idea of stereotypes is brought in at the end, when it is in fact it has been foundational to scholars’ research agendas related to women and leadership.
The Koch source focuses on jobs in general, not leadership positions.
The Schyns source supports that mismatches between traits and behaviors of a person and ILT can diminish career prospects, and that leaders may suffer both from their membership in a group but also individual characteristics may not match followers implicit leadership theories. Including culturally shared ILT, such as a leader from a more authoritarian country becoming a leader in a more participative country, The paper is more about the multiple levels thing than any particular level, though. I will work to retain it and/or include it on Sex and gender differences and leadership.
The Koenig et al source is used in Sex and gender differences and leadership and I'll plan to include it here along with other sources from that family of research
Psychologist Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic proposes that incompetent men are disproportionately promoted into leadership positions because instead of testing rigorously for competence, employers are attracted to confidence, charisma, and narcissism.[4] He points out that even as most bosses are men, most employees dislike them and often quit jobs because of them, and many political and business leaders are disliked and demonstrably fail.[5] Chamorro-Premuzic advocates that instead of teaching women to be more like men, people of both genders should be educated in and selected for leadership on the basis of traits that evidence shows make good leaders, including emotional intelligence, calmness, resilience, self-awareness, and humility.[6][7]
The above paragraph uses a single person’s work rather than drawing on the networks of scholarship on leader emergence, implicit leadership theories, underrepresentation of women, and trait-based leadership. Charmorro-Premuzic doesn’t cite these sources in the above sources cited, either. For example, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic (January 9, 2020). "Why do so many incompetent men become leaders? And what can we do about it?". does not cite any sources for assertions like “most leaders are incompetent” and “so many incompetent men become leaders”.
Barriers for non-western female leaders
[edit]Many things contribute to barriers to women's entrance into leadership. These barriers also differ among cultures. Despite the increasing number of female leaders in the world, only a small fraction come from non-westernized cultures. Although the barriers listed below may be more severe in non-western cultures, this does not imply that westernized cultures do not have these barriers as well. These subsections aim to compare the differences between the two:
Editor: rather than focus on barriers and take a scattershot approach, I will broaden to
Research and Literature
Although there have been many studies done on leadership in women, comparatively little research has been done on women in paternalistic cultures. The literature and research done on women emerging as leaders in a society that prefers men is lacking. This hinders women from knowing how to reach their leadership goals, and fails to educate men about this disparity.[8]
Editor: I plan to use the Tsui reference as a call for leadership into cross-cultural organizations -- but that article does not mention gender. It mentions sex in a section on sexual harassment, but that’s not focused on sexual harassment of women leaders.
Maternity Leave
Studies have shown the importance of longer[compared to?] paid maternity leave and the positive effects it has on a female employee's mental health and return to work. In Sweden, it was shown that the increased flexibility in timing for mothers to return to work decreased the odds of poor mental health reports. In non-western cultures that mostly follow paternalism, lack of knowledge on the benefits of maternity leave impacts the support given to the women during an important time in their life.[9]
Editor: Maternity leave is just one of many policy / legal conditions affecting women's barriers to leadership - I will plan to link to sources that spell out cultural differences more broadly rather than singling this one (and this one study) out.
Society and Laws
Countries that follow paternalism, such as India, allow for women to be treated unjustly. Issues such as child marriage and minor punishments for perpetrators in crimes against women shape society's view on how women should be treated. This can prevent women from feeling comfortable speaking out in personal and professional settings.[10]
Editor: Regarding Yadav, Jyoti; Singh, Karan (2015). "Gender and Politics of Culture". Political Science: 77, this is a chapter in a book that’s not widely accessible. Singling out India from among all non-Western countries also seems problematic. I will link to broader discussions of society/laws effect on women's leadership representation and emergence.
Glass Ceilings and Glass Cliffs
Women who work in a very paternalistic culture or industry (e.g. the oil or engineering industry), often deal with limitations in their careers that prevent them from advancing into leadership positions. This may be due to a mentality that insists only males carry leadership characteristics. The term glass cliff refers to undesired projects that are often given to women because they have an increased risk of failure. These undesired projects are given to female employees where they are more likely to fail and leave the organization.[11]
Editor: Glass ceilings / cliffs seem too specific for this section. The Vinkenberg source doesn’t mention non-western contexts as it focuses on US and Netherlands only, and it doesn’t mention the glass cliff phenomenon (and I have cited more central sources for glass cliff on the main page, Sex and gender differences and leadership).
- ^ Forsyth, D. R. (2009). Group dynamics. New York: Wadsworth. ISBN 978-0495599524.
- ^ Koenig, A. M.; Eagly, A. H.; Mitchell, A. A.; Ristikari, T. (2011). "Are Leader Stereotypes Masculine? A Meta-Analysis of Three Research Paradigms". Psychological Bulletin. 137 (4): 616–42. doi:10.1037/a0023557. PMID 21639606.
- ^
- Schyns, B. (2006). "The role of implicit leadership theories in the performance appraisals and promotion recommendations of leaders". Equal Opportunities International. 25 (3): 188–199. doi:10.1108/02610150610687836.
- Koch, A. J.; D'Mello, S. D.; Sackett, P. R. (2015). "A Meta-Analysis of Gender Stereotypes and Bias in Experimental Simulations of Employment Decision Making". Journal of Applied Psychology. 100 (1): 128–161. doi:10.1037/a0036734. PMID 24865576.
- ^ Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic (January 9, 2020). "Why do so many incompetent men become leaders? And what can we do about it?".
- ^ Chamorro-Premuzic, Tomas. "Equality Isn't Exceptional Women Getting Ahead, But Incompetent Men Falling Behind". Forbes.
- ^ Burkeman, Oliver (May 10, 2019). "Why do so many mediocre men rise to the top?" – via The Guardian.
- ^ Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic (2019). Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders?: (And How to Fix It). Harvard Business Review Press. ISBN 978-1633696327.
- ^ Tsui; Nifadkar; Ou (2007). "Cross-Cultural Organizational Behavior Research: Advances, Gaps, and Recommendations". Journal of Management. 33 (3): 426–478. doi:10.1177/0149206307300818. S2CID 18344501.
- ^ Chatrerji, Pinka; Markowitz, Sara (2004). "Does the Length of Maternity Leave Affect Maternal Health?" (PDF). Southern Economic Journal. 72 (1): 16. doi:10.2307/20062092. JSTOR 20062092. S2CID 149917144.
- ^ Yadav, Jyoti; Singh, Karan (2015). "Gender and Politics of Culture". Political Science: 77.
- ^ Vinkenberg; Engen; Eagly; Johannesen-Schmidt (2011). "An exploration of stereotypical beliefs about leadership styles: Is transformational leadership a route to women's promotion?" (PDF). The Leadership Quarterly. 22 (1): 10–21. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2010.12.003. S2CID 52000092.