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Article Excerpt
This study examined gender stereotypes for leaders using a more indirect method than is typical in stereotype research. Rather than reveal the leader's gender, this study used vignettes in which the leader's gender was unknown. Consistent with their hypothesis, the authors found that participants were more likely to infer a male (female) gender identity than a female (male) gender identity when presented with a leader using a masculine (feminine) style. They also hypothesized that a leader using a gender-consistent leadership style would be viewed more positively than a leader using a gender-inconsistent style. Contrary to this hypothesis, results revealed that men using a gender-inconsistent (feminine) style were actually evaluated more positively than men using a gender-consistent style. It is interesting that a perceived female leader who used a gender-inconsistent (masculine) style was evaluated more positively than a perceived male leader who used a masculine style, but only by female participants. Possible explanations for these results are discussed.
Keywords: sex role stereotypes; masculine and feminine leadership; sex differences
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Stereotyping involves assigning traits to people based on their membership in a social category. Although stereotyping is used regularly as part of the perception process to help people make sense of stimuli they encounter, it can cause problems if the stereotypes are inaccurate or if they inhibit individuals from acting in ways that are incongruent with these stereotypes. This study examined gender role stereotypes as they relate to leadership styles. Consistent with research on stereotyping in general, most research on leadership stereotypes has asked participants to associate traits and behaviors with a leader of known gender (cf. Eagly, Johannesen-Schmidt, & van Engen, 2003). Thus, the gender of the leader has been the starting point. Knowing the gender of the leader enables participants to activate stereotypes, which they then use to evaluate the leader. In contrast to these studies, this study used a reverse approach to determine if individuals also associate gender with specific traits and behaviors. The gender of the leader whom participants examined was not explicitly stated. Instead, participants were provided with gender-typical traits and behaviors and then asked to create a gender identity for the leader based on these traits and behaviors. This approach provides an alternative, and more indirect, way of assessing the existence of gender role stereotypes. If participants consistently infer a male (or female) gender identity when provided with typical male (or female) traits and behaviors, this presents additional confirmatory evidence for the continued existence of gender role stereotypes.
Gender Stereotypes
Numerous studies have demonstrated the existence of gender stereotypes. However, some have questioned whether those stereotypes continue to exist or if they exist today as strongly as they did in the past. Research by Spence and Buckner (2000) addressed the existence of stereotypes by replicating a previously conducted study that examined stereotypes of the typical man and woman and self-perceptions of the extent to which the participant exhibits gender stereotypical traits. Using the Personal Attribute Questionnaire (PAQ) and the Bern Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) to assess gender stereotypes of personality traits, their results provide strong evidence that gender stereotypes still exist. Specifically, their results indicated that all instrumental traits (e.g., independent, competitive, decisive, aggressive, and dominant) are still significantly more likely to be associated with the typical man than with the typical woman, whereas all expressive traits (e.g., helpful, emotional, understanding, compassionate, and sensitive to others' needs) are significantly more likely to be associated with women than men. They found somewhat different results when analyzing individual self-perceptions. Although women were significantly more likely to describe themselves with all of the expressive traits than were men, there were fewer significant differences in self-perceptions of the instrumental traits. Specifically, for about half of the instrumental traits, men and women were equally likely to associate that trait with themselves. Spence and Buckner concluded that only some of the instrumental traits can now be definitively characterized as masculine. Overall, their results suggest that although traditionally held gender stereotypes are still present, they may have diminished to some degree.
The research by Spence and Buckner (2000) examined gender-typical traits. Other researchers have focused more on gender-typical behaviors. For example, a recent meta-analysis by Eagly et al. (2003) distinguished between agentic and communal behaviors. Agentic behavior is behavior that is "independent, masterful, assertive, and instrumentally competent" (p. 572). By contrast, communal behavior is "friendly, unselfish, concerned with others, and expressive" (p. 572). Their meta-analysis demonstrated that women are perceived to behave more communally than men, whereas men are perceived to behave in more agentic ways than women (Eagly et al., 2003).
Gender Role Stereotypes and Management Styles
The research described above focused on general gender stereotypes that are not associated with any specific role. A number of studies have suggested that there may be gender stereotypes specifically for men and women in leadership roles. Echiejile (1995), for example, categorized gender-specific leadership styles into masculine management and feminine management. Masculine management includes instrumental traits, agentic qualities, and a more autocratic and task-oriented set of leadership behaviors, whereas feminine management includes expressive traits, communal qualities, and a more interpersonally oriented and participative set of leadership behaviors.
Many studies have found significant differences between men and women in their respective leadership styles (cf. Eagly & Johnson, 1990, for a review of this research). Consistent with the characterization of these leadership styles as masculine and feminine, a meta-analysis of research conducted between 1961 and 1987 (Eagly & Johnson, 1990) concluded that men are more likely to use task-oriented and autocratic leadership styles than women, whereas women are more likely than men to use interpersonally oriented and democratic leadership styles. Research that analyzed leadership styles across various countries found a similar result (van Engen, van der Leeden, & Willemsen, 2001), as did a more recent meta-analysis completed by Eagly et al. (2003), suggesting that this finding is fairly robust.
In addition to the masculine and feminine leadership styles discussed above, some research suggests that the transactional and transformational leadership styles may be correlated with gender. Powell, Butterfield, Alves, and Bartol (2004) found that male leaders were described as more transactional than women and that female leaders were viewed as being more transformational than men. In addition, a meta-analysis of transactional and transformational leadership studies concluded that men are more typically associated with transactional leadership than women, whereas women tend to use transformational leadership more often than men (Eagly et al., 2003).
In summary, the research reviewed above suggests that gender role stereotypes exist and that they create expectations for how men and women in leadership roles should behave. Research also shows that the actual behavior of male and female leaders is generally consistent with these expectations, raising the possibility that these gender role stereotypes may be limiting the behavioral choices available to men and women in leadership roles. Men in leadership roles are expected to have instrumental traits and use a transactional leadership style, whereas women are expected to have expressive traits and use a transformational leadership style. If these expectations of leaders are not met, it could potentially affect the leader's effectiveness as well as the way in which subordinates react to the leader.
Subordinate Perceptions of, and Responses to, Leaders Using Gender-Consistent and Gender-Inconsistent Leadership Styles
The research described above demonstrated that people have stereotypes about the appropriate behavior of male and female leaders. However, leaders do not always use a leadership style consistent with gender role stereotypes. Although one might predict that male and female leaders would be viewed less favorably if they do not act in congruence with gender stereotypes, the limited research examining this issue has produced mixed results. For example, Petty and Miles (1976) found that subordinates were more satisfied with female leaders who exhibited consideration and a feminine leadership style than with a male leader who used a feminine leadership style. Similarly, subordinates were more satisfied with a male leader who used a masculine leadership style than a female leader who used a masculine leadership style. This suggests that leaders who use a gender-inconsistent style may be viewed less favorably by followers (i.e., followers are less satisfied with the leader) than leaders who use a gender-consistent style. However, more recent research by Powell et al. (2004) yielded somewhat different results. Powell et al. compared male and female leaders who used either a transactional style or a transformational style in...
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