Women "Take Care," Men "Take Charge": Managers' Stereotypic Perceptions of Women and Men Leaders

This study explored possible underpinnings of findings from earlier research in which women's overall leadership competence was less favorably evaluated than men's. The authors examined perceptions held by senior managers, 34% of whom were CEOs, of women's and men's effectiveness...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe psychologist manager journal Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 25 - 49
Main Authors Prime, Jeanine L, Carter, Nancy M, Welbourne, Theresa M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Springfield Taylor & Francis 01.01.2009
American Psychological Association
Subjects
Female
Gender equity
Human
Human Females
Human Males
Human Sex Differences
Leadership
Leadership Style
Male
Organizational behavior
Perceptions
Stereotyped Attitudes
Stereotypes
Studies
Top Level Managers
Women
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Summary:This study explored possible underpinnings of findings from earlier research in which women's overall leadership competence was less favorably evaluated than men's. The authors examined perceptions held by senior managers, 34% of whom were CEOs, of women's and men's effectiveness at 10 key leadership behaviors. Respondents generally perceived that women were more effective than men at caretaking leader behaviors; and that men were more effective than women at action-oriented, "take-charge" leader behaviors. Notably, male respondents perceived that the behavior at which men leaders most outperformed women was problem-solving. The authors propose that this perception could potentially undermine the influence of women leaders.
ISSN:1088-7156
2769-6863
1550-3461
2769-6898
DOI:10.1080/10887150802371799