There have been many studies done on why women do not make good leaders, examples such as interpersonal barriers that include gender prejudice, lack of emotional support/access to informal networks, and lack of white male mentors are some reasons stated in such studies. The following are the definitions of these examples. Gender prejudice implies that a good manager/leader needs to be masculine. Lack of emotional support/access to informal networks implies that men receive more information, feedback, and flexibility in their careers that woman do not. Finally if a female lacks a white male mentor they are less likely to achieve their career goals compared to if they do have a white male mentor (PSWC, 2017).
I believe that woman in most instances make better leaders than their male counterparts because they tend to use a more democratic and participative style compared to many male leaders. This is not to say that their male counterparts do not use similar styles it is just that it is not used less often. I have had the pleasure to have two vary good examples of female leadership in my life up to this point. They have both have used a form of democratic and participative style to demonstrate their leadership. They have both been very good communicators which is key to effective leadership. They also are both great teaching new concepts and ideas. These two female leaders also have put the needs of others ahead of the needs of themselves.
On the other end of the spectrum I have also had the experience of having to deal with poor leadership from females. I do not necessarily believe it is because they are female, just that they are poor leaders. Some of the things that I believe made them poor leaders are that they lacked the necessary social skills needed to communicate with they followers. When a leader cannot communicate properly with a follower their message does not come across well. Often times these two managers tend to belittle and talk down to their followers, this tends to make the followers dislike and resent these managers. Another issue that I have found with these two managers is that they lack the capabilities to challenge their followers. I believe that their followers often become bored and complacent which effects productivity. The final thing that I have noticed when it comes to these two managers is that they do not function well with the good female leaders. Not only do their personalities clash with each other, also they do not work well together in-group projects. The reason for this I believe is that the good leaders are well liked and respected and the bad leaders are not at all liked.
The differences between good female leaders and bad female leaders are vast. However I believe this has nothing to do with their gender, it has to do with the fact that there are just bad leaders and good leaders and each gender has both. I truly believe that female leaders tend to be better leaders when it comes to a corporate setting.
References:
Penn State University World Campus (2017). PSYCH 485, 002, SP17ModulesLesson 13: Leadership and Diversity.
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Patricia Ann Hoover says
I think you are correct in stated that women tend to use a more democratic and participative style compared to many male leaders. Speaking from personal experience, as a female NCO in the Army, I can’t even count the number of times I have been criticized by male counterparts because I do not use an authoritative leadership style. For example, when a soldier does something inappropriate, male NCOs first reaction is often to punish. An example of a time is when one of my soldiers failed to properly lock a trailer and it resulted in a broken rear light on the truck. One of my male counterparts suggested taking him out back and ‘smoking’ him but I do not think that is a necessary approach. I would rather talk through it with the soldier and come up with a more practical approach to help that soldier remember to lock the trailer. That became his additional duty for a few months and now he takes the initiative even spot check others to make sure that they are doing it properly.
rkw5148 says
Hello Darrin,
I think it is important to learn from our experiences. It sounds as though you had some experiences with women that have helped mold your opinion of their ability as leaders. Some of them were good and some of them were negative, which plays into your opinion. It also sounds like your opinion is somewhat neutral; which is where it should be in my opinion.
I say this because there is a lot of focus on performance as a result of gender, rather than a result of ability. I do not think a person’s ability is based on their gender; rather it is based on their desire to perform. Of course there are many extenuating factors involved in gaining experience, training and opportunity, but those factors are a legitimate reason certain genders are underrepresented at the top of many organizations.
Northouse (2016) lists some targeted reasons explaining the lack of women as CEO’s and other positions of leadership. They include a hesitance to self promote, more willingness to accept informal leadership roles, hesitance to negotiate for position and pay, and other reasons (Northouse, 2016). These seem like good enough reasons to explain a lack of representation, but I think the wage disparity discussion also represents many reasons why women are underrepresented.
According to CONSAD (2009), women choose different careers and are attracted to different industries. They note women overwhelmingly outnumber men in teaching, nursing and childcare industries, and are underrepresented in technology and engineering industries. CONSAD (2009) cited an outreach program by MIT and other technology and engineering programs targeting women and found a lack of interest, even by those choosing to start the program. Many left in favor of different majors. This is not a bad thing; it is just a statistic, but an important one.
Many fortune 500 companies are technology-based companies. If women are underrepresented in that field, it is logical to assume they will not be well represented in positions of power in those fields. If one looks at a field in which women are well represented, such as teaching, one would find women represent more than half of the school principals in the US according to Bitterman et. al. (2013). Without checking statistics, I would assume they are well represented as nurse administrators in hospitals, as well. From personal experience, I am one of two black Rescue Swimmers out of 360 in the field. There are also three female Rescue Swimmers. Two of the three are in very senior leadership positions and one is one promotion away from that rank. This represents an interest in a male dominated field and a path-goal kind of pursuit of success (Northouse, 2016).
Finally, I think it is important to learn lessons from everybody we encounter. If one does this, he will find many of the leadership failures are the same for men and women. The worst leaders I have worked for could not manage their expectations, were poor communicators, were passive aggressive, and could not manage their emotions. I have only worked for one woman during my entire adult life and she did not exhibit any of those characteristics. It is easy to assign certain characteristics to women when considering their leadership faults, but again I say they are most likely personality or training disparities, rather than a gender related problem.
Works Cited
CONSAD Research Corp. (2009). Analysis of Reasons for the Disparity of Wages Between Men and Women. Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor.
Northouse, P. (2016). Leadership Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Sage Publications.
Shawnee Marie Wilson says
Northouse (2016) states that men and women do lead differently and that women have a style that is more conducive to today’s workplace. Women in general have a more participative style, allowing followers to be involved in the decision-making process, which makes them feel needed and important (Northouse, 2016). Women in management positions are considered more trustworthy, their management style tends to be more empowering to followers and they are more willing to reward followers for specific task completion (Northouse, 2016).
Northouse (2016) goes on to say that women are not as effective in leader roles that are more masculinized, such as military positions. However, they are more effective in Social and Public Service careers, in addition to middle management careers (Northouse, 2016). This information backs up your statement that both female leaders you worked for were good at conveying ideas and educating their followers.
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership Theory and Practice, 7th Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.