Gender and Leadership - What's Sex Got To Do With It?

Throughout our graduate and internship program, we've learned about the various leadership styles.  Transactional, transformational, laissez-faire, etc.  Each has it's own pros and cons.  Does one's gender really play a role in how he or she leads?

We are certainly in modern times and more and more females are in upper-management positions and serving as leaders.  However, even in 2012, do some women still internalize messages about how society thinks they should behave in a leadership role?

In this study, Leadership Styles and Gender Role, by Jennifer J. Young of South University examined if internalization of gender roles affected females' leadership styles.  The researcher specifically looked at differences between transactional and transformational styles of leadership. While the sample size was small (100 female managers) and there were limitations identified, the researcher found some correlations between internalization of gender roles and certain leadership styles.

The study also points to the possibility of females influencing each other's leadership styles if they work together in an organization.  The researcher feels this warrants further research to explore those relationships. Thesis topic, anyone? :)

- Olena

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