Who does she think she is? Women, leadership and the ‘B’(ias) word

Abstract

Objective: Despite the increasing number of women in professional fields, women are under-represented in leadership roles. The goal of this paper is to identify potential explanations for the gender gap in leadership. Method: The academic literature with respect to gender roles, leadership, and organizational expectations; gender differences in leadership; and the potential role of second generation bias was reviewed. Results: Women are as effective as male leaders in a variety of organizational settings. The role congruity theory suggests that women are placed in a double bind: maintenance of their gender role may result in a failure to meet the requirements of a leader role whereas conforming to a leader role may result in the failure to conform to their gender role. Second generation, or implicit, bias also influences women’s leadership opportunities. This is further complicated by expectations that women will engage in more altruistic organizational citizenship behaviors or be penalized. Conclusion: Differences in ability do not account for the gender gap in leadership. Cultural factors, including gender role and leadership expectations, organizational demands, and second-generation bias impact women’s ability to lead. Pragmatic recommendations to increase women’s influence and representation in leadership are provided.

Keywords:

• Gender
• leadership
• bias
• professionalism

Notes

1. A recent study described in the New York Times details how toxic the work environment is for women in economics based on text analyses of an online economics group forum https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/18/upshot/evidence-of-a-toxic-environment-for-women-in-economics.html?mcubz=0&_r=0n and https://www.dropbox.com/s/v6q7gfcbv9feef5/Wu_EJMR_paper.pdf?dl=0, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/18/upshot/evidence-of-a-toxic-environment-for-women-in-economics.html?mcubz=0&_r=0n and https://www.dropbox.com/s/v6q7gfcbv9feef5/Wu_EJMR_paper.pdf?dl=0.

2. A recent article in the Atlantic illustrated this point as well: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/08/women-men-mentorship/537201/?utm_source=nl-atlantic-daily-082217.

3. I’m indebted to an anonymous reviewer for the suggestion to frame the discussion similar to the concept of ‘white privilege’.

4. See Morahan, Rosen, Richman, & Gleason, 2011 for very pragmatic recommendations for women in academic medicine as well as Hilsabeck & Martin, 2010 for more general advice.

5. This concept is related to the literature indicating that women are much less likely than men to apply for positions in which they feel that they don’t have all of the requisite skills. See https://hbr.org/2014/08/why-women-dont-apply-for-jobs-unless-theyre-100-qualified.

6. I am grateful to an anonymous reviewer for highlighting this literature.

7. And the extent of recent allegations of sexual harassment by prominent male leaders https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/10/us/men-accused-sexual-misconduct-weinstein.html; https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/29/business/media/nbc-matt-lauer.html.