Are Women Better Leaders Than Men? Exploring the Leadership Gender Gap

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto

Are women better leaders than men? The answer is a paradox: research says that women display more positive leadership characteristics than men but that most people believe that good leaders act more like men.

Exploring these contradictions paints a fascinating picture of the incongruity between people’s experiences of leadership and their stereotypes when it comes to both leadership and gender.

Key Takeaways

• While plenty of men score high on top leadership qualities, women leaders often outperform male leaders in key leadership traits such as compassion, intelligence, organization, creativity, communication, empathy, honesty, and ethics.
• Organizations with women in top management positions or on their boards generally report better long-term financial performance.
• Women are 9% more likely to rate higher on scores of leadership effectiveness.
• While female leaders must demonstrate both communal and agentic behaviors (i.e., independence and decisiveness) male leaders are only required to show agency.
• Men hold 93% of Fortune 500 CEO positions and have longer tenures than women.

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