Male Leaders Research Articles

Backlash towards male versus female leaders' interpersonal emotion management strategy use: The role of followers' gender‐based leadership stereotypes

AbstractResearch on the backlash effect predominantly investigated penalties men and women incurred when they violate gender norms in the domain of achievement‐oriented aggressiveness. We investigated backlash reactions towards female versus male leaders' attempts to manage follower emotions using one of two gender‐stereotypic interpersonal emotion management strategies, cognitive change or expression suppression, in a 2×2 vignette experiment in which undergraduate students as participants acted as followers (N = 206). We hypothesized that followers high in explicit or implicit prejudice towards female leadership would be motivated to show backlash in the form of negative attitudes and anger when female leaders use an expression suppression strategy and when male leaders use a cognitive change strategy, violating gender norms. We also explored the role of followers' gender as a boundary condition of backlash reactions towards leaders of the same versus opposite sex. Male participants with negative explicit attitudes towards women leaders in general expressed higher levels of anger towards a female leader who utilized a suppression strategy. Female participants holding implicit stereotypes reported negative attitudes for both female and male leaders who utilized a gender‐incongruent emotion management strategy. We discuss the implications of our findings for theory and research on the backlash effect.

Gender and Transformational Leadership of the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund in Bayelsa States, Nigeria

This study investigated the relationship between gender and transformational leadership of the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund in Bayelsa State. The researcher adopted the case study design. The population consisted of 119 employees of the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund in Bayelsa State. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit the data. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to test the hypotheses, and the SPSS version 24 software was used. An analysis of the data showed a significant correlation between gender and transformational leadership. The findings indicated that male leaders are more inclined towards intellectual stimulation and idealized influence, whereas female leaders demonstrate a greater propensity for individualistic consideration and inspirational motivation. The study concludes that both male and female leaders have transformational leadership traits and that equal opportunity should be given to them in work organizations to reduce gender inequality and discrimination. The researcher recommends that the management of NSITF should provide equal opportunity for both male and female leaders to reduce gender discrimination. That female leader should be allowed to participate in leadership roles like their male counterparts.

Gendered subtle bias in Danish TV election debates

Abstract Trust in society is related to a perception of fairness and lack of bias. But bias has many faces. This article presents a conversation analytic study of the initial introduction of the debaters in so-called ‘presidential’ TV debates during the final stages of the general election campaigns in Denmark. The data represents a rare possibility to compare almost identical debate contexts: two different elections, but same TV channel, host, presidential debate setup and campaign contexts. The analyses show how male party leaders were given a chance to construct themselves as experienced, engaged, and hardworking politicians, while a female party leader was merely positioned with regard to her gender and age and as an underdog meeting a strong opponent. This allows us to explore how bias is not just about what is actually said and done but also about what could (based on the comparison) have been said and done.

Navigating in Insecure Territory: Attitudes among Islamic Movement Female Activists toward the Israeli Authorities and Culture

This article deals with female activists of the Islamic movement in Israel and their attitudes toward the Israeli authorities and culture. It looks at the complex Muslim existence in Israel, leading to such questions as: What is their opinion about the Israeli space and how do they live as Muslims in a non-Islamic space? And what strategies do they use to bridge the gap between their religious and civic identities? The article presents three main positions of the women activists in relation to the Israeli space: the majority who want to integrate into Israeli society, the minority who reject Israeli society and want to seclude themselves in a community of an Islamic nature, and a group which takes the humanistic position where the emphasis is on the person and not their religious identity, i.e., they prefer not to emphasize their religious identity in the Israeli space, partly because they fear expressing criticism towards Israeli society, assuming that it will lead to persecution and conflicts. Female Muslim activists give a religious interpretation and act according to Fiqh al-waqi’a (a religious interpretation according to the understanding of reality) in a subjective, personal way, without any top-down guidance from the (male) leaders of the movement.

Gender and leadership evaluations: what happens if we actually measure expectations–behavior incongruence?

PurposeRole congruity theory and gender stereotypes research suggests men are expected to engage in agentic behavior and women in communal behavior as leaders, and that role violation results in backlash. However, extant gender and leadership research does not directly measure expectations–behavior incongruence. Further, researchers have only considered one condition of role incongruence – display of counter-role behavior – and have not considered the outcomes of failing to exhibit role-congruent behavior. Additionally, few studies have examined outcomes for male leaders who violate gender role prescriptions. The present study aims to address these shortcomings by conducting a novel empirical test of role congruity theory.Design/Methodology/approachThis experimental study used polynomial regression to assess how followers evaluated leaders under conditions of incongruence between follower expectations for men and women leaders’ behavior and leaders’ actual behavior (i.e. exceeded and unmet expectations). Respondents read a fictional scenario describing a new male or female supervisor, rated their expectations for the leader’s agentic and communal behavior, read manipulated vignettes describing the leader’s subsequent behavior, rated their perceptions of these behaviors, and evaluated the leader.FindingsFollowers expected higher levels of communal behavior from the female than the male supervisor, but no differences were found in expectations for agentic behavior. Regardless of whether expectations were exceeded or unmet, supervisor gender did not moderate the effects of agentic or communal behavior expectations–perceptions incongruence on leader evaluations in polynomial regression analyses (i.e. male and female supervisors were not evaluated differently when displaying counter-role behavior or failing to display role-congruent behavior).Originality/valueIn addition to providing a novel, direct test of role congruity theory, the study highlighted a double standard in gender role-congruent behavior expectations of men and women leaders. Results failed to support role congruity theory, which has implications for the future of theory in this domain.

Does gender matter in ethical leadership perceptions? Cross-national evidence

Last decade’s ethical leadership failures in business across the globe had severe ramifications, including bankruptcy for corporations that had previously been viewed as exemplary. Hence, ethical leadership has gained increased attention from both practitioners and researchers. In particular, the increased focus has been placed on ethical leadership perceptions in management settings. This paper presents empirical findings from a three-country experiment (N = 538) on the perceptions of ethical and unethical leadership, and how they interact with gender. Building on role congruity theory, we posit that female leaders encounter more severe criticism for unethical leadership compared to male leaders, but they also garner greater positive reactions for ethical leadership. We also hypothesize the existence of national differences in ethical leadership perceptions. Our results indicate that the rater’s perceptions are influenced by the gender of the leader they are rating and by ethical leadership. The rater’s gender, however, does not affect the evaluation of male and female leaders in the cultures examined. We have also found national differences among perceptions of ethical leadership, in line with the Corruption Perception Index. We further explore the consequences of these results for theoretical and practical applications in this paper and propose directions for future research.

Give Twice to Get the Same: Gender Impact on Leaders’ Orientations and Career Paths

Emerging careers are less linear, safe, and stable and more attentive to the non-professional dimensions of life. People face resistance and obstacles on their careers, namely, regarding gender inequality. The study took an inductive approach with qualitative data collected from ten in-depth semi-structured interviews with leaders in Portuguese organizations, with the aim of understanding the impact of gender on leaders’ career paths and orientations. The thematic analysis identified seven career orientations (school education, challenge, stability, hierarchical progression, own business, people and community, and family), and six gender conditioning (functional segregation, male leadership, sexual and moral assessment of women, resistance to male interest by the family, access and representation mechanisms, and work–family articulation). Our results show a reality not free of gender inequalities, which forces women to give twice to be recognized as having equal value to men. Organizations must ensure equal opportunities and removing any forms of gender-based discrimination.

Women’s Perceptions Of Glass Ceiling In The Accounting Profession In Indonesia

This research aims to investigates the women’s perceptions of glass ceiling in the accounting profession in Indonesia. This research employs the logistic regression method. Using an online-based survey, resulting 133 respondents working in public accounting firms and private companies. This research finds that women’s perceptions about the occurrence of glass ceiling are driven by bias effects (formal performance evaluations), structural effects (professional advancement), and cultural effects (the support level from male senior leaders). Demographic variables, such as marital status and children ownership also determine the perceptions of glass ceiling. However, there is no difference between female public and private accountants regarding the perceptions of glass ceiling. This research contributes by adding empirical evidence regarding the perceptions of glass ceiling on accounting professional women in developing countries. The results of this research will helps companies focus their efforts on addressing the most influential factors to save resources by not letting talented women employees leave the companies. Furthermore, policy makers are suggested to create regulations that favor women to improve gender equality.

Gender stereotypes may not influence the choice of female leaders: Experimental evidence from a crisis framed as social or economic during the COVID‐19 pandemic

AbstractThis research examined whether female (vs. male) leaders are preferred during a pandemic when stereotypically feminine leadership is deemed useful. We hypothesized that citizens prefer female (vs. male) politicians when the crisis is framed as a social (vs. economic) crisis because they believe it requires feminine (vs. masculine) leadership. In a pilot study and three online experiments with US residents (Ntotal = 1675), we manipulated crisis type or a leadership candidate's gender for a task force. While participants indicated that a crisis framed as social (vs. economic) required more feminine leadership, they did not appoint a woman more or rated her as more suitable for the social crisis (vs. economic crisis or a no‐crisis situation). Furthermore, the female (vs. male) candidate was not perceived to possess more feminine leadership traits. Overall, participants did not rely on gender stereotypes when explicitly evaluating politicians. We discuss potential explanations for these unexpected results.

Empowering the Next Generation: Unveiling Leadership Motivators for Millennial Women in Christian Higher Education

Over the past decade, the rate of presidential turnover in higher education has accelerated, prompting research on what motivates the next generation of leaders. This article focuses on millennial women in Christian higher education, a sector where White male leaders have historically dominated: Women have remained underrepresented in college presidencies despite earning the majority of degrees at all levels. Although leadership literature has addressed that women have broken beyond the glass ceiling toward improved gender equity, both gender and generational barriers continue to impede a woman’s ambition to pursue a presidency. The research herein was conducted using the theoretical framework by Dahlvig and Longman, a women’s leadership development model, to investigate further millennial women’s intrinsic and extrinsic motivators to aspire and pursue a presidency in Christian higher education. This article explores the relevant literature and examines the findings from interviews of 12 millennial women participants who work at Christian colleges and universities within the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities. Seven major themes emerged from the data: (a) patient preparation for the presidency; (b) the value of relationships, recognition, and representation; (c) how the experiences of current leaders differ; (d) what it means to be intrinsically wired as a leader; (e) care for the well-being of the institution; (f) exercising faith over fear; and (g) transformation through developmental relationships with mentors, coaches, and sponsors. These findings contribute to an understanding of the motivators of millennial women as they contrast with previous generations. Findings also support the adapted model proposed here, the millennial women’s leadership development model, as well as offering practical implications for campus leaders and aspiring women presidents.

Who wreaks more havoc? Gender and the detrimental effect of abusive supervision on interpersonal deviance

Purpose Abusive supervision provokes subordinates’ interpersonal deviant behavior. It is, therefore, essential to explore the contingent factors of this relationship. Drawing upon gender role theory, this study aims to explore how subordinate and leader genders moderate the relationship between abusive supervision and subordinate interpersonal deviance. Furthermore, this study posits a three-way interaction effect of abusive supervision with leader and subordinate genders on interpersonal deviance. Design/methodology/approach Multisource survey data were collected from 45 supervisors and 170 subordinates in eight companies in China. The data were analyzed using the PROCESS macro in SPSS. Findings The results showed that the positive relationship between abusive supervision and interpersonal deviance was stronger among female leaders than male leaders. Furthermore, the authors found a three-way interaction effect between abusive supervision and leader and subordinate genders on subordinates’ interpersonal deviance. Compared with female subordinates, male subordinates engaged in significantly more interpersonal deviance when experiencing abusive supervision from a female leader than from a male leader. Originality/value The authors reveal that gender differences exist in the effect of abusive supervision on subordinates’ interpersonal deviant behavior. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate that subordinate and leader genders jointly influence the effect of abusive supervision. Finally, the findings extend the literature on gender’s moderating effects from constructive and neutral leader behaviors to destructive leader behaviors.

A qualitative exploration of perceptions of masculinity and fatherhood of male school leaders

ABSTRACT This qualitative study investigated the perceptions of masculinity and fatherhood of male school leaders and their perceptions associated with leadership practice. We used purposive sampling to recruit male Israeli school leaders for participation in the study. We collected the data by semi-structured interviews, which we then subjected to thematic analysis. The results indicate that the participants were divided between hegemonic and caring views of masculinity. By contrast, two-thirds of the leaders held an emotional view of fatherhood, and only one-third had an instrumental view. The results shed light also on the perceived connection of leaders’ masculinity and fatherhood views with their leadership practice. The findings and contributions of the study are discussed.

A calculated attack on clergy abuse: challenging patriarchal power at Willow Creek Community church

ABSTRACT In 2018, The Chicago Tribune reported one of the most significant abuse scandals in evangelical megachurch history: Bill Hybels, Willow Creek Community Church’s founder, was accused of sexual assault and misconduct. Willow Creek staff and elders denied the allegations, refused to take action against Hybels, and accused the women of collusion. In response, survivors and sympathizers formed online networks of support through social media and blogposts, adding their voices to the #MeToo and #ChurchToo movements. While Willow Creek professed gender egalitarian theology, it failed to curb the power of its charismatic male leader. This paper argues that Willow Creek, which grew in the context of twentieth century American culture and conservative evangelicalism, harbored naturalized patriarchy, complementarian ideology, and gender individualism that resisted the examination of gender inequality. This demonstrates the limitations of egalitarian theology and the necessity of broader social movements and networks to unravel patriarchal religious systems.

CEO characteristics and Tax Aggressiveness in Indonesian Family Firms: The Upper Echelons Theory Perspective

Tax aggressiveness is an effort that companies can undertake to save on tax payments. One of the factors driving why tax aggressiveness is pursued is the presence of CEO. This study emphasizes the characteristics of CEO. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the effect of CEO characteristics on tax aggressiveness based on the upper echelon’s theory perspective. CEO characteristics are divided into CEO tenure, educational background, and gender. CEO tenure in this study is proxied by how long someone has held the position of CEO, while educational background and gender are proxied using dummy variables. The choice of profitability is because profit is used as the main basis in tax calculation. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling, with an observation period of 2019–2022 in the seventy family firms listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). The data used is panel data and analyzed employing the EViews program. The model estimation tests feasible to use was the fixed effect model (FEM). The regression results show that CEO tenure, educational background, and gender partially and simultaneously affected tax aggressiveness. The study results generally indicate that family-owned companies tend to utilize more tax aggressiveness. At the same time, the level of education of the general director has a negative effect on tax aggressiveness, i.e. the higher the level of education, the less tax aggressiveness. The gender asymmetry is that women as family business leaders demonstrate greater tax aggressiveness than male leaders. Therefore, the benefit of this research from the government’s perspective is to formulate policies to reduce efforts of tax aggressiveness, especially for companies predominantly owned by families.

Salvation Through Womanhood: The Doctrine of Woman Leadership and Portrayal of Ko P'allye as the Great Mother in Chŭngsando

Abstract: The South Korean religion of Chŭngsando places pronounced emphasis on women by teaching that their emancipation is a precondition for surviving an apocalyptic transition, whereafter gender inequities will end. It further highlights the role of historical personage and mother, Ko P'allye (1880–1935), in the early history of the Chŭngsan movement as having been an active subject and the religious successor to male founder, Chŭngsan Kang Ilsun (1871–1909). This doctrine, and Chŭngsando's scriptual portrayal of Ko are explicitly challenging to traditional and contemporary patriarchy, yet it is Chŭngsando's current male leader, An Kyŏngjŏn, who has elevated these elements to a greater degree than any other sect. This article examines representations of womanhood and motherhood within Chŭngsando's current scripture through a close reading of the gendered aspects of the doctrine and portrayal of Ko P'allye. While addressing the textual history, it approaches the scripture as a cultural text for which the most recent version offers the richest elaboration. It analogizes to popular culture to interpret a core characteristic of the text: interplay of the mundane (historical reality) and the extraordinary (religious content). It meanwhile historicizes the tensions with structural patriarchy by situating the Chŭngsan religion as a subaltern salvationist movement. I argue the doctrine and portrayal are neither invention nor contradictory to the movement but trace to two historical forces: emancipatory discourse(s) of women, and Ko's own lived reality as a subaltern.

Representation of female vascular surgeons in national clinical trial leadership: analysis of trends over 20 years

Female vascular surgeons constitute 15% of the workforce. Despite an increased pipeline of female vascular surgeons, representation in leadership positions nationally has not maintained pace. We hypothesized that female vascular surgeons are underrepresented as leaders of clinical trials in the United States for several vascular conditions germane to our specialty. Clinical trials registered in the United States were reviewed using the ClinicalTrials.gov website for several index vascular conditions: abdominal aortic aneurysm, carotid artery disease, hemodialysis access, venous thrombectomy and stenting, and peripheral arterial disease. The specialty and presenting gender of national and site principal investigators were recorded. The gender distribution was compared for trials led by vascular surgeons and nonvascular surgeon physicians. A subgroup analysis was performed for solo and group investigators, intervention types, sponsorship sources, and professional affiliation. Temporal trends were examined to evaluate the relationship between the duration of board certification and clinical trial leadership involvement. For all conditions, female vascular surgeons represent 10.3% and 7.8% of national and site principal investigators, respectively. A significantly lower proportion of female investigators were included in national vascular surgeon-led trials compared with nonvascular surgeon-led trials (10.3% vs 19.9%; P = .006). However, site investigators had a lower, but similar, proportion of women in both groups (7.8% vs 7.9%; P = .89). A significantly lower proportion of female vascular surgeons led clinical trials focused on interventions vs noninterventions (6% vs 11%; P = .02). There was a trend toward fewer female vascular surgeons conducting industry-sponsored trials for group (8% vs 11%; P = .3) and solo (5% vs 12%; P = .1) investigator-led trials. A similar proportion of female investigators had both academic and nonacademic affiliations (15% vs 16%; P = .83). Of 109 individual vascular surgeon investigators who were board certified between 1983 and 2003, 6 were women (5.5%) compared with 24 women (28.6%) of 84 investigators who had received board certification between 2004 and 2023. Finally, female vascular surgeon investigators started leading clinical trials sooner after board certification compared with male investigators (mean, 5.5 years vs 10.9 years; P = .0009). The representation of female leaders in vascular clinical trials lags behind that of male leaders, although this trend has improved over time. However, a percentage of women in vascular surgery are successful in leading clinical trials early in their career, suggesting the importance of strong sponsorship and allyship. Furthermore, it is a call to action to our leaders and our industry partners to “lift the curtain” on the pathway to clinical trial leadership.

Transgression of Race, Gender, and Class:

This paper aims to explore Mary Ann Shadd’s transgression of race, gender, and class boundaries by employing a close reading of the text, A Plea for Emigration. I will explore the triangular relationship between race, class, and gender seen in the text from intersectional feminist perspectives. My contention is that, through her activism by pen, especially in A Plea for Emigration, Shadd exposes the feminist voice that enables her to protest against racism, slavery, gender stratification, and marginalization based on class hierarchy. In other words, I claim that Shadd’s transgression of the borders of race, gender, and class lies in her activism and ideology as a woman, black, and marginalized. This paper will, therefore, show that Mary Ann Shadd strongly transgresses the borders of race, gender, and class as the first black woman who owned and edited a newspaper, inspired American blacks towards freedom, confronted her contemporary male leaders, exposed the female gaze during a period of history when the male gaze was predominant and authoritative, became a public speaker making the world listen to her while working with the so-called socially aesthetic people despite being a “negro”.

In the Name Religion and Defending Women; Experiences of Three Pesantren Women in Indonesia Local Elections

The leadership of Indonesian Muslim women experienced a development, marked by the ever extensive political roles. Some previous researches state that the factor of familial closeness (political dynasty), gender, collusion, sexiness and piety marketing stimulate women’s election in political contestations. But these reasons are not enough to explain the reason for women’s roles in the public, especially women of pesantren (Islamic boarding schools). We suggest that women’s courage in the struggle for the political position is due to their desires to strive for women's rights that are ignored and not comprehensively understood by male leaders. The existence of the thought that women can (only) ‘understand women’ becomes the reason why regional leaderships are also seized by women. The article also shows the ability to integrate spirituality towards public roles by utilizing their social capitals. This paper also counters some arguments that women always lose in public sectors in political sector fights as they are under the shadow of their husbands or men.

Contribution of Female Leaders in Sports and the Attitude of Males towards Promoting Gender Diversity in Beijing, China

This study aims to explore the perceptions and attitudes of male leaders in Chinese sports organizations regarding gender diversity. The research will involve male teachers, instructors, and organizational leaders at Beijing Capital Institute of Physical Education. A questionnaire will be used to assess the demographic profile of the respondents, the leadership role of women martial artists, and the contributions of women in the martial arts community. The study targeted around 150 respondents. The results show a significant correlation between male leaders' attitudes towards martial arts education and their perception of the contributions of female leaders in the industry. This suggests that male leaders can play a crucial role in creating an equitable and representative leadership landscape in the sports industry. Their positive attitudes towards gender diversity can foster an environment where all individuals, regardless of gender, have equal opportunities to succeed and contribute to the growth and success of the sports industry.

Insecurity and Support for Female Leadership in Conflict States: Evidence from Afghanistan

Abstract While women's political inclusion is central to international conflict resolution efforts, public attitudes in conflict states towards women's political inclusion remain understudied. We expect insecurity to depress support for female political leadership in conflicts where women's political inclusion is violently contested. Citizens wanting security through force prefer male leaders because of stereotypes privileging men's military prowess. However, citizens wanting security through reconciliation also favour men for fear that female leadership would provoke more violence. We assess these expectations with experimental and observational data from the former Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. In the survey experiment, priming respondents to think about insecurity decreases support for female leadership, but only among women. In observational data, insecurity correlates with more polarized attitudes towards women's political representation in some regions and greater support for female leaders in others. Insecurity's impact on public support for female leadership in conflict states may be highly heterogeneous.