Why Can′t Men Lead Like Women?

Abstract

While some women have emerged as leaders within contemporary organizations, they occupy one‐third of managerial and professorial positions in Canada while composing approximately one‐half of the workforce. At top managerial levels, they occupy less than 5 per cent of senior positions. Earlier research identified “female deficiencies” as a reason why few women have made it to the top. Other findings have indicated that following a masculine model has both advantages and disadvantages for aspiring women managers. Developmental differences between both sexes has helped to explain some of the problems for leaders and followers. Interactive leadership styles utilized by women have been beneficial in moving both genders towards a solution insofar as this style involves four factors: encouraging participation; sharing power and information; enhancing self‐worth of others and finally, energizing others. The use of an androgynous leadership model has not yielded significant findings but there are common characteristics of successful leaders combining both the masculine and feminine models. Organizations and their top leaders need to expand their definition of effective leadership so that an interactive style can be valued, allowing these organizations to be flexible in surviving within an increasingly competitive and diverse environment.

Citation

Appelbaum, S.H. and Shapiro, B.T. (1993), "Why Can′t Men Lead Like Women?", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 14 No. 7, pp. 28-34. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437739310047010