LEADERSHIP: MEN VS. WOMEN

Leadership: Men vs. Women

Are there significant differences in the leadership styles of men compared to women?

Introduction

In the battle of the sexes, people often find themselves discussion the difference between the leadership styles of men and women. Different perspectives are found on this topic which range from a recognition of no differences in ability or style to a clear difference based on gender. It is important to identify that democracy or competition as well as diverse work settings and tendencies towards positive reinforcement play a important role in affecting leadership styles. Leadership and gender is a topic that is concerned with two main questions:

•What are the factors that differentiate the leadership behaviour and positions of men and women?

•How leadership is considered a gendered concept?

According to the social scientists, there is a difference between the words “sex” and “gender.” The word “Sex” refers to the biological and physiological differences between men and women; whereas the word “Gender” refers to a social construction of differences between the two sexes. These include different roles, traits, behaviours, aptitudes and attitudes that men and women display. These displays reinforce the claims of membership in a sex. The term “leader” denotes a person who holds a formal position of leadership in education, politics, industry, government, arts, etc. Previously, gender differences prevented females from gaining leadership roles in aforementioned organisations; as a result, the theory that men were more suited for leadership roles than women existed. (Wolfers 2006,531-541)

However, this perception has started to change since the early 1970s, when a large number of women (1) earned master of business administration (MBA) degrees; (2) were elected prime ministers (in Pakistan, Norway, Britain, Canada, Sri Lanka and the Philippines) and in other government offices; (3) were elected to managerial level positions in various business organisations. Additionally, the supposition that the leaders can only be men has come under a strict scrutiny by a growing number of scholars.

Interest in the roles of gender in leadership positions started when women began to seek entry in the field of management. Two things helped women to compete with men in the field of management. First was the Practical approach i.e. to adapt themselves to the dress, customs and local language of the management so as to enter the male dominated territory and reflect themselves as the managerial women. The second approach was academics. They had to learn in order to carry out the jobs performed by their male counterpart. This enabled them equal access to different types of jobs, trainings and development and because of this they were able to compete with men for the leadership positions and other type of management related jobs. Many theorists believe that if a advancement of woman in a career is based solely on merit which will in return help her to easily excel and advance into various leadership and management positions, but if she desires. An organisation's profits can increase by the special qualities that women possess in their personality and they ...