Sex effects in evaluating leaders.

This study investigated the extent to which sex role stereotypes influence the evaluation of leadership behavior. Male and female business students were administered one of two versions of a questionnaire containing four stories, each depicting a leadership style based on one of the following leadership dimensions: initiating structure, consideration, production emphasis, and tolerance for freedom. Managers' names were altered in the two versions to indicate males or females. Answers to eight evaluative questions for each of the leadership styles confirmed the hypothesis that sex has an effect on evaluations of managerial behavior, although the effect varied for different leadership styles. Female managers received more positive scores than male managers on the consideration style. Initiating structure behavior was valued more highly when engaged in by male managers. Manager sex had no significant influence on evaluations of the production emphasis and tolerance for freedom styles. Sex of subject effects also were noted on all but the consideration style. While the low representation of women in managerial ranks has been gaining increasing attention, few studies have focused on the managerial effectiveness of women. Almost all of what is known about managerial effectiveness is based on research using males as subjects. At the same time, evidence suggests that women are not perceived as having the potential to manage. This is particularly true among male managers who would be in a position to promote women to managerial positions. For example, in a Bowman, Worthy, and Greyser (1965) study that sought managerial opinions about women executives, 51% of the male respondents agreed that women are temperamentally unfit for management. Gilmer (1961) found that over 65% of the male managers in his study felt that women would be inferior to men in supervisory positions.