Gender, context and leadership styles: A field study

In a field study in department stores it was investigated whether the gender‐typing of the organizational context influences leadership behaviour of male and female managers. Shop assistants in masculine‐ to feminine‐typed departments described their manager in terms of task‐oriented, people‐oriented, and transformational leadership styles. As predicted, no gender differences in leadership styles were found. The gender‐typing of departments did not affect perceived leadership styles. Another contextual variable, the site of the department store, unexpectedly influenced leader behaviour.