Workplace and leadership perceptions between men and women

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the attitudinal differences between men and women with respect to work issues and leadership and the implications that these outlooks have in the US (USA) workforce. While studies have been conducted to show how men and women differ in the work and leadership styles, attitudes can affect how workers and leaders are treated and may explain why people behave the way that they do. Design/methodology/approach – Using data from the 2010-2012 World Values Survey (WVS-6), comparisons were performed with the Mann-Whitney U test to determine if there were significant differences in attitudes and perceptions of work and leadership between men and women in the USA based on five questions concerning attitudes toward men and women in the workforce. The sample consisted of 1,070 males and 1,139 females who responded to questions using a Likert scale-rating system. Findings – There were significant differences between males and females at the p < 0.01 level for four of the five questions. Men were more likely to believe that men have more rights to jobs when jobs are scarce. Women believed more than men that having a job was the best way for a woman to be independent. Men believed that they made better political leaders. Men also believed that they made better business executives. However, there was no significant difference in the question about women making more than men. Neither felt strongly that a woman earning more money than her husband would cause problems. Originality/value – The research provides insight into factors that might affect how men and women perceive both their own group and the other group. It is important to ensure that gender perceptions are evaluated to address issues that may still persist and contribute to gender inequality in the workplace and how behaviors and attitudes of each gender affect roles and norms.