One Mistake, Two Standards: An Investigation of Gendered Evaluations of Leaders’ Task and Relational Mistakes

Female leaders still have to work harder to be seen as effective as male leaders (e.g., Kim et al., 2022 ; Rudman & Phelan, 2008 ). At the same time, recent high-profile cases suggest that women are also evaluated more strictly when showing ineffective leadership behaviors, as in the controversial case of misconduct involving former Max Planck director Nicole Boivin (e.g., Abbott, 2021 ; Von Bredow, 2021 ). Susan Trumbore, herself a director at Max Planck Institute, stated: “Female scientists in leadership positions are publicly accused and punished for misconduct in much higher percentages than their male peers” (Von Bredow, 2021 , para. 12).