Gendered congruence in leadership: how inclusive leadership builds trust but produces unequal knowledge sharing

Purpose Inclusive leadership is theorised to foster trust and support knowledge sharing, yet less is known about the conditions under which these relationships materialise. Drawing on role congruity theory, we argue that the relevance of leader gender lies less in whether inclusive leadership is associated with trust formation and more in whether followers enact trust through knowledge-sharing behaviour. Design/methodology/approach Using survey data from 59 teams in Nigerian manufacturing organisations, we test a multi-level model examining trust as a mechanism linking inclusive leadership to knowledge sharing and leader gender as a cross-level moderator. Findings Inclusive leadership is positively associated with follower trust regardless of leader gender. However, the relationship between trust and knowledge sharing is stronger under female leaders, and the relationship between inclusive leadership and knowledge sharing is likewise stronger when leaders are women. These findings suggest that gendered role expectations may not constrain trust formation but may shape how trust and inclusive leadership are translated into collaborative action. Originality/value By identifying leader gender as a boundary condition for the behavioural enactment of trust and inclusive leadership, we extend role congruity theory beyond leader evaluation and show that congruity effects may emerge more strongly in behavioural responses than in trust formation.