Women on Top: Prejudices and Advantages of the Female Leader

1. Women on Top: Prejudices and Advantages of the Female Leader Lauren M. Bach & Susan P. Anderson, Faculty Mentor Department of Psychology, Minnesota State University, Mankato • 2 x 2 ANOVA Results • No significant differences between conditions existed on the dependent measures: • Effectiveness(F(3, 48) = 1.609, p = .200) • Likeability (F(3, 48) = 1.881, p = .145) • Communal Traits (F(3, 48) = 1.366, p = .264) • Agentic Traits (F(3, 48) = .601, p = .618) Introduction According to the role congruity theory, female leaders encounter prejudice in seeking top-level leadership positions because female gender roles are incongruent with valued leadership roles (Eagly & Karau, 2002). However, past research suggests that female leaders in the highest leadership positions have an advantage due to double standards. Females in the highest leadership positions have surpassed the ‘glass ceiling’ of prejudice and are considered highly competent leaders (Rosette & Tost, 2010). • Materials • Four fictitious articles about a company named Berk Inc. • Included: a job description of a leader and a graph of the company’s performance • Manipulated with leader position and Gender • Questionnaire asking participants to rate leaders using a Likert-scale (1 strongly disagree to 6 strongly agree) on: • Effectiveness • Ex) Johnson may be effective. • Likeability • Ex) Johnson may be liked by other staff members. • Communal Traits • Ex) Johnson may be helpful to other staff. • Agentic Traits • Ex) Johnson may be a bold employee leader. • Questions Derived from: Johnson et al. (2008) & Offermann, Kennedy, and Wirtz’s (1994) • Discussion • Findings did not support the Eagly and Karau (2002) role congruity theory of prejudice towards the female leaders. • Why? – Agentic and communal rated traits did not significant differ across conditions. • Predictions according to Role Congruity Theory: • Results did not support the existence of double standards for female leaders or a top-female leader advantage like suggested by Rosette and Tost (2010). • Why? - Conditions did not differ in effectiveness and likeability. • Predictions according to Rosette and Tost (2010): Which Leader do you prefer? Article #1 Six months ago Ms. Samantha Johnson was hired as the Senior Executive Vice President at Berk Inc. In the Senior Executive Vice President position, she oversees the company’s Division Managers and other staff members. She makes decisions and sets goals that impact the entire company and its workers, and she communicates information down to all of the company’s lower-level management. She, ultimately, is responsible for the performance of Berk Inc. Over the past six months, Berk Inc. has become progressively profitable. The company’s earnings have increased by eighty percent, and its clientele are growing. See Figure 1 for the percent increase in earnings at BerkInc over the past six months. Industry Analyst Taylor Anderson states, “Despite the struggling economy, Berk Inc. has become a lucrative and recognized industry due to Ms. Johnson’s leadership as Senior Executive Vice President.” Reporters are anxiously waiting to view the development of Berk Inc. * * Creative Commons, U.S. Department of State Creative Commons, Gage Skidmore • Most Favored Leader According to Past Research: • Role Congruity Theory • Double Standards Top-Level Leader: (CEO, President, etc.) * ‘Glass Ceiling’ Creative Commons, Gary Lerude Creative Commons, Lady Lestrange Mid-Level Leader: (Manager, etc.) Main Question: What are the effects of gender and leader position on perceptions of female leaders? Acknowledgements We would like to thank the Undergraduate Research Center, the Department of Psychology and Minnesota State University, Mankato for their support. • References • Eagly, A. H., & Karau, S. J. (2002). Role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders. Psychological Review, 109, 573-598. doi:10.1037//0033-295X.109.3.573 • Johnson, S. K., Murphy, S. E., Zewdie, S., & Reichard, F. J. (2008). The strong, sensitive, type: Effects of gender stereotypes and leadership prototypes on the evaluation of male and female leaders. Organization Behavior and Human Decision Process, 106, 39-60. doi:1016/j.obhdp.207.12.002 • Offermann, L. R., Kennedgy, J. K., & Wirtz, P. W. (1994). Implicit leadership theories: Content, structure, and generalizability. Leadership Quarterly, 5, 43-58. Received from <http://www.journals.elsevier.com> • Rosette, A. S., & Tost, L. P. (2010). Agentic women and communal leadership: How role prescriptions confer advantage to top women leaders. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95, 221-235. doi:10.1037/a0018204 • Method • Participants • 52 Minnesota State University, Mankato undergraduate students (33 Female and 19 Male) • Participants varied between the ages 18 to 32 (M = 20.35, SD = 2.757). • Compensation for participation was not given. • Procedure • Participants randomly received one of four articles and were instructed to read the article. • Then participants completed a short questionnaire, rating the leaders on the four dependent measures.