Gender stereotypes and leadership

Stereotypes about women managers is one of the factors which significantly slow down their career advancement. The myth that women’s lot is the kitchen, their only uniform is an apron and the only tool - a rolling pin, is widely popular in business environment. Though female executives are by no means an exception, people still do not really trust them as leaders. At the same time social expectations of men include success, an important position and a large income.

Man the leader

Stereotypes about gender roles and social expectations of men and women play a huge role in career motivation. Men simply must be leaders, providers, winners. That’s what makes them feel “real men”. If by a certain age the man didn’t become a manager he might be seen as a loser, and the fact that he has a successful family life doesn’t compensate for his lack of career achievements.

“When a man wants to get a leading role I tell him, We both know it’s not your thing, what do you need that for? And he says, I’m already 35, all my buddies are managers. It’s kind of expected. A woman wouldn’t have that inferiority problem if by 35 she’s just a leading expert” (woman, general director of the Russian division of a large multinational corporation, manufacturing).

Social expectations of women are not that high: they may work or not, the only thing they must be is a good wife and mother. If that’s done, the career issue remains at their discretion. So what women see as a “plan B” and a “decent choice”, men perceive as “retreat” or even “running away”.

“Women have much more alternative options than men. That’s their competitive edge. At some point they just might say, OK, that’s it, I’m fed up with all that. I’ll just be a Mom. And the society will see that as a perfectly acceptable choice. But if a man finds himself without a well-paid important job, it would crush him as an individual” (woman, deputy general director, a large Russian power supply company).

The housewife myth

Perception of women’s and men’s roles in business and society affect appointment decisions just as much as women’s lack of confidence in their leadership potential. Female executives feel the pressure of stereotypes every day – when they interact with colleagues, subordinates and partners. The indepth interviews participants demonstrated these stereotypes very clearly. The women told how they were seen by male bosses, while male respondents boldly voiced the most popular gender-based stereotypes.

“One of my bosses said, I always deeply believed that only two kinds of dress were acceptable for women: nightdress and kitchen apron. You were the first who forced me to think I might not have been exactly right. He meant it as a compliment” (woman, deputy general director, a large Russian power supply company).

“I survived, I think, five bosses to whom I’ve been a deputy. And each next one was terrified, thinking, Oh God, what kind of deputy is that, a woman, that’s simply not done! Now I have excellent relations with all of them. When one of them was leaving he said, I’ve changed my view of life. I always thought women were kitchen, kids and suchlike. Seems like I wasn’t exactly right. Probably they can combine one thing with the other quite nicely” (woman, deputy director for production, a large Russian power supply company).

The quantitative survey confirmed that the respondents shared some of the stereotypes about female executives prevailing in the Russian society.

The most popular gender-related stereotypes the respondents agreed with included the following:

• women can’t combine a business career and an adequate family life (45%);
• women lose femininity struggling for a successful business career (36%);
• a male boss is the norm, a female boss is rather an exception (31%).

Less than 20% of the respondents shared the following wide-spread stereotypes about female leaders:

• women do no take sufficiently tough positions when they manage other people (13%);
• women can be successful only in traditional for them spheres (15%);
• women are not ready to take risks when making decisions (18%).

Men compared to women, top executives compared to second-tier managers and residents of provincial regions compared to Muscovites were more strongly in favour of the above gender stereotypes. At the same time managers of foreign-owned companies and large corporations shared these widely popular notions less often than respondents employed by Russian companies or companies with up to 200 staff.

Gender-related stereotypes definitely require further analysis. It’s hard to overestimate the degree of their influence over decisions taken by men and women alike regarding their career development, or abandoning such aspirations. Further on we’ll describe how one can overcome external and internal behavio