When She is Confident, “She Is a Leader”; When She is Helpful, “She Should Become One:” the Effects of Sex and Gender Stereotypes on Leadership Feedback

Inmaculada Macias Alonso
ULB - Solvay Brussels School of Eocnomics and Management

Abstract

This research examines how sex and gender stereotypes shape the content of leadership feedback in open-ended peer appraisals, coded as either descriptive affirmations, which recognize leadership as a current, demonstrated quality, and developmental-directive recommendations, which encourage the recipient to display greater leadership in the future. As past research has found a link between males, the masculine stereotype and leadership, we find that being male and masculine is linked with descriptive feedback affirming existing leadership. Nevertheless, as the increasing relevance of femininity in modern organizations has led to the formulation of the “female leadership advantage,” we find that the female stereotype is linked to developmental-directive feedback, suggesting potential for leadership, while at the same time implicitly framing it as not yet fully realized. We discuss how these results contribute to our understanding how subtle feedback language can reproduce or reconfigure gendered leadership expectations, shedding light on one mechanism behind the persistent gender–leadership gap.

Presentation