Gender and Social Influence

Abstract

This review article reveals that men are generally more influential than women, although the gender difference depends on several moderators. Relative to men, women are particularly less influential when using dominant forms of communication, whereas the male advantage in influence is reduced in domains that are traditionally associated with the female role and in group settings in which more than one woman or girl is present. Males in particular resist influence by women and girls more than females do, especially when influence agents employ highly competent styles of communication. Resistance to competent women can be reduced, however, when women temper their competence with displays of communality and warmth.Historically, most research on gender and social influence has focused on gender differences in influenceability, the extent to which men and women are influenced by others. In fact, the numerous studies on this topic have been reviewed several times (e.g., Becker, 1986;Eagly, 1978;Eagly & Carli, 1981). Less attention, however, has been devoted to the effect of a person's gender on his or her ability to influence others, an ability that can contribute to effective management in organizations and is associated with career advancement and increases in salary (Dreher, Dougherty, & Whitely, 1989;Kanter, 1977;Rao, Schmidt, & Murray, 1995). Consequently, examining the factors that contribute to gender differences in social influence has implications for understanding women's leadership. This article reviews research on gender differences in exerting influence, including the factors that moderate the gender differences.In most settings, women possess lower levels of status and power than men do, particularly power based on expertise or legitimate authority (Carli, 1999; Ridgeway, this issue). Because men and women typically fill different roles, with women

A Qualitative Study of Faculty Members' Views of Women Chairs

“…14,[27][28][29][30][31][32][33] Rooted in the different social roles traditionally occupied by men and women is the implicit assumption that women will exhibit more behaviors and traits that fall under the rubric of ''communal'' and reflect primarily concern for others' welfare (e.g., kind, sympathetic, nurturing, and gentle), whereas men will exhibit more action-oriented ''agentic'' behaviors and traits (assertive, ambitious, forceful, and independent) 29,[34][35][36] As most leadership positions are also viewed as requiring agentic behaviors, this can lead to what Schein has termed the ''think-manager-think-male'' phenomenon 30,37,38 and what Eagly and Karau 14 have termed ''role congruity'' for men in leadership. These implicit assumptions result in more positive ratings of men being considered for or functioning in leadership positions 27,39,40 and simultaneously lower ratings of women (because of their role incongruity), even when accomplishments and credentials are identical.…”

Gender (In)Consistent Communication via Social Media and Hireability: An Exploratory Study

“…Further, although dominant, threatening behaviors are not seen as particularly influential for either men or women, because those behaviors are more expected of men, women will be more disliked and lacking influence when using these behaviors [26], experiencing a negative violation. Men behaving this way are not behaving counter-normatively, and thus are less likely to experience backlash and negative consequences.…”

Social Dilemma Studies

“…For example, Ridgeway (1982) [52] found that the female confederates were considered to have little influence in a group where all other four members were males, whereas the male confederates were considered to have great influence in the group that is constituted mostly by the females. Examining many researches on the influence of gender over the decisionmaking, Carli (2001) [53] found that with only few exceptions, most researchers acknowledged the gender difference and that the male had a greater influence than the female. This is mainly due to the fact that the female's intention (of influencing) is often ignored and the male's contribution is over-emphasized.…”