Recollections of Forming a Lesbian Identity Interview

Gender Differences in Leadership: Current Social Issues and Future Organizational Implications

“…Cantor and Benay (1992; as cited in Boatwright & Forrest, 2000) hypothesize that women leaders may respond to stereotypes by suppressing normative gender behaviors or acting &dquo;similarly to men&dquo; in order to rise through the ranks in an organization. Oakley (2000) found a similar behavioral style among women leaders who downplay their own femininity in favor of more &dquo;masculine&dquo; behaviors that could be associated with leadership success.…”

“…Women, Carless argues, are naturally socialized towards skills in participative leadership, collaborative group management, and quality interpersonal relations. Boatwright and Forrest (2000) further this description using attachment theory. According to Bowlby (1969 and1982a; as cited in Sperling & Berman, 1994), attachment theory is an independent behavioral system, organized by and around specific early caregiver relationships that results in various combinations of interpersonal relation styles.…”

“…There are several arguments and a growing knowledge base of research attempting to explain these discrepancies, their epidemiology, and their potential impact on both social and organizational grounds. Boatwright and Forrest (2000) point to a phenomenon known as the &dquo;glass ceiling&dquo; as one reason for any numerical differences between the genders in leadership positions. The glass ceiling theory argues that it is the social model of expectations and beliefs that undermine women's attempts to gain leadership roles.…”

“…Similarly, relational theory contributes to these views by arguing that a primary human striving is to develop and maintain relationships (Boatwright & Forrest, 2000). If women and men approach these drives differently based on early skill development, leadership styles involving relational (or person-oriented) behavior will also differ.…”

“…These perceptions (on the parts of both men and women) can pressure women leaders to adopt a more masculine style of leadership in an attempt to be seen as a successful leader (Gardiner & Tiggemann, 1999 & Sapp, Harrod, & Zhao;. Some researchers argue that job or task-oriented leadership is quickly being replaced by employee or person-centered leadership and that this shift underscores the importance of studying employee preference for leadership styles (Boatwright & Forrest, 2000). By some estimates, persons in organizational leadership roles spend approximately 70 -87% of their time communicating with others (Gardiner & Tiggemann, 1999).…”