Genderized Leadership: Gender and Social Influence Psychological research shows that effective leadership is dependent upon gender

Historically  Gender difference in influenceability The extent to which men and women are influenced by others  Effect of a person’s gender on their ability to influence others Effective management Career achievement Increases in salary

What are little boys made of?  Frogs  Snails  Puppy dog tails

What are little girls made of?  Sugar  Spice  Everything nice

Gender Differences in Exerting Influence  Mixed-sex groups Men exert more influence Boys exert more influence Attempts by girls or women are more likely to be ignored Contributions by men  Receive more attention from other group members  Have a greater effect on group decisions

Gender Composition Effects: Gender of recipient of influence attempts  Expectation states theory Gender effects depend on the salience of gender as a status characteristic  Males are more persuaded by males Adults Jr. Highers Toddlers Preschoolers 2-6 year old children

Gender Composition Effects: Proportion of males and females in an interaction  Why is there a disadvantage for females when they are the minority? Highlights gender stereotypes Elicits greater gender-stereotypical behavior  Task Contribution Individual male contribution increases as males in the group decrease Individual female contribution decreases as females in the group decrease

Communication Style used by Influence Agent: Competence  Supporting opinions with evidence Women that do are more influential than women that do not Men’s influence is relatively high without evidence  Both genders equally benefit: Speaking in a clear, fluent, and competent manner When they have an unusual expertise on the topic of persuasion

Communication Style used by Influence Agent: Competence  Possessing important and unique information Increased males influence Decreased females influence  Competent direct displays Interfere with women’s influence Women greater influence with an indirect style  Males are more threatened by and less inclined to like a competent woman

Communication Style used by Influence Agent: Dominance  Controlling  Threatening  Forceful  Agonistic  Direct disagreement  Verbal/non-verbal cues of aggression Interruptions Speaking in a loud voice Pointing at others Having a stern expression

Communication Style used by Influence Agent: Dominance  Face-to-face discussions of gender neutral topics: Direct disagreement by women produces overt hostility or tension  Non-verbal dominance More acceptable in men than women  Teachers of young children Ignore negative influence attempts by girls Attend to negative assertions of boys

Communication Style used by Influence Agent: Warmth and Communality  Stereotype of female warmth has become prescriptive Better receptiveness when women are warm and communal Self-promotion decreases influence  Behaviors that increase influence for women: Smiling Expressing agreement Showing support for others Stating that one is motivated to help others

Communication Style used by Influence Agent: Warmth and Communality  Male resistance is tempered when women combine competence with warmth Using rapid, unhesitating and clear language COMBINED WITH Cues for warmth: smiling, nodding, agreeing  Men can influence others without being liked  Women must be likeable to be influential

Communication Style used by Influence Agent: Gender Bias of Task  Males are generally presumed more competent and more influential Even greater in contexts that are stereotypically masculine Also in gender-neutral contexts EX: sports topics  Women are more influential in stereotypical feminine situations EX: fear of crime VID

Conclusions  Effectiveness requires competence Men more than women Women legitimate in female domains Women have extra burden of establishing their competence Males competence is taken for granted VIDVID  It is men, more than women, who resist female influence Gender effect is due to resistance to female influence Point out benefit and value of women’s contributions

Conclusions  Following gender role norms is more influential than not Influence is a male gender role Behavior of female influence receives more attention than that of males VIDVID  Warmth and Communality reduce resistance to women’s influence Likeableness benefits men Likeableness is essential for women VID

Conclusions  Communal behaviors should not be seen as weak or deferent Can be a means to influence and the basis of referent power Women’s access to sources of power is limited VV  Competent behavior can enhance influence and reduce likeability Complex interaction between perceived competence to influence and prescriptive demand for warmth

Conclusions  Women leading in a democratic manner have more favorable evaluations Women show higher levels of communal behavior Men show higher levels of task behavior  Gender stereotypes will likely change and become more favorable to women This may already be weakening Women can enhance influence by combining highly competent behavior with warmth Organizations can endorse authority of women and publicize contributions of female leaders VIDVID