1. “Bitch Boss”: Perceptions of Female Leaders in Business
Kristina Kreamer and Jamie Elves Department of Psychology
Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA 98447
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
DISCUSSION
Although women make up 56.7% of the workforce, only 4% of fortune 500 CEOs are female.
Women in positions of power are often faced with a “catch 22”;  when women conform to their gender stereotypes, others see them as weak and ineffective leaders (Carli & Eagly, 2001). However, if they act in a strong, masculine, boss-like manner, they appear cold and mean.
A female leader with masculine traits is often thought of as a “bitch boss” (Brescoll & Moss-Racusin, 2007; Eagly & Karau, 2002; Heilman, Wallen, Fuchs, & Tamkins, 2004). 
Previous research on this topic, specifically Rudman (1998), is arguably outdated and limited in it’s validity because of their definition of masculinity.
The present study used a broader definition of masculinity by taking characteristics from the Beliefs About Women Scale (Snell & Godwin, 2013).
Participants
There were 73 university undergraduates, 56 female and 16 male.
Materials
Scenario – Described a boss displaying masculine or feminine characteristics as defined by the Beliefs About Women Scale (Snell & Godwin, 2013).
Chris is a 40-year- old man and the CEO of a local company. He has a commanding presence when he walks into the room and acts confident and dominant in all situations. He prioritizes competitiveness over cooperation in both himself and others. He is decisive and will make a decision that he feels is best for the company, despite what may be best for individual employees. In group meetings he controls the discussion, even if that means not everyone gets a chance to speak.
**Feminine characteristics were nurturing, cooperative, empathetic, non-dominating, interpersonal, and collaborative.
Questionnaire – included the Leadership Trait Questionnaire (Norhouse, 2004) as well as questions regarding personal gender preference for a boss, and what extent they took the gender of the boss into account when completing the questionnaire.
Procedure
Participants read a scenario about either a male or female boss displaying masculine or feminine characteristics and completed the questionnaire.
Recent studies have focused on a possible female leadership advantage, which may have contributed to participants preferring a feminine leader (Eagly & Carli 2003; Eagly, 2003; Eagly, 2007; Furst & Reeves, 2008).
Participants were mostly first year students, which would mean they were likely ages 18 – 24. Because younger people are less prejudiced than older individuals (Ogunleye & Adebayo, 2010), the participants may have been less prejudiced.
Millennials, or people born between the years 1980 and 2000 (Ng, Schweitzer, & Lyons, 2010), prefer a transformational leadership style which is characterized by an emphasis on emotions and goals, promoting frequent communication and cohesion of teams (Post, 2015; García-Morales, Jiménez-Barrionuevo, & Gutiérrez-Gutiérrez, 2012). This leadership style is often associated with women.
Findings also suggest that college campuses may be places of less prejudice, thus contributing to our results (Bayer, 1975).
Future research should include participants with more experience in the business world.
RESULTS
H1: Not Supported
F(1, 73) = .004, p = .93, η2 = .000
Female boss (M = 3.67, SD = .13)
Male boss (M = 3.68, SD = .12)
H2: Not Supported
F(1, 73) = .062 , p = .805, η2 = .001
Masculine Female (M = 3.37, SD = .56) Feminine Female (M = 3.97, SD = .87) Masculine Male (M = 3.34 SD = .66) Feminine Male (M = 4.02 SD = .89)
A main effect of characteristics reached significance
F(1, 73) = 12.92, p = .001, η2 = .158
Feminine boss (M = 4.00, SD = .87) Masculine boss (M = 3.35, SD = .61)
HYPOTHESES
Leadership Trait Questionnaire Score
H1: Participants will rate female bosses more negatively than male bosses.
H2: Participants will rate female bosses exhibiting masculine traits more negatively than the other bosses.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Drs. McLaughlin, Hansvick, and Grahe for their time, patience, and guidance throughout the semester. Additionally, we would like to thank all of the psychology professors for fostering our education during our time at PLU.
Boss Gender