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CHAPTER 11: DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP DIVERSITY 337
Ways Women Lead

There is some evidence that men may become less influential in the U.S. work-
force, with women becoming dominant players, because women’s approach is
more attuned to the needs and values of a multicultural environment. For example,
there’s a stunning gender reversal in U.S. education, with girls taking over almost
every leadership role from kindergarten to graduate school. Women of all races
and ethnic groups are outpacing men in earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
48
In mid-2006, women made up 58 percent of undergraduate college students.
Among 25- to 29-year-olds, 32 percent of women have college degrees, compared
to 27 percent of men. Women are rapidly closing the M.D. and Ph.D. gap, and
they make up about half of all U.S. law students, half of all undergraduate busi-
ness majors, and about 30 percent of MBA candidates. In addition, studies show
that women students are more achievement-oriented, less likely to skip classes,
spend more time studying, and typically earn higher grades. Overall, women’s
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participation in both the labor force and civic affairs has steadily increased since
the mid-1950s, whereas men’s participation has slowly but steadily declined. 50

Women as Leaders
According to James Gabarino, an author and professor of human development
at Cornell University, women are “better able to deliver in terms of what modern
society requires of people—paying attention, abiding by rules, being verbally
competent, and dealing with interpersonal relationships in offi ces.” His obser-
51
vation is supported by the fact that female managers are typically rated higher by
subordinates on interpersonal skills as well as on factors such as task behavior,
communication, ability to motivate others, and goal accomplishment. As illus-
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trated in Exhibit 11.3, one survey of followers rated women leaders signifi cantly
higher than men on several characteristics that are crucial for developing fast, fl ex-
ible, adaptive organizations. Female leaders were rated as having more idealized

Exhibit 11.3 Comparison of Male and Female Leaders by Their Subordinates

Women Higher than Men
Leadership Qualities
Idealized influence .39
Inspirational motivation .21

Individual consideration .19

Intellectual stimulation .41
Organizational Outcomes
Extra effort .42

Effectiveness .25
Employee satisfaction .33

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5

Note: Ratings of leaders were on a scale of 1–5. Women leaders were rated higher, on average, by the amount indicated for each item.
Source: Based on Bernard M. Bass and Bruce J. Avolio, “Shatter the Glass Ceiling: Women May Make Better Managers,” Human Resource
Management 33, no. 4 (Winter 1994), pp. 549–560.