Respectful leadership:Reducing performance challenges posed by leader role incongruence and gender dissimilarity

We investigate how respectful leadership can help overcome the challenges for follower performance that female leaders face when working (especially with male) followers. First, based on role congruity theory, we illustrate the biases faced by female leaders. Second, based on research on gender (dis-)similarity, we propose that these biases should be particularly pronounced when working with a male follower. Finally, we propose that respectful leadership is most conducive to performance in female leader–male follower dyads compared with all other gender configurations. A multi-source field study (N = 214) provides partial support for our hypothesis. While our hypothesized effect was confirmed, respectful leadership seems to be generally effective for female leaders irrespective of follower gender, thus lending greater support in this context to the arguments of role congruity rather than gender dissimilarity

Gender, gender self-perceptions, and workplace leadership

Female leaders display at least equally effective behaviors as male leaders, but female leaders are still underrepresented in leadership positions. Furthermore, it is more difficult for female leaders than for male leaders to achieve positive leadership outcomes. Role congruity theory suggests that a perceived mismatch between feminine gender role and masculine leadership role can create role conflicts that may hinder women’s progression to leadership positions and may negatively affect the evaluation of women, who have achieved leadership positions. Research evidence suggests that role congruity theory can help explain gender differences in leadership emergence and leadership outcomes. Furthermore, role congruity theory can be meaningfully combined with concepts, such as double standards of competence as well as status incongruence. Further research is needed to determine the relative importance of social roles (i.e., gender role, leadership role) and individual attributes (i.e., categorical gender, gender selfperceptions) for the persistence of gender-inequality in the workplace. From a practical perspective, this implies that both organizational level (e.g., gender belief systems) and individual level (e.g., career advancement for women) need to be addressed simultaneously

Do women directors contribute to R&D? The role of critical mass and expert power

The paper provides insights into the implications for innovation input of having women on company boards. It sheds light on the effects of critical mass and expert power of women directors, and the moderating role played by female CEOs. Drawing on a sample of Italian companies in the high-tech industry, the study shows that having women on the board positively affects innovation input, measured as R&D spending, but only when they reach a critical mass. This result highlights that having a critical mass of women directors can limit the biases of other board members and improve women’s ability to influence innovation. The analyses also show that the expert power of women directors has positive implications for R&D spending. More mature and powerful women can improve board decision-making by providing new ideas and perspectives that may prompt company innovation. Finally, the presence of a woman as CEO positively moderates the relationships between innovation input and both critical mass and expert power of women directors. The results therefore support the idea that CEO-board gender similarity may encourage the commitment of women directors and foster company innovation