INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: THE CASE OF ROMANIAN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT COMPANIES

Abstract

Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is considered an important determinant of job performances, leadership skills development and efficiency of the teamwork. Many authors stated that there are differences between female and male emotional competences. The aim of the present paper is to explore the correlations between the gender, considered as independent variable, and the EQ competences, as dependent variables, clustered in four EQ analysis domains: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management. The study was based on an empirical research undertaken on a representative sample of 80 managers from different hierarchical levels in Romanian software development companies. The research methodology involved a design of a conceptual framework, based on four hypotheses, tested by means of Pearson chi-square. The research results emphasize a cultural specific context and some suggestions for future research are provided