Are women better leaders?

A study compiling 65,000 personality tests of managers shows that women are far from being so different from male senior executives.

In a recently published study, the recruitment and human resources consulting firm Hudson seeks to determine whether women in management positions behave differently than men.

To conduct this study, the firm compiled results from assessments and psychometric tests of over 65,000 people worldwide, spanning several years.

The first finding is that across all levels of responsibility, behavioral differences between men and women are quite minimal. Women tend to perceive themselves as more open to others and more conscientious, whereas men report being more adept at emotional regulation.

Researchers then sought to understand what distinguishes “male” managers from other men: it appears they are, on average, more extroverted and decision-oriented. When the study was replicated with female managers, the same personality type emerged: their behavior, and their self-perception, therefore differs significantly from the average female profile identified in the first stage of the study. Does this imply that a common type of leadership exists, regardless of gender?

According to the study’s authors, female management remains, on average, more “altruistic” and “participatory.” Consequently, the authors suggest that “female executives face an identity crisis: if they act like male senior managers, they are perceived as harsh and cold, as their behavior does not align with female stereotypes. If they adopt a more feminine attitude, they are then judged to be less effective, as male leadership qualities are still considered the gold standard today.”