Rotterdam school of Management, Erasmus University compact logo

Article: Tuesday, 27 June 2017

Women with a masculine leadership style confuse their team members if they also act in a warm, gentle and considerate way. Combining these two types of behaviour makes them appear less authentic in the eyes of their team and as a result, they are perceived as less effective leaders. This result came from a study by PhD graduate Jasmien Khattab of Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM).

Earlier studies outlined this double bind for women in or aspiring to leadership positions, says Khattab. When they act with kindness and understanding ‒ traits usually associated with femininity ‒ they are seen as less competent. On the other hand, women that come across as dominant and self-confident ‒ stereotypically ‘masculine behaviour’‒ are liked less and as a result are more likely to be passed over for leadership positions.


Conflicting roles

To navigate this apparent conflict and have a better chance of being promoted into leadership roles, women are often advised to combine the two traits, Khattab says. To test the validity of this recommendation, Khattab and her RSM colleague Hannes Leroy surveyed 48 team leaders in the service industry, and 213 of their team members.

Leaders were first asked to indicate the extent to which they saw themselves as ‘stereotypically feminine’ and ‘stereotypically masculine' in their leadership position.

‘Feminine’ leaders are… kind, helpful, understanding, ‘warm’, aware of other’s feelings, able to devote self to others.

Leader effectiveness

Next, team members rated their leaders’ effectiveness. Analyses showed the ratings of women leaders who are very masculine in their leadership style suffer when they also behave in a feminine way: mixing the two leadership styles noticeably decreases their perceived effectiveness. However, men with a high degree masculinity in their leadership are not penalised for becoming a more feminine leader in this fashion. Khattab also found that women with a less masculine leadership style benefitted from adopting feminine behaviour. Their team members started to see them as more effective.

‘Masculine’ leaders are… active, not easily influenced, independent, dominant, self-confident, competitive.

Authenticity

Digging deeper, Khattab discovered both the penalty and bonus for women leaders acting more femininely can be explained by teams’ perception of women leaders’ authenticity. When women leaders consistently show the same behaviour, their team members will see this as authentic behaviour, even when it does not match stereotypical expectations, as is the case when women lead in masculine fashion.

But when women display seemingly conflicting masculine and feminine behaviours, their teams try to make sense of this confusing situation by assuming that their leaders are in fact feminine, and only act masculinely because they are in a leader role. This causes their teams to see them as less authentic in their leader role, and as a result, as less effective leaders.

 

Societal expectations

So, should women leaders avoid confusing their teams by sticking to just one of the traits? Khattab says if we truly want gender equality in leadership it would be better to stop evaluating women leaders according to gender expectations, and instead evaluate them according to their job descriptions and actual performance.

The results of this study show we have much stronger expectations of the societal roles of women, in terms of the type of leader she should be, than we do for men, says Khattab, and these expectations are even more complex than we think. Advising women to adhere to societal expectations means we will never break the mould and will continue to make it more difficult for women leaders, she concludes.

Dr J. (Jasmien) Khattab
Assistant Professor
Rotterdam School of Management (RSM)
Erasmus University Rotterdam
Photo
Jasmien Khattab
Pile of books with vibrant bookmarks protruding from various pages, symbolizing in-depth research.

Related articles

RSM Discovery

Want to elevate your business to the next level using the latest research? RSM Discovery is your online research platform. Read the latest insights from the best researchers in the field of business. You can also subscribe to the newsletter to receive a bimonthly highlight with the most popular articles.

Do you want to learn more about this subject?

Check out these RSM education programmes

Beyond HR: People, Culture and Transformation
Beyond HR: People, Culture and Transformation
  • 2 Dec 2024
  • 3 days
  • 3,600
Leading the Energy Transition
Leading the Energy Transition
  • 23 Jun 2025
  • 5 days
  • 6,500
The Challenge of Leadership
The Challenge of Leadership
  • 4 days
  • 6,500
Leading Change
Leading Change
  • 24 Mar 2025
  • 3 days
  • 4,000
Diploma Programme in General Management
Diploma Programme in General Management
  • 17 Mar 2025
  • 1 year
    • €13,100 -
    • €15,500 depending on modules chosen *
    • * see details on the page
Women in Leadership
Women in Leadership
  • 2 days
  • 1,950
Navigating Power Dynamics
Navigating Power Dynamics
  • 19 Dec 2024
  • 2 days
  • 3,100
Essentials of Leadership
Essentials of Leadership
  • 11 Dec 2024
  • 3 days
  • 3,600
Team Leadership
Team Leadership
  • 17 Mar 2025
  • 3 days
  • 3,900
Your contact for more information:
Danielle Baan

Science Communication and Media Officer

Portrait of Erika Harriford-McLaren
Erika Harriford-McLaren

Corporate Communications & PR Manager

Erasmus University campus in autumn, showcasing its iconic red trees, viewed from across the campus pool.