University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Female leadership advantage: A personality-based explanatory model of the gender gap in transformational leadership

Hsu, Ning

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/115896

Description

Title
Female leadership advantage: A personality-based explanatory model of the gender gap in transformational leadership
Author(s)
Hsu, Ning
Issue Date
2022-07-12
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Newman, Daniel A.
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Newman, Daniel A.
Committee Member(s)
  • Badura, Katie L.
  • Rounds, James
  • Fraley, R. Chris
  • Briley, Daniel
Department of Study
Psychology
Discipline
Psychology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • gender
  • transformational leadership
  • agenc
  • communion
  • emotional intelligence
  • meta-analysis
Abstract
Academic discussion of the female leadership advantage (Eagly & Carli, 2003) has emphasized the empirical finding that women are rated slightly higher in transformational leadership compared to men. The current study seeks to explain this gender gap, by specifying three personality-based theoretical mechanisms that enhance transformational leadership: (a) communion (stereotypical femininity; favoring women), (b) emotional intelligence (favoring women), as well as an offsetting effect of (c) agency (stereotypical masculinity; favoring men). Meta-analytic data confirm the theorized full mediation model. Because these three unique mechanisms operate in different directions, their individual indirect effects are notable but their cumulative indirect effect is small and near-zero. Implications for personality-based explanations of gender effects in leadership perceptions are discussed.
Graduation Semester
2022-08
Type of Resource
Thesis
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2022 Ning Hsu

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