Weird disconnect between gender stereotypes and leader preferences revealed by new psychology research

A new study published in Evolution and Human Behavior provides evidence of a surprising disconnection between leader stereotypes and leader preferences. While most people still imagine leaders as men, especially when thinking of dominant leaders, they actually tend to slightly prefer female leaders, particularly those who are prestigious rather than dominant.

Despite significant progress toward gender equality in the past century, women remain underrepresented in leadership positions. In 2021, women constituted only 7.4% of Fortune 500 CEOs, 26.9% of U.S. congressional representatives, and 30.3% of elected state executives. The underrepresentation of women in leadership roles persists across various sectors, prompting researchers to investigate the underlying causes.

One prevailing explanation for this underrepresentation is the stereotype that associates leadership with male and dominant characteristics, often referred to as the “think manager-think male” phenomenon. This stereotype suggests that people associate leadership with masculinity, which could influence their preferences and ultimately affect the selection and support of leaders. The researchers aimed to examine whether these stereotypes still hold true today and if they translate into actual preferences for leaders based on gender and dominance versus prestige.

“I’ve been interested in gender and leadership for several years now — initially as part of my undergraduate (and later, master’s) work in political science, after taking a women and politics course as a junior in college. Then, while I was in graduate school for my Ph.D. in social psychology, the 2016 elections reignited my interest in this topic,” said study author Adi Wiezel, an assistant professor of psychology at Elon University.

“Although most elections bring to bear questions about the kinds of traits people prefer in their leaders, the 2016 elections made this (and my prior research interests and training) especially salient when a mainstream female candidate lost the U.S. presidential race. So, I initially pitched a version of this project as part of a graduate seminar that I was taking with Douglas Kenrick at the time, and this turned into a broader research agenda between the two of us, Michael Barlev, and ultimately our undergraduate honors student, Christopher R. Martos.”

Free daily newsletter

The researchers conducted a series of five studies to investigate how leader stereotypes influence preferences for male or female leaders.

The first study (Study 1A) involved 148 undergraduate students from Arizona State University. Participants were asked to imagine leaders with either dominant or prestigious traits and then indicate the gender of the leaders they envisioned. They also rated how much they would like to work for each imagined leader.

The researchers found that participants predominantly imagined leaders as men, confirming the persistence of the stereotype that associates leadership with maleness. When asked to envision a leader without specifying gender, 89.9% of participants imagined a dominant leader as a man, while 62.8% imagined a prestigious leader as a man.

Despite these stereotypes, the study revealed that participants did not prefer male leaders over female leaders. In fact, there was a slight overall preference for female leaders. When participants rated their willingness to work for the imagined leaders, they expressed a stronger preference for prestigious leaders (regardless of gender) over dominant leaders. Specifically, participants preferred prestigious leaders (with an average rating of 4.32 out of 5) significantly more than dominant leaders (with an average rating of 2.34 out of 5).

In another study (Study 1B), 220 undergraduate students were asked to imagine leaders in specific domains such as military, sports, business, politics, science, and the arts, and then identify the gender and rate the dominance and prestige of these leaders.

The researchers found that participants were more likely to imagine leaders as men across all domains, though the extent varied. For example, 89.5% of participants imagined military leaders as men, while 60% imagined leaders in the arts as men.

When asked about their willingness to be led by the imagined leaders, participants again showed a preference for prestigious leaders over dominant ones, regardless of the leader’s gender. This preference held true across all domains, reinforcing the finding from Study 1A that people favor leaders who exhibit prestigious qualities over those who are purely dominant.

In Study 2, the researchers analyzed archival data from a nationally representative survey conducted by the Pew Research Center. The survey included responses from 2,692 participants collected between June 19 and July 2, 2018. Participants were asked to compare the leadership approaches of men and women in top business and political positions.

The majority of respondents (64%) stated that neither men nor women had a better approach, indicating a move toward gender neutrality in perceptions of leadership capabilities. Among those who expressed a preference, more participants favored women over men in leadership roles. Specifically, 24.6% believed women had a better approach compared to 11.3% who favored men. This finding aligns with the slight preference for female leaders observed in Studies 1A and 1B, suggesting a broader societal shift in attitudes toward female leadership.

In Study 3, 461 undergraduate students were asked to imagine being part of an organization looking for a new leader and were presented with two equally qualified candidates: one described as dominant and the other as prestigious.

Participants were assigned to one of four conditions, varying both the sex and leadership style of the candidates. For example, one condition compared a dominant male candidate to a prestigious female candidate, while another compared a prestigious male candidate to a dominant female candidate. Participants rated each candidate on their willingness to be led by them, their effectiveness at task accomplishment, and other traits related to dominance and prestige.

The results showed a strong preference for prestigious leaders over dominant ones. While participants did not show a significant preference for male over female leaders, they did slightly prefer female leaders who were described as prestigious.

Finally, Study 4 involved 952 participants who evaluated photographs of male and female politicians, rating them on traits related to dominance and prestige and indicating their likelihood of voting for these politicians.

The researchers found that female politicians were rated higher on prestige traits, while male politicians were rated higher on dominance traits. This suggests that visual cues can influence perceptions of leadership characteristics, and in turn, preferences, as participants expressed a slight preference for voting for female politicians over male politicians. This preference was partly explained by the higher prestige ratings given to female politicians.

“Across five studies, although we found evidence that participants still stereotype leaders as male and to some extent as dominant, those very same participants did not prefer those leaders—rather, if anything, they showed a slight preference for female leaders, and a strong preference for prestigious ones,” Wiezel told PsyPost.

“In other words, our results are inconsistent with the idea that women are less preferred as leaders relative to (dominant) men. Thus, if part of the reason that fewer women run — or are nominated — for leadership positions is the belief that people don’t want women as leaders, it is worth noting that this belief is inconsistent with our findings.”

But the study, like all research, includes some caveats. The samples of three of the studies consisted of undergraduate students, which may not fully represent the general population. Additionally, the study’s reliance on self-reported preferences could be influenced by social desirability bias, where participants might respond in ways they believe are socially acceptable rather than reflecting their true preferences.

Although the researchers do note that the results seem consistent with studies of real voters, further work could also explore implicit attitudes toward leadership using methods that reduce social desirability bias, such as implicit association tests or real-world behavioral measures. Future research could also benefit from more diverse and representative samples, including older adults, professionals from various fields, and participants outside of the United States.

The study, “Stereotypes versus preferences: Revisiting the role of alpha males in leadership,” was authored by Adi Wiezel, Michael Barlev, Christopher R. Martos, and Douglas T. Kenrick.