Episode 23: Are Women Better Leaders Than Men?

Published: January 31, 2023

Details

We’ve all heard the claims, the theories, and the speculation about the ways leadership styles vary between women and men. There are, of course, many factors that contribute to this absence of a greater abundance of women in senior-level positions.

For centuries, there have been broad cultural biases against women, and stereotypes die slowly. In an analysis of thousands of 360-degree assessments, women were rated more effective in 84% of the most frequently measured competencies. Women make highly competent leaders, according to those who work most closely with them — and what’s holding them back is not a lack of capability but a dearth of opportunity.

Zenger Folkman’s current data presents even more compelling evidence that this bias is incorrect and unwarranted. In the episode, we discuss the effectiveness of female leaders and how they compare to men.

Key Insight—Women in Leadership

women were rated as excelling in taking initiative, acting with resilience, practicing self-development, driving for results, and displaying high integrity and honesty.
In fact, they were thought to be more effective in 84% of the competencies that we most frequently measure.
Men were rated as being better on two capabilities: “develops strategic perspective” and “technical or professional expertise.”
A different analysis of the same data showed that when women are asked to assess themselves, they are not as generous in their ratings. In fact, they have lower scores than men on confidence ratings, especially when they’re under 25. At age 40, the confidence ratings merge.
Men gain just 8.5 percentile points in confidence from age 25 to their 60+ years. Women, on the other hand, gain 29 percentile points.

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Zenger Folkman hosts an exclusive live webinar every month, where you can meet Jack Zenger and Joe Folkman, and join in a conversation about their latest research in leadership development. Find out more information and register at https://zengerfolkman.com/webinar-registration/.