A study of social representations of women in positions of high leadership: behavioral and managerial styles

Abstract

With the purpose of identifying and comparing different social representations constructed by women and men as related to women managers, we inquired professionals from public and private companies and students of both male and female sex about the managerial and leadership styles adopted by men and women leaders. The methodological construction of this research is based on theories about behavioral styles and the social influence of individual/minority groups. Our research confirmed that consistency and flexibility predominate in the characterization of men and women's managerial styles, although flexibility is mainly attributed to women, whereas consistency is more associated to men. We also observed that consistency is more used by professionals of the public company while flexibility was frequently mentioned in the private company. In addition, women do not vary their descriptions of managerial styles according to sex. The difference arises in their expectations of change, where they emphasize that a successful manager should adapt to the company's prescriptions, as well as emphasize individual characteristics.