Gender is not supposed to make a difference when it comes to effective leadership style and leadership characteristics of female and male leaders. Today’s workplace has a changing vision of what makes a competent leader and is adapting to the work environment of today’s diverse workforce (www.findarticles.com). However, many interpretations of research findings and scientific data focus on the differences between female and male leaders. Previous data was reported through a male’s point of view often excluding female’s contributions in the workforce.

Extensive research was conducted about gender differences at

Wells, S. (2001). A Female Executive is Hard to Find. HR Magazine. (On-line) Available: http://www.findarticles.com.

Women managers and leaders usually display a more supportive and cooperative role. Women have learned to manage effectively without relying on the control of resources and power to motivate others. They tend to lead by providing clear guidance and direction, organize their workload that allows them to stay on top of their work environment, and they offer their help more readily.

The findings indicate that men and women have the same strengths and weaknesses and support the position that people should not be judged by their gender but as individuals (www.ateamware.com).

When gender is associated with leadership, we discover that there are ways women lead and there are ways that men lead. Gender stereotypes still exist, despite the evidence that male and female leadership styles are similar in many personality traits and job-related behaviors. These stereotypes are detrimental to both women and men because they reinforce a set of beliefs about each group, even if it is statistically valid, inaccurately characterizes many individuals within each group (p.162). More research needs to be conducted regarding females in leadership positions. The findings might suggest that there are no differences in female and male leadership styles.

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