Research shows that there is no difference between men and women in leadership

There is no difference between men and women when it comes to corporate leadership. This is the main finding of the research developed by Hogan Assessments and published this March. The study aimed to evaluate six myths about the behavior of women in management related to the level of ambition, risk appetite, ability to cope with stress, strategic vision and innovation.

The research was done from reviewing three large datasets of more than 25 thousand global executives, including personality scores, performance ratings and key competencies.The study focused on understanding whether men and women differ in their personality characteristics, as well as identifying any gender differences in personality characteristics that predict leadership effectiveness.

“It is incredible that even today society & including the media [CEO of Meta] reverberates stereotypes of behavior in relation to women in leadership positions, how to relate anxiety as something typically feminine and that hinders decision-making.We have recently heard, including, Mark Zuckerberg [CEO of Meta] say that companies need more (male energy’s throughout the world, and that has no scientific foundation”, explains Roberto Santos, managing partner of the Atelier RH, a pioneering consultancy in the use of the Hogan methodology in Brazil.

In Brazil, data from IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) indicate that only 39% of women held positions in managerial positions in 2022 OMS, although the participation rate of women in the labor market reached 53.3% that same year.In 2023, a study by the National Observatory of Industry pointed out that the number of women in leadership remained the same, even though they had an education level twice that of men.

A survey conducted globally by Grant Thornton International showed that in 2023, women held 33.5% of senior management positions worldwide, although they represented 42% of the global workforce.

Myths debunked by research

“In all the myths analyzed, the study proves that there are no personality differences between male and female executives. But unfortunately, women continue to face enormous barriers to career advancement & these results are important because they reinforce the need to abandon outdated and prejudiced beliefs that prevent highly qualified women from reaching the leadership positions of”, Santos said.

The first myth evaluated was that of female ambition, often questioned as inferior to male. Contrary to what is imagined, the analysis of personality scores showed that male and female executives have similar levels of ambition, with no significant differences between genders. The measurement of ambition was made from the “Ambition” scale, present in the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI). In practice, the result shows that work performance, in relation to this question, is equal for men and women.

Another point analyzed concerns decision-making and risk-prone, often associated with men.Hogan Assessments research has revealed that men and women are equally decisive and prone to taking risks, invalidating the idea that women are more cautious or indecisive.

In addition, characteristics such as being overly cautious that, within the Hogan methodology, refers to an excessive concern with criticism, as well as being obsequious defined as being eager to please, and being reluctant to act with autonomy ARE equally harmful to men and women.

The widely held belief that women would not be natural leaders was also contested. Using scales related to the Five Factor Model (Adjustment, Ambition, Sociability, Interpersonal Sensitivity, Prudence, Inquisitive and Learning Approach), the data indicated that women have the same essential leadership characteristics as men.

Another widespread myth is that women need to adopt traditionally masculine characteristics to be effective as leaders. The study showed that characteristics considered masculine, such as dominance or forcefulness, do not confer specific advantage on men; on the contrary, the performance of leaders of both genders is negatively affected by this characteristic.

Finally, the study also analyzed the ability of men and women to deal with high stress situations and their competence in innovation and strategy.The results revealed that there are no significant differences between genders in these skills, showing that both men and women have similar performance in high pressure contexts and in the face of demands for strategy and innovation.

Thus, Santos concludes, organizations must discover the real internal cultural barriers that limit women's access to executive positions because the most common myths regarding personality differences between genders are scientifically challenged by these and other studies.