The Science Behind Women’s Superior Leadership: Breaking Biases and Embracing Effectiveness

In this episode of PsyberSpace, host Leslie Poston explores the compelling evidence showing that women tend to be better leaders than men. The discussion includes statistics indicating that countries led by women have fewer conflicts and better crisis management. It digs into decades of research from organizational psychology, showing women outscore men in key leadership competencies such as empathy, resilience, and emotional intelligence. Neuroscientific studies highlight differences in how male and female brains process stress, favoring collaborative and adaptive behavior in women. Despite this overwhelming evidence, gender biases and cultural stereotypes persist, preventing the recognition of women’s effectiveness in leadership roles. The episode calls for systemic changes in defining leadership, promoting qualified women, and addressing unconscious bias to improve organizational and societal success.

00:00 Introduction: Women in Leadership
00:30 Global Leadership Landscape
01:23 Exploring Leadership Competencies
03:47 Neuroscience of Crisis Management
06:26 Empathy and Emotional Intelligence
09:13 Transformational vs. Transactional Leadership
13:46 Psychological Barriers and Bias
19:22 Intersectionality in Leadership
20:43 Effective Leadership Strategies
23:59 Challenges of Traditional Masculine Norms
27:33 Redefining Leadership Effectiveness
31:24 Conclusion: The Path Forward

Research

Araujo, E. B., Araujo, N. M. M., Moreira, A. A., Herrmann, H. J., & Andrade Jr., J. S. (2016). Gender differences in scientific collaborations: Women are more egalitarian. arXiv preprint arXiv:1610.05937. 

Capraro, V. (2018). Women are slightly more cooperative than men in one-shot prisoner’s dilemma games. arXiv preprint arXiv:1805.08046. 

Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383. 

Eagly, A. H., & Karau, S. J. (2002). Role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders. Psychological Review, 109(3), 573–598. 

Goleman, D. (1998). Working with emotional intelligence. Bantam Books.

Hopkins, M. M., O'Neil, D. A., Bilimoria, D., & Broadfoot, A. (2021). Buried treasure: Contradictions in the perception and reality of women's leadership. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 684705. 

Hurlburt, R. T., Koch, M., & Heavey, C. L. (2002). Descriptive experience sampling demonstrates the connection of thinking to externally observable behavior. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 26(1), 117–134.

Kelan, E. K., & Wang, M. (2013). The gender quota and female leadership: Effects of the Norwegian gender quota on board chairs and CEOs. Journal of Business Ethics, 117(3), 449–466. 

Field, E., Krivkovich, A., McConnell, M., Yee, L. & Smith, H. (2024) Women in the Workplace 2024: The 10th‑anniversary report. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace#/

Novotney, A. (2024) Women leaders make work better. Here's the science behind how to promote them. American Psychological Association. (Blog) Retrieved from: https://www.apa.org/topics/women-girls/female-leaders-make-work-better

Paustian-Underdahl, S.C., Smith Sockbeson, C.E., Hall, A.V. & Saldanha Halliday, C. (2024) Gender and Evaluations of Leadership Behaviors: A Meta-Analytic Review of 50 Years of Research. The Leadership Quarterly. Vol. 35, Iss 6

Pew Research Center. (2008, August 25). Men or women: Who's the better leader?. 

Raval, A. (2024) Too many women excel at their jobs but are ignored for top roles. (Article) The Financial Times. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/729d1a32-62bf-4d61-b3e3-0763b7fe93ca

Ryan, M. K., & Haslam, S. A. (2005). The glass cliff: Evidence that women are over-represented in precarious leadership positions. British Journal of Management, 16(2), 81–90. 

Xu, H., Strassmann, J. E., & Saar-Tsechansky, M. (2024). How high-status women promote repeated collaboration among women in male-dominated contexts. arXiv preprint arXiv:2407.03474. 

Zenger, J., & Folkman, J. (2019, June 25). Research: Women score higher than men in most leadership skills. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2019/06/research-women-score-higher-than-men-in-most-leadership-skills

Zenger, J., & Folkman, J. (2020, December 30). Research: Women are better leaders during a crisis. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/12/research-women-are-better-leaders-during-a-crisis