Overcoming Gender Stereotypes in Leadership
The Global Leadership and Gender Report by Estée Lauder and Glocalities
Estée Lauder commissioned Glocalities, an international market research agency, for a global study among 5,760 people across 11 countries, to examine leadership qualities and gender stereotypes. Among the findings:
- The top desired leadership qualities are reliability, integrity and dedication –qualities that do not have gender stereotypes attached to them.
- The study confirms earlier studies about the presence of deep gender stereotypes in society. Even when we see ourselves as multi-faceted individuals, we pigeonhole men and women into caricatures of strong and assertive versus emotional and kind.
- Gender generalizations are 5-fold bigger than the reality. For example, men are attributed the quality of determination 25% more than women, whilst in reality the difference is only 3%. The same goes for most qualities: being strong, competitive, emotional, kind etc.
- The research revealed that women and men flagged men for not recognizing women’s abilities as one of the key roadblocks for gender-inclusive leadership.
Maria Muravina, Glocalities Insights Consultant said, “When women display what society deems as ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’ qualities, they are penalized for doing so in leadership. Even though, the research shows that these concepts have no basis in reality.
“While the top desired leadership qualities (reliability, integrity and dedication) are not seen as typically feminine or masculine, the answer to gender-inclusive leadership lies in separating the image of women from the stereotypes. Women (and men) are diverse, can display any personal qualities and are just as capable of leadership.
“The fact that people can both hold the stereotypes and want to dismantle them at the same time, suggests that there is a need for more systematic and in-depth gender-bias leadership training. Inclusion benefits everyone, not just women.”
About Estée Lauder
Estée Lauder is the flagship brand of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. Founded by Estée Lauder, one of the world’s first female entrepreneurs, the brand today continues her legacy of creating innovative, sophisticated, high-performance skincare and makeup products and iconic fragrances – all infused with a deep understanding of women’s needs and desires. Today, Estée Lauder engages with customers in more than 150 countries and territories around the world and across dozens of touch points – from in-store to digital. And each of these relationships consistently reflects Estée’s powerful and authentic woman-to-woman point of view.
About Glocalities:
Glocalities is an Amsterdam-based international research agency that specializes in values and lifestyle research all over the world. The Glocalities research program, that started in 2014, now covers 35 countries based on interviews with more than 275,000 people. NGOs, national and international companies and the public sector use Glocalities insights to connect with audiences, based on a deep understanding of trends, people and cultures. Glocalities research consultants provide international insights through the online World of Glocalities Insights Solution and in workshops, presentations and reports.
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