När ledarskap inte längre är manligt : En experimentell vinjettstudie om hur kön och status påverkar bedömningen av lämpligt chefskap

Sammanfattning

This essay aims to identify if workers in a female dominated context, the human resource management sphere, are affected by status expectations and justice norms when assessing who is a competent leader. The study explores if gender or leadership style is the biggest factor affecting the assessment of a competent leader. This is tested by using an experimental vignette study where respondents in the HR sphere assessed a fictional female and male manager by answering a questionnaire. The data was analyzed using a multiple regression analysis while controlling for gender and age. The results showed no statistical significant effect between the female and male manager-vignettes on perceived suitability, trust, competence or in evaluations of salary. The study's conclusion found no support for that gender affected the assessments of the vignettes. The findings suggested that there was no support for the status expectation theory or justice norms theory in this particular context. That implies further research in this area is needed to further develop the knowledge about status expectations regarding leadership assessment.