Women make better leaders than men: study

The team behind the study hope findings will challenge workplace norms

Women are better suited to being leaders as compared to men, a new study has concluded.

The study, led by Professor Øyvind L Martinsen, head of Leadership and Organisational Behaviour at the BI Norwegian Business School, analysed the personality and characteristics of nearly 3,000 managers.



Of the five categories studied, women outperformed their male counterparts in four of them. These were, initiative and clear communication; openness and ability to innovate; sociability and supportiveness; and methodical management and goal-setting.

On the contrary however, male managers appeared to be better at dealing with work related stress and were said to have higher levels of emotional stability.

"Businesses must always seek to attract customers and clients and to increase productivity and profits. Our results indicate that women naturally rank higher, in general, than men in their abilities to innovate and lead with clarity and impact," Martinsen said.

"These findings pose a legitimate question about the construction of management hierarchy and the current dispensation of women in these roles."

The team behind the study hope the findings will challenge workplace norms. While more women are now heading major firms, statistics show that the number of women running the 500 most powerful companies in the US fell by more than 12 per cent last year.



“The survey suggests that female leaders may falter through their stronger tendency to worry - or lower emotional stability,” study co-author Professor Lars Glasø said.

"However, this does not negate the fact that they are decidedly more suited to management positions than their male counterparts. If decision-makers ignore this truth, they could effectively be employing less qualified leaders and impairing productivity."

This story originally appeared on The Independent