Are women leaders still perceived as weak due to their femininity in 2024? Yes, a lot of women are still facing stereotypes that are impacting their ability to lead. Despite advancements in women’s rights and increasing female representation in various fields, biases remain. However, this does not happen to all countries.
Recently, Malaysia has been recognized for the number of general managers found to be common in the organizations as compared to Western countries, according to Academy of Science Malaysia fellow Dr Salmah Zakaria, Borneo Post reported.
In the latest View From The Top interview with Ayeesha Karnik, MBA ’25, Leena Nair expressed surprise at being chosen as CEO of Chanel. Ayeesha noted, “You may not have been the obvious choice for this role,” to which Nair humorously replied, “Gosh, you’re never the obvious choice anyway.”
This highlights how women in leadership positions are often seen as not the typical choice. Many people don’t immediately picture women as leaders.
Women leaders commonly have three unique leadership qualities
According to a study by CKGSB, women leaders often bring three leadership abilities to the table: holistic thinking, empathy, and resilience. Holistic thinking means they’re skilled at balancing relationships and tasks, making them effective at keeping teams on track while maintaining harmony. Empathy allows them to care about team connections, understanding and valuing the people they work with.
Resilience helps them stay strong under pressure and manage stress more effectively. While these traits naturally shine in many women leaders, men can also develop these traits into leadership styles. It is not limited to only female leaders, and anyone can develop these qualities to become a stronger leader.
Countries with women leaders tend to perform better in terms of gender equality in leadership
Males are often perceived as performing better than females in various professional contexts. Despite that, various evidence has proven otherwise. According to the Korea Times, countries with more women leaders, like Iceland, Sweden, Finland, and Norway, consistently rank higher in gender equality from 2016 to 2022. These Nordic countries often lead in the Glass Ceiling Index, which shows that their success comes from strong cultural and systemic support for gender equality, not just having women in leadership roles.
Stereotypes about women leaders are hindering them from reaching their best potential
Stereotypes about women in leadership roles hinder their potential. These biases create obstacles that prevent women from advancing as leaders. Research by the catalyst points out a “double-bind” dilemma. Women are often judged against a masculine standard.
This leads to situations where they are seen as either too soft or too aggressive, and both can be perceived as non-negotiable. Such views reinforce the idea that leadership is a male trait, making it harder for women to reach top positions
They are rated equally in positive attributes as their counterpart
Based on research, female leaders are rated as having the same positive qualities as their male counterparts. Both genders show similar strengths in leadership attributes such as communication, decision-making, and team management.
Despite this, women still face challenges due to traits associated with femininity, which are often perceived as weaknesses. Traits like high sensitivity, emotionality, and dependence are frequently devalued, while positive traits such as empathy and collaboration are undervalued in leadership contexts.
Conclusions
While we have seen some progress in recognizing women as leaders, many challenges still exist due to old stereotypes. Women are often seen as weaker leaders because of their femininity, which can hold them back, even though countries like Malaysia show that female leaders are becoming more common. Women bring important qualities to leadership, such as holistic thinking, empathy, and resilience, which help teams succeed.
Research also shows that countries with more women in leadership roles tend to have better gender equality. It’s important to challenge the stereotypes that limit women’s potential and understand that traits often seen as feminine can actually make great leaders.
