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Women Make Better
Managers
Moskal,
B. S., (1997) Women Make Better Managers. Industry
Week, Feb. 3,
Women outperformed their male
managerial colleagues in almost all categories of executive skill
sets, not just in providing warm fuzzies in the workplace.
Males are better at problem solving
skills and women are better at interpersonal skills. We have
heard this time and time again in business. But, is it true?
Absolutely not. This is a myth in both cases, and the
following article conducted a study to prove just that. It was
found that women outperformed their male managerial colleagues in
almost all categories of executive skill sets, not just in providing
warm fuzzies in the workplace.
This study took over 900 managers
from a wide range of companies from Bank of America to Johnson &
Johnson conducted since 1988 states that women have outperformed
male managers in 28 of 31 managerial skill areas. Men only scored
higher in two behavioral areas. They were handling pressure
and coping with their own frustration. This study was released
by the Foundation for Future Leadership, a not-for-profit
organization out of Washington.
This leads us to believe that women
do not need to acquire any further leadership skills to become
better managers, they already are better managers. The study
is quoted by co-author Janet Irwin as, "not about gender.
It's about effective management and leadership. The difference
between men and women aren't great, but this study provides a new
piece of information. It's the first concrete evidence in the
U.S. that says women are more effective as managers and leaders than
men."
There were 7 performance factors
used to determine this in the study. They were problem
solving, planning, controlling, managing self, managing
relationships, leading, and communicating. These 7 were then
expanded into the already mentioned 31 categories. Over 6400
questionnaires were studied that evaluated corporate workers in
middle and upper level management. 645 men and 270 women were
those that were evaluated.
Women were found to have problems in
the category for managing self. This includes such behaviors
as handling pressure, coping with one's own frustrations, developing
one's capabilities, and responding to feedback. The reason for
this was that women are more likely to voice their frustrations
openly. Both men and women received poor scores in the area of
managing self for partaking in these actions.
The article ends with statistics on
women in the workforce that occupy management positions. 30%
of women occupy middle management, 5% senior management, and only 2%
are CEOs. This study will hopefully lead women to take on more
leadership positions in organizations.
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