Sex And Gender Role On Leader Emergence

What defines a good leader? Should determinates of an effective leader be based on one’s sex; or rather their overall ability to effectively attain group goals? For years’ research has been conducted to better understand the factors associated with individuals emerging as leaders in a group. The study, “Effects of Sex and Gender Role on Leader Emergence,” focuses on two of these factors; sex and gender role, to see if the held notion that men more often emerge as leaders than women in a group setting holds true (1335). First however, both sex and gender role must be defined to better understand their believed effects when it comes to leader emergence. In this case, “sex refers to the biological and anatomical differences between females and

Once the basics were set up, the procedures came into play. The small groups throughout the semester worked together on several presentations and written analyses, as well as a final group project, all of which had been set up as tasks considered to be gender neutral (Kent, Moss 1339). As to avoid any issues with any one task being too feminine or masculine. At the end of the semester students were asked to take the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, used to determine an individuals gender role category (which categorizes one’s personality as being masculine, feminine, androgynous, or undifferentiated) as well as to respond to three questions designed to measure their perceptions of their own leader behaviors along with those of their group members (Kent, Moss 1339). Again, researchers were trying to assess the relationship between gender role and leader emergence. So, the three item scale used to assess leader emergence included to the extent an individual student and each member of their group assumed a leadership role, led the conversation, and influenced group goals and decisions (Kent, Moss 1340). Due to the leader emergence scale, this study allowed for students to select more than one individual they thought to have been a key

One of my largest concerns for the study overall was the fact that there was a significant difference in the number of male and female participants (67 males to 48 females). Along with the fact that these participants were allowed to select their own groups under no constraints. Which for me, knowing that all these student participants were from the same area of study, business, I feel many of these students may have already been well acquainted or even good friends with some of their classmates. Especially being in an upper level business course. In theory researchers had the right idea in not controlling the group selection process, but I feel in some ways other factors have now come into play, which may have altered the overall results of the study. Also, another questionable factor was the size and makeup of the groups. Some groups had five members, some had six, some had four or even seven; and then some groups had up to two women, and one had none at all (Kent, Moss 1339). For me, there just seemed to be too many variables in the makeup for group selection that possibly could have influenced the outcome for the overall study. And again, is something researchers may want to look into correcting in future