Wearing a “Mask at Work:” The Performativity of Female Leadership in Contemporary Organizations

Heather Round, Jade McKay and Merle Singer

Gender, Work and Organization, 2025, vol. 32, issue 6, 2233-2251

Abstract: Research suggests that the concept of a “successful leadership” is deeply entrenched in masculine stereotypes. Female leaders are caught in a dichotomy wrestling with characteristics which are considered “masculine” (e.g., confidence, authority, legitimacy, etc.) while characteristics which are considered more “feminine” are perceived to lack the necessary gravitas expected of senior leaders and thus females who embody these might not be considered as strong or as effective in their leadership. Although much research in this area has focused on female leaders struggling to reconcile this dichotomy, in contrast, this paper describes research showing the powerful, agentic way in which female leaders enact gendered leadership. The findings detail emerge from a study which sought to explore the lived leadership experience of 66 females. Drawing on Butlerian theory, the paper explores the idea of performativity in the context of female leadership. Underpinning Butlerian theory is the idea that certain gendered behaviors are not in fact “natural,” and that the learned performance of gendered behavior (i.e., what is commonly associated with femininity and masculinity) is an act of sorts, a performance. The findings show that many female leaders are considered agentive and strategic in adopting a mask and performing “masculine” traits as required in order to be accepted as effective leaders. The findings presented may be helpful for both established and emerging leaders, organizations keen to retain and progress their female leaders, and, more broadly, researchers, practitioners, and academics exploring the intersectionality of leadership, identity, and gender.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.70004

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:gender:v:32:y:2025:i:6:p:2233-2251

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.blackwell ... bs.asp?ref=0968-6673

Access Statistics for this article

Gender, Work and Organization is currently edited by David Knights, Deborah Kerfoot and Ida Sabelis

More articles in Gender, Work and Organization from Wiley Blackwell
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().