Four ways of looking at women and leadership

Yvonne Due Billing and Mats Alvesson

Scandinavian Journal of Management, 1989, vol. 5, issue 1, 63-80

Abstract: The main point of this article is to draw attention to some fundamental issues underlying the study of women managers. The article focuses particularly on the question: Why are there so few women managers? In seeking an answer to this question we explore a number of possible "explanatory" theories. We have identified four perspectives on the subject of women and leadership: (1) the equal opportunities perspective, (2) the meritocratic perspective, (3) the view that women can contribute something special, and (4) the idea that women uphold other values that could inspire radical changes in the way organizations function. These perspectives are reviewed and briefly discussed, and some comments are made on the practical implications of the different types of analysis.

Keywords: Efficiency; equality; gender; leadership; meritocracy; perspectives; values; women (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1989
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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