'Think manager, think man' stops us seeing woman as leaders

Think about the best leader you’ve ever worked with. The person is likely to be inspiring; someone whose vision for the future motivated and drove you to success. Now consider: is this leader a man or a woman?

If you are like most people, the person you have brought to mind is male. This well-known psychological phenomenon is known as “think manager, think man”. It occurs because the traits we typically associate with leaders – forceful, dominant, strong, competent or even heroic – are stereotypically associated with men.

By contrast, there are fewer qualities stereotypically associated with women that we also associate with leadership, such as being a good communicator. I would go so far as to say that some of the qualities we see as being highly characteristic of women are incompatible with leadership. Read the entire story in the Guardian.