Despite Our Bias Against Them, Gallup Says Females Make Better Managers

Gallup has polled Americans on their male or female boss preferences for over six decades now. It took until this century for “no difference” (46% in 2014) to consistently become the top answer– an answer which men (58%) are much more likely to express than women (34%).

During all previous years of the study, it’s no big surprise that preference for a male boss took the top spot. Among those with a preference today, men and women still prefer male bosses.

Among men, 14% prefer a female boss and 26% prefer a male boss – which means that among preferring men, 65% pick a male boss. Among women, 25% prefer a female boss and 39% prefer a male boss – which means that among preferring women,61% pick a male boss.

Women are more likely than men to prefer a female boss, but also more likely to prefer a male boss. Gallup points out that total preference for a female boss has never surpassed 25%.

Gallup indicates one of the measures that may contribute to the female boss bias is still too few female bosses. Only 33% of respondents currently had a female boss. But “those who have a female boss are more likely than those with a male boss to say they would prefer a female boss if they got a new job (27% vs. 15%, respectively).”

The Bias Behind Our Preferences

A recent study by Powell & Butterfield published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior sought to understand what drives preferences around male or female bosses, or the lack of preference.

The researchers note that the overall male bias is likely a complicated mix of pervasive gender stereotypes, leadership traits being associated to men, role congruity, societally conferred male status, and think manager-think male prototypes. Other sources speculate female preference in particular for male bosses may lie in fear of the “queen bee syndrome”, bullying by other women, reports of increased stress when reporting to female bosses, or that women bosses get penalized for supporting other women’s career advancement.

But the researchers wanted to investigate how gender identity plays a role in preferences. They asked 455 undergraduate (median age 20) and part-time MBA students (median age 36) about their boss preferences and had them complete a tool that measures gender identity, or to what extent people identify themselves as having (stereotypical) “masculine” traits and (stereotypical) “feminine traits.

Similar to Gallup, they found the majority of participants had no preference about the sex of their boss. But sex-typed respondents (those self-identifying either highly masculine or highly feminine based on stereotypical traits) were more likely to express a preference – and that preference was likely to be consistent with their own gender-identification.

“Feminine” respondents preferred a female boss more than “masculine” ones. “Masculine” respondents preferred a male boss more than “feminine” ones. “Undifferentiated” or “androgynous” respondents, less defined personally by gender, were less inclined to express any preference for their bosses too.

According to Powell, “Our study supports the similarity attraction paradigm that suggests people are more interpersonally attracted to the idea of working with and being around people whom they see as being like themselves.”

If we extend these findings, our preferences or lack of them for the sex of our boss may reflect something about how we gender-identify within. It would seem that more strongly embracing our own feminine traits could open us up more to embracing female bosses.

Women are Better Managers

There are a lot of reasons to embrace female leadership. A recent Gallup “State of the American Manager” report focused on, despite the male boss bias, “why women are better managers than men.”

Fostering Engagement

Gallup found female leaders (41%) are more engaged than male leaders (35%), and make more engaging bosses. This enables them to lead high-performing teams.

The report found “Employees of female managers outscore employees of male managers on 11 of 12 engagement items.” Employees who work for a female manager are more engaged (on average 6%). The highest engagement levels are among female employees reporting to female managers (35%) and the lowest engagement is among male employees reporting to male managers (25%).

Cultivating Potential

Gallup found that employees who report to a female manager rather than male manager are 1.26 times more likely to strongly agree that “There is someone at work who encourages my development.”

The report noted, “This suggests that female managers likely surpass their male counterparts in cultivating potential in others and helping to define a bright future for their employees.”

Another aspect in which female bosses shined was in attention to employee progress. Employees reporting to a female manager are 1.29 times more likely to strongly agree that “In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.”

According to the report, “This suggests that female managers, more so than male managers, tend to provide regular feedback to help their employees achieve their development goals.”

Providing Recognition

When employees do make progress or realize achievements, female managers are more likely to acknowledge it too. The Gallup study found that employees reporting to a female boss are 1.17 times more likely to strongly agree that “In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.”

According to the report, “In addition to encouraging associate development through regular conversations about performance, this suggests that female managers surpass male managers in providing positive feedback that helps employees feel valued for their everyday contributions” and they are more likely “helping their employees harness the power of positive reinforcement.”

“Overall,” the report states, “female managers eclipse their male counterparts at setting basic expectations for their employees, building relationships with their subordinates, encouraging a positive team environment and providing employees with opportunities to develop within their careers.”

Gallup’s recommendation? Companies need to get more female managers in place through use of the great hiring and promoting equalizer of, wait for it: “talent.”

Overall, many advantages exist to having a women as your manager. It’s time both men and women took stock of them.