Introduction:
From an early age, children are exposed to social norms and expectations which are oftentimes based around their gender. These expectations influence stereotypical gender roles, largely affecting the types of activities and paths we choose to pursue, and how we act in these roles. The path of divergence is often apparent during social times in school when boys tend to lean more towards competitive activities, while girls often gravitate towards more cooperative options. Later in life, these individuals often display these tendencies in their work environments and leadership styles.
Differing Leadership Styles:
Leadership roles are traditionally assumed to be held by someone who is bold, brash, and domineering, a style often favoring males to their female counterparts. But with the planet showing adverse effects due to long-standing human impact, posing a climate crisis, many are beginning to question the effectiveness of these characteristics at solving grander scale issues. One study assesses the impacts of gender differences in leadership styles within the business setting of Spain. Their findings highlight three leadership styles– dominance, transformational and dual– which paint differentiating lines between men and women (Alonso-Almeida, Perramon & Femenias, 2017). As discussed briefly above, dominance is mainly associated with men and focuses “on achieving power and money and dominating others” (2017, p. 3). This outlook is not seen to be conducive with a sustainable mindset, as ideas that push change could threaten old systems and short-term profitability.
The transformational leadership style encourages creativity, social freedom, with a strong focus on team building through cooperation. Women tend to align with more of these characteristics, showing a higher likelihood of women implementing sustainable practices into their roles. This specific research is corroborated in findings by Greenberg and Sweeny in a study, “Leadership: Qualities That Distinguish Women.” The research outlines how women possess specific leadership skills– active listening, learning and reflecting, and effective plan implementation– thus allowing them to take in information from all sides (Greenberg, 2005). This, in turn, enables them to read situations more accurately, and allows people to feel more valued and understood (Greenberg, 2005).
The third leadership style, dual, contends that women and men show a varying array of leadership traits based on their work setting. This challenges the idea that leadership styles aren’t stagnant, and in fact are more fluid given the context (Alonso-Almeida, Perramon & Femenias 2017). Doing so sheds light on a more unified view of the organizations’ impact on beyond the world of business. With these ideas introduced, the differences in leadership based on gender and their impressions on sustainability is a wide-open door for discussion.
Women in Leadership Positions:
Extending on these ideas, research published by Giuliana Birinelli, Antonia P. Jannuzzi and Marco Savioli, illustrate how gender diversity (in leadership) is one of the most important factors in environmental sustainability. The study investigates the relationship between various leadership positions held by women in the banking industry and environmental performance, revealing a positive correlation. Furthermore, it notes how the number of women in leadership positions influences the overall effectiveness– in terms of sustainable performance– of a large group of women on the board (Birinelli, Jannuzzi, & Savioli 2019). The homogeneous sample for the study allows for a comparison of varying industries that deal with the same environmental concerns, meaning we can use this study to compare the results within different industries. The study also notes how, despite their findings, women still face difficulties obtaining higher-up positions within companies. However, with a future more reliant on environmental concern, the share of men and women in leadership could be inverted, suggesting a necessity for a more gender-balanced workplace. In large, this study observes a positive correlation between environmental performance and women in leadership roles, specifically within the banking industry (2019). Furthermore, we can look at an article written by Jeremy Galbreath, which illustrates many of the complexities embedded in this study.
Women Leaders and Sustainability:
Galbreath backs up this claim by searching for a correlation between women in leadership positions and sustainability. The researcher quantifies the relationship in this study by analyzing how many green innovations a firm produces with males or females in corporate positions. Green innovations can include any type of new product or service that can have a positive impact on the environment whether that be through the reduction of waste or on carbon emissions. His results show a positive correlation that firms with women leaders produce an increased number of green innovations in comparison to men (Galbreath, 2019). The results also show that these firms have a higher export intensity, meaning they are generally more profitable than the other firms. Sustainable business isn’t solely a moral argument anymore, it’s a sound business model. If sustainability continues to grow and women are more effective at promoting it, we must change our perspective on what we look for in a leader.
The research of Birindelli, Ianuzzi, and Savioli looks at the impact of homophily with women CEOs and board members, finding not only that firms with female CEOs are more likely to have more female board members, but that women in these leadership positions tend to encourage a more work-friendly culture (2019). Regarding the application of environmental initiatives, it’s found that women CEOs are likely to encourage and support other women board members to suggest and implement environmental practices (Birindelli et al. 2019). Research conducted by Cook, Glass, and Ingersoll supports these claims, finding that isolated female leaders existing in firms that are majority male– in other words, without homophily– do not see the benefits of women leadership described above (2015). This means, having one female token leader will not increase the success of a firm. While this article acknowledges the efficiency and minimized conflict that homophily brings when teams are socially similar, it also takes a critical look at this theory, recognizing how more diversity often brings increased efficiency when dealing with complex information such as the climate crisis (Cook et al. 2015). Therefore, when confronting environmental problems, it is more effective to have gender-diverse boards and more heterogeneity rather than like-minded groups. The qualities of leaders are continually evolving. The integration of women in leadership roles increases diversity in the workplace, positively impacting the effectiveness of the organization combating environmental issues.
Conclusion:
The characteristics associated with successful leadership are changing. Many of us tend to see and expect men to hold executive positions, but our research supports a change in that mindset. Women have been shown to have a significant impact on promoting sustainability as business leaders. As sustainable business methods are becoming increasingly important in this climate crisis, our views of leadership need to shift in order to reflect a more inclusive and effective leadership style.
References:
Alonso-Almeida, M. D. M., Perramon, J., & Bagur-Femenias, L. (2017). Leadership styles and corporate social responsibility management: Analysis from a gender perspective. Business Ethics: A European Review, 26(2), 147–161. doi: 10.1111/beer.12139
Birindelli, Giuliana, Ianuzzi, P., Antonia, Savioli, Marco. (2019, December). Impact of Women Leaders on Environmental Performance: Evidence of Gender Diversity in Banks. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1762
Galbreath, Jeremy. (2019, August). Drivers of Green Innovations: The Impact of Export Intensity, Women Leaders, and Absorptive Capacity. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3715-z
Glass, C., Cook, A., & Ingersoll, A. R. (2016). Do Women Leaders Promote Sustainability? Analyzing the Effect of Corporate Governance Composition on Environmental Performance. Business Strategy & the Environment (John Wiley & Sons, Inc), 25(7), 495–511. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.1879
Greenberg, H., & Sweeney, P. (2005). Leadership: Qualities That Distinguish Women. (cover story). Financial Executive, 21(6), 32–36. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=17538279&site=ehost-live
This content was co-authored with equal contribution from the following authors:
Dana Ericksen, Stephanie Balderas, Colin Rossiter, Alexandra Bierman, Duncan Guerrero