The persistence of gender inequality in leadership: Still a long way to go?

Despite gender-fair legislation and recent evidence on the positive impact of gender balance in leadership on organizations, women are still under-represented in leadership roles. Gender stereotypes are considered as one critical factor to explain persistent gender inequality in leadership. Social psychological research shows that the incongruence between the leader role and the female gender role are the fundamental cause of (a) prejudice toward female leaders; and (b) self-limiting behaviour of female leaders. The authors further discuss contextual factors that moderate the perceived incongruity between the female gender role and leadership roles and thus affecting the negative consequences of gender stereotypes for female leaders. They conclude this chapter by addressing the importance of an organizational climate for diversity to improve gender balance in leadership and highlight the need for future research on interventions.