The relationship between sex roles and preferred leadership

M.Com. (Industrial Psychology)Abstract: Leadership contributes to the success or failure of any organisation. Good leaders are often said to be masculine in their leadership style and approach, which resulted in the assertion that sex roles (i.e. masculine, feminine, and androgynous) are an influencing factor in leader preference. The present study’s main aim was to investigate the relationship between sex roles and preferred leaders by testing whether an individual’s self-rated sex role has a relationship with his/her preferred leader’s sex role. The study also aimed to confirm previous research stating that femininity is related to a transformational leadership style, and that masculinity is related to a transactional leadership style. Finally, the study aimed to test whether sex was a moderator of the relationship between masculinity, femininity, or androgyny with a transformational or a transactional leadership style. A convenience, non-probability sampling technique was used, resulting in a sample of 243 respondents from car dealerships within and around Gauteng and Cape Town. The Bem Sex-Role Inventory and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5X) were utilised in this study. Correlational analysis was used to determine whether an individual’s self-rated sex role was related to that of his/her preferred leader, as well as to determine whether femininity, masculinity, or androgyny is related to a transformational or a transactional leadership style. Regression analysis was used to identify whether an individual’s self-rated sex role can predict that of his/her preferred leader, as well as to identify whether a preferred leader sex role can predict a preference for a transformational or a transactional leadership style. Finally, regression analysis was used to determine whether sex had a moderating effect on the relationship between preferred leader sex role and leadership style. Contrary to the stereotype of car dealerships being a male-dominated environment, the findings indicate that, on average, respondents, through self-rating, identified with the feminine sex role, regardless of their sex (i.e. being born a man or a woman). The findings indicate that an individual’s self-..