Are Androgynous Managers Really More Effective?

Abstract

Spence's Personal Attributes Questionnaire was used to measure the sex role orientation of 65 first-line supervisors from seven organizations. Contrary to the basic hypothesis and the theoretical literature, those who scored high on both masculinity and femininity (androgynous) and low on both (undifferentiated) were rated by their superiors as least effective. The most effective supervisors were high on either masculinity or femininity but not both. However, consistent with the previous research and our own predictions, successful female supervisors were found to be higher on masculinity than were unsuccessful female supervisors and more feminine than were male supervisors. The findings are discussed in terms of the limited research in this area, the possible negative consequences of androgyny, and the effect of the social context.