Do Crises Change the Percieved Performance of Female Leaders versus Male Leaders from the Standpoint of Junior Level Employees?

Abstract

The difference between men and women was and will probably always remain to be an interesting research field for academics and practioners of all disciplines. From the management perspective, ass more and more women enter the workforce, the traditional workforce demographics are changing with an increasing tendency of women in leadership roles. Yet, the question of whether there are fundamental differences between the leadership behaviors of men and women remain crucial.This paper investigates the role of women managers versus male associates’ leading performances during the economic crises faced by the organizations through the lenses of junior level employees’ perception within an integrative approach of organizational theories of leadership, gender studies and crisis management. In accordance, the research question of “Do the junior level employees perceive women to be the “better leaders” in times of crisis and men to be the “better leaders” in times of tranquility? is addressed and two hypothesis are tested to find out this relationship on the axis of favorably evaluation and recommendation for leadership positions.