Exploring the gender typing of management characteristics in an egalitarian context

The present studies sought to investigate what kind of stereotypes are used in Sweden to describe male and female managers, and whether gender-neutral characteristics are used in the description of requisite management characteristics. In Study 1, participants answered open-ended questions on good, bad, female and male management. Requisite management characteristics showed a greater resemblance to the descriptions of female managers than male. In Study 2, female managers were rated more positively than men, and attributes ascribed to men in Study 1 were considered just as descriptive of women. Although participants described female managers more positively than male, responses often implied a norm of men as managers. In this way, prescriptive aspects of the stereotype may still work against female managers, despite the more feminine description of management.