The Role of Leader and Subordinate Gender in the Leadership–Empowerment Relationship

Abstract

Building on prior research on leadership and gender, the current study explores whether leaders’ and subordinates’ genders influence the impact of leaders’ behaviors on subordinate attitudes. More specifically, this study identifies three moderator variables that might influence the relationship: gender congruence and gender combination between supervisor and subordinate and gender ratio (gender composite in a work unit). Using a sample of state government employees, the current study found that supervisors’ transformational leadership style was more likely to influence male subordinates’ feelings of psychological empowerment than female subordinates’ feelings of psychological empowerment, regardless of the supervisor’s gender and that the positive effect among male employees becomes weaker when they are in a work unit with more women. Ultimately, the findings from this study contribute to our knowledge base regarding leadership and gender, in general, and deepen our understanding of supervisor–subordinate gender dynamics and how these dynamics are associated with gender ratio in public sector organizations.