Diversity in the workforce is a recognised component of highly functioning teams but remains aspirational in the Australian mental health context. There continue to be significant obstacles to true workforce diversity. The objective of this paper is to outline some of the skills and advantages women in established leadership roles have by dint of their lived workforce experience and how these skills may inform leadership approaches and capacity building potential for the benefit of the system.
Conclusions
Leaders must synthesise, capacity build, maintain a systems and future focus and hold a vision to harness the skills of others. This paper outlines why women may have some unique capabilities as a consequence of a gender socialised world and describes approaches that contribute to cohesive, diverse and engaged teams.
SwartzTHPalermoA-GSMasurSK, et al.The science and value of diversity: closing the gaps in our understanding of inclusion and diversity. J Infect Dis2019; 220(Supplement_2): S33–S41.
2.
HorwitzSHorwitzI. The effects of team diversity on team outcomes: a meta-analytic review of team demography. J Manage2007; 33: 987–1015.
3.
TurbanSWuDZhangLT. When gender diversity makes firms more productive. Harvard Business Rev2019.
4.
ShabanA. Managing and leading a diverse workforce: one of the main challenges in management. Proc Soc Behav Sci2016; 230: 76–84.
PostC. When is female leadership an advantage? Coordination requirements, team cohesion, and team interaction norms. J Organizational Behav2015; 36(8): 1153–1175.
7.
LemoineGJBlumTC. Servant leadership, leader gender, and team gender role: Testing a female advantage in a cascading model of performance. Person Psychol2021; 74(1): 3–28.
8.
CeciSJWilliamsWMProQuest (Firm). The Mathematics of Sex How Biology and Society Conspire to Limit Talented Women and Girls. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2010.
9.
ChenJHouserD. When are women willing to lead? The effect of team gender composition and gendered tasks. Leadership Q2019; 30(6): 101340.
10.
Christov-MooreLSimpsonEACoudéG, et al.Empathy: gender effects in brain and behavior. Neurosci Biobehav Rev2014; 46(Pt 4): 604–627.
11.
VugtMVCremerDDJanssenDP. Gender differences in cooperation and competition: the male-warrior hypothesis. Psychol Sci2007; 18(1): 19–23.
12.
Van VugtMSmithJE. A dual model of leadership and hierarchy: evolutionary synthesis. Trends Cognit Sci2019; 23(11): 952–967.
13.
FoltaSCSeguinRAAckermanJ, et al.A qualitative study of leadership characteristics among women who catalyze positive community change. BMC Public Health2012; 12(1): 383.
WallisCJDJerathACoburnN, et al.Association of surgeon-patient sex concordance with postoperative outcomes. JAMA Surg2022; 157(2): 146–156.
23.
RoterDLipkinMKorsgaardA. Sex differences in patients’ and physicians’ communication during primary care medical visits. Med Care1991; 29(11): 1083–1093.
24.
BaumhäkelMMüllerUBöhmM. Influence of gender of physicians and patients on guideline-recommended treatment of chronic heart failure in a cross-sectional study. Eur J Heart Fail2009; 11(3): 299–303.
25.
DahrougeSSealeEHoggW, et al.A comprehensive assessment of family physician gender and quality of care: a cross-sectional analysis in Ontario, Canada. Med Care2016; 54(3): 277–286.
26.
EaglyAHMakhijaniMGKlonskyBG. Gender and the evaluation of leaders: a meta-analysis. Psychol Bull1992; 111(1): 3–22.
27.
WeyerB. Twenty Years Later: Explaining the Persistence of the Glass Ceiling for Women Leaders. Women in Management Review, 2007.
28.
YangYWangYLuH, et al.Too insecure to be a leader: the role of attachment in leadership emergence. Front Psychol2020; 11: 571401.
29.
PopperMMayselessO. Back to basics: applying a parenting perspective to transformational leadership. Leadership Q2003; 14: 41–65.
30.
Schucan BirdK. Do women publish fewer journal articles than men? Sex differences in publication productivity in the social sciences. Br J Sociol Educ2011; 32(6): 921–937.
31.
HelmerMSchottdorfMNeefA, et al.Gender bias in scholarly peer review. Elife2017; 6: e21718.
32.
LincolnAEPincusSHLeboyPS. Scholars’ awards go mainly to men. Nature2011; 469(7331): 472.
33.
NittrouerCLHeblMRAshburn-NardoL, et al.Gender disparities in colloquium speakers at top universities. Proc Natl Acad Sci2018; 115(1): 104–108.
34.
MaderaJMHeblMRMartinRC. Gender and letters of recommendation for academia: agentic and communal differences. J Appl Psychol2009; 94(6): 1591–1599.
35.
O’BrienKRHapgoodKP. The academic jungle: ecosystem modelling reveals why women are driven out of research. Oikos2012; 121(7): 999–1004.
36.
MenegattiMRubiniM. Gender bias and sexism in language. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication. 2017.
37.
FilesJAMayerAPKoMG, et al.Speaker introductions at internal medicine grand rounds: forms of address reveal gender bias. J Women’s Health2017; 26(5): 413–419.
WilkinsRLassI. The household, income and labour dynamics in Australia survey: selected findings from waves 1 to 16. Melbourne, VIC: Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, 2018.
40.
FigueresCRivett-CarnacT. The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2020.
41.
VongasJGAl HajjR. The evolution of empathy and women’s precarious leadership appointments. Front Psychol2015; 6: 1751.
42.
RyanMKHaslamSA. The glass cliff: evidence that women are over-represented in precarious leadership positions. Br J Manage2005; 16(2): 81–90.
43.
ZengerJFolkmanJ. Research: women are better leaders during a crisis. Harvard Business Rev2020.
44.
Prieto-RodriguezESincockKBerrettaR, et al.A study of factors affecting women’s lived experiences in STEM. Human Soc Sci Commun2022; 9(1): 121.
45.
KrumhuberEGWangXGuinoteA. The powerful self: How social power and gender influence face perception. Curr Psychol2022.
46.
HirigoyenGVillegerA. Women and power: a theoretical approach using the example of copreneurial businesses. Palgrave Commun2017; 3(1): 16100.
47.
SikströmSStoinskiLMKarlssonK, et al. Weighting power by preference eliminates gender differences. PLoS One2020; 15(11): e0234961.
48.
TabassumNNayakBS. Gender stereotypes and their impact on women’s career progressions from a managerial perspective. IIM Kozhikode Soc Manage Rev2021; 10(2): 192–208.
49.
Von RuedenCAlamiSKaplanH, et alSex differences in political leadership in an egalitarian society. Evolut Human Behav2018; 39(4): 402–411.
50.
SinghA. A study of role of McKinsey’s 7S framework in achieving organizational excellence. Organization Dev J2013; 31(3): 39.
51.
RiordanCM. Diversity is useless without inclusivity. Harvard Business Rev2014; 5.
52.
SuttonA. Living the good life: a meta-analysis of authenticity, well-being and engagement. Personal Individ Differ2020; 153: 109645.
