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Contribution Details

Type Journal Article
Scope Discipline-based scholarship
Title Reading the face of a leader: women with low facial masculinity are perceived as competitive
Organization Unit
  • Contribution from another University/Organization than University of Zurich
Authors
  • Raphael Silberzahn
  • Jochen Menges
Item Subtype Original Work
Refereed No
Status Published in final form
Language
  • English
Journal Title Academy of Management Discoveries
Publisher Academy of Management
Geographical Reach international
ISSN 2168-1007
Volume 2
Number 3
Page Range 272 - 289
Date 2016
Abstract Text In competitive settings, people prefer leaders with masculine faces. But is facial masculinity a trait that is similarly desired in men and women leaders? Across three studies, we discovered that people indeed prefer men and women leaders who have faces with masculine traits. But surprisingly, we find that people also prefer women with low facial masculinity as leaders in competitive contexts (Study 1). Our findings indicate that low facial masculinity in women, but not in men is perceived to indicate competitiveness (Study 2). Thus, in contrast to men, women leaders who rate high in facial masculinity as well as those low in facial masculinity are both selected as leaders in competitive contexts. Indeed, among CEOs of S&P 500 companies, we find a greater range of facial masculinity among women CEOs than among men CEOs (Study 3). Our results suggest that traits of facial masculinity in men and women are interpreted differently. Low facial masculinity in women is linked to competitiveness and not only to cooperativeness as suggested by prior research.
Free access at DOI
Official URL https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/amd.2014.0070
Digital Object Identifier 10.5465/amd.2014.0070
Other Identification Number merlin-id:17514
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