Meta-Analysis of Leadership Differences between Males and Females and the Effect on Performance

摘要

The purpose of this study was to summarize the effects of women leaders on organizational performance. This thesis examined those studies which have dealt with leadership differences in male and female manager/leaders and the effects of these differences on performance. The statistics reported in each study were systematically converted to a common measure known as effect size. The results of all studies were then combined in a procedure known as meta-analysis. Meta-analysis is systematic and replicable and therefore can lead to conclusions that are more generalizable than traditional review methods. The issue of women leader's effects on performance is important because the number of women in the United States military has grown in the past four decades from two percent to over eleven percent. Over the next five years the Air Force is expected to increase its percentage of women to 20 percent of the total force. The results indicated no significant difference in performance of an organization whether led by a male or a female. Any differences that did occur could be attributed to other factors besides sex of the leader.