Female leadership in South African business persepectives as viewed through a gender, race and generational lens

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to examine how female leaders are perceived on the relational dimensions of leader-member exchange (LMX) through a gender, race and generational lens. The study further compares how the followers of female leaders compare the gender-stereotypical perception (think-manager think-male) of leadership through measuring the person- and task-oriented skills that female leaders portray. The purpose of the study is to understand whether there are differences in perception between followers from different genders, races and generations in the South African context. The research instrument was administered to 115 followers of female leaders within the fast-moving consumer goods (FCMG) industry in South Africa. The followers scored female leaders on the degree to which they portray these leadership characteristics on a scale from one (strongly disagree) to five (strongly agree). The followers' responses were analysed and compared in relation to their gender, race and generational cohort using ANOVA. The data showed that male respondents scored female leaders higher than female respondents did. There was no significant difference in scores between generations. There were differences on race level as Black and White respondents rated females higher on most items, than other races did. The significance of the findings was the intersection between race and gender. Coloured male and Indian female respondents rated female leaders lower than other races did. However, Black females rated female leaders higher than females in other races rated female leaders The significance in the findings indicates the need for business to further understand and analyse the gender and race intersection and their implications within South African business. The followers' perception of female leadership through a gender and race lens is critical in understanding how to progress female leadership within South African business.