Women in Leadership and Social ChangeNameInstitutionInstructorCourseDate Women in Leadership and Social ChangeThe Gender Leader Implicit Association Test (IAT) is a test, which involves answering specific, questions as quickly as possible which is meant to promote bias literacy.
The questions are meant to determine the reaction of individuals in relating certain words to different categories (Northouse, 2016). Based on the results of the Gender Implicit Association Test, the gender bias effect which is calculated by subtracting the time taken to complete trail A from the time taken to complete trial B when the categories have counter stereotypical pairings is 22 seconds (Northouse, 2016). This is a positive score, which reflects automatic associations between female and supportive, and between male and leadership, which means that I have a biased association favoring males and leadership. I was not aware of this aspect and it surprised me as I have been championing for women leadership in most of the forums and activities that I engage in (Northouse, 2016). I have always been keen in advocating for women leadership and the fight for equality since I believe that women are also capable of doing what men do. There are companies, which have been ranked as high performers, which is attributed to women leadership (Rhode, 2017). Women have also increased their efforts in overcoming any barriers, which have brought a challenge for the women in effectively performing their leadership roles (Rhode, 2017).
The impacts that gender differences might have on my leadership style include affecting the effectiveness of the leadership approach. Gender differences have been indicated to affect the ability of a leader in accomplishing certain tasks and responsibilities, which affects the performance of the leader (Rhode, 2017). This is due to the different perspectives, which impact the leader’s decision-making process. Gender is an important aspect in all communities and is used in the distribution of different roles and responsibilities in a community or an organizational setting (Rhode, 2017).
It is important to understand this aspect to ensure fairness in the organization, which is important for an effective leader. Understanding gender gaps is important in helping an individual in becoming a more effective leader (Cunningham, Crandall, ; Dare, 2017). This helps a leader to have a focused perspective meant to address any issues, which may pose challenges to the weak gender in achieving the goals and objectives of an organization. This can also help a leader in changing his/her thoughts and assumptions on a specific gender, which may affect his/her decision-making process (Cunningham, Crandall, ; Dare, 2017). With the evolvement of leadership approaches, it is important for leaders to understand that desirable leadership traits can still be identified and associated with the female gender. Understanding gender gaps will also help a leader in making informed decisions, which can be used to motivate and encourage the weaker gender since they are able to perform successfully in different roles (Cunningham, Crandall, ; Dare, 2017). ReferencesCunningham, C.
, Crandall, H. M., ; Dare, A. M. K. (2017). Gender, communication, and the leadership gap.
Charlotte, NC : Information Age Publishing, IncNorthouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.
). Thousand Oaks: CA: Sage Publications.Rhode, D. L. (2017).
Women and leadership. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
