Leader-follower gender and job satisfaction: a two-wave study from Europe

Purpose – This paper studies leadership behavior in relation to leader gender, gender congruence, and their relationships with employee job satisfaction over time. Theoretical framework – Drawing on the perspective of gender stereotypes and the role congruity framework, this study examines how communal stereotypes socially attributed to females can compromise their assessment as competent leaders. Design/methodology/approach – Two sets of data from the European Working Conditions Survey were studied. Mean comparisons and multivariate regression analyses were carried out on samples of 25,649 at Time 1 and 26,047 at Time 2. Findings – The main findings show different leadership behaviors between male and female leaders. Contrary to expectations, females displayed more of both instrumental-and relationship-oriented behaviors, and this difference has increased over time. However, fewer differences are observed in instrumental-oriented behaviors. The results also suggest that employees' gender affects how some leadership behaviors are perceived. Finally, no gender differences were found in job satisfaction, as the behaviors studied positively relate to it. Practical & social implications of research – From a practical perspective, fostering a diverse array of leadership behaviors is important for enhancing employee job satisfaction within organizations. Female leaders are increasingly viewed positively in the workplace. Originality/value – Female leaders show a more versatile set of leadership behaviors compared to their male counterparts. Differences in relationship-oriented behaviors persist, and the gender of the employee is important in perceiving which behaviors male or female leaders engage in more.