Authentic Leadership has gained huge popularity in the past 20 years. In 2003, Bill George published the book ‘Authentic Leadership’ which chronicled successful and authentic leaders who were changing the nature of what it meant to be a leader. These leaders were highly self-aware, had high morals and ethics, were emotionally intelligent and acted in the best interest of their stakeholders.

Authentic Leadership though, has been criticised for being too US focused, idealistic and ignorant of the challenges of women and ethnic minorities. Is the experience of a white male trying to be authentic the same as a black female? Probably not. As the proponents of Authentic Leadership are mostly white men, this is not surprisingly an issue that has not been very well explored.

In my research of this topic, I have heard claims that there is no gender issue and that in today's workplace men, in-fact struggle more with authenticity than women. Anecdotes aside, the research doesn't seem to suggest that this is true. Let’s look at this evidence -

Gender Norms

The key argument for authenticity being more difficult for female leaders draws on evidence from expectations about leaders combined with expectations around gender norms. Put simply, followers have expectations about the behaviours that they expect from their leaders which have been shaped by the people who have traditionally held those roles – i.e. men. So employees expect leaders to be firm, decisive, visionary and direct. Leaders that exhibit these traits will generally be rated as more competent.

Women typically are stronger at more ‘feminine’ leadership behaviours, including empathy, relationship building, listening and conflict resolution. Women demonstrating these behaviours thus tend to be viewed as being authentic but not competent. This creates a ‘double bind’ for women and put them in a difficult position, no matter what. Women who naturally tend to be strong at and prefer more ‘masculine’ leadership behaviours may not be perceived as being authentic because of expectations around female gender norms. Women who naturally adopt more ‘feminine’ leadership traits may be seen as authentic but not a competent leader. Men face fewer challenges with being authentic as their gender norms are more closely aligned with leadership norms.

Punishment for being who you are

The gender norm expectations can work against women who are naturally competitive and assertive. This can be seen in the case of Ann Hopkins, a PWC employee who was denied partner status. Ann exhibited the same values as her peers and over delivered in her billable hours, new clients and was rated as a high performer, she was seen as a high achiever with strong work ethic. However, she was criticised for her appearance and style of interaction. Her behaviours, while deemed appropriate for men, were not appropriate for a woman. Ann was being authentic, she was also competent, and yet was denied promotion because her behaviours didn't fit the perception of how she should be behaving.

It is no wonder that women working in male-dominated environment such as professional service firms and advertising have been shown to adapt their behaviours in order to ‘fit in’ with their male colleagues. These behaviours include playing down their feminine side, limiting maternity breaks and acting more aggressively.

Similarity

Authentic leadership is not just about the leaders' behaviours. It is an interaction between leaders and followers. Authenticity is always judged by the people around the leader. It seems that our ability to judge others’ authenticity is heavily influenced by how similar they are to us. Male followers tend to rate male leaders as being more authentic and female followers tend to rate female leaders as being more authentic. This again presents another barrier for women working in male dominated environments. Not only do they face challenges with acting authentically but they will also suffer with being perceived as authentic.

References

Tibbs, S., Green, M. T., Gergen, E., & Montoya, J. A. (2016). If you are like me, I think you are more authentic: An analysis of the interaction of follower and leader gender. Administrative Issues Journal, 6(1), 12.

Eagly, A. H. (2005). Achieving relational authenticity in leadership: Does gender matter?. The leadership quarterly, 16(3), 459-474.

Howard, L. (2024). Authenticity and woman’s leadership: a qualitative study of professional business services in the UK. Journal of Work-Applied Management.

Liu, H., Cutcher, L., & Grant, D. (2015). Doing authenticity: The gendered construction of authentic leadership. Gender, Work & Organization, 22(3), 237-255.

Thompson-Whiteside, H., Turnbull, S., & Howe-Walsh, L. (2018). Developing an authentic personal brand using impression management behaviours: Exploring female entrepreneurs’ experiences. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 21(2), 166-181.