Perception of leadership qualities in higher education: Impact of professor gender, professor leader style, situation, and participant gender

This experimental study used eight written vignettes to analyze the effects of professor gender, professor leadership style (democratic/autocratic), and type of situation (task/personal) and participant gender on evaluations of professors' competence, likeability and masculinity characteristics. Undergraduates from the College of Arts and Science (N = 932; Males = 464, Females = 467), and the College of Education (N = 722; Males = 140, Females = 582) were used. Results indicated that research participants rated democratic professors significantly more competent, likeable, and more feminine than autocratic professors. Contrary to expectations derived from gender spill-over and gender congruency theories, male participants did not rate female professors more negatively than their male counterparts when they acted autocratically in a personal situation (i.e., gender incongruent manner.) Exploratory results revealed trends that are discussed along with theoretical and practical implications.