Employees’ Perception about Female Leadership in Government and Corporate Sectors: A Contextual Study of Bhutan

Abstract

This paper aims at studying the perception of employees on the identified attributes associated with female leadership in government and corporate sectors in Bhutan. It was assessed with the help of variables which are closely associated with the attributes of female leadership such as affection, efficiency and collaboration. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to describe the research data and to find the perception difference between male and female employees about female leadership respectively. The research results indicate employees’ perception about female leaders to be slightly more affectionate and efficient. However, they are perceived to be less collaborative across both government and corporate sectors. When compared to males, female employees rated female leadership significantly higher across all three attributes. A higher degree of perception is observed if the immediate supervisor whom employees report to is a female, and vice versa. The inferences drawn from the study may not be generalized to the whole nation as the data was collected only from government and corporate organizations. Also, given the nature of the study, the instances of social desirability bias may have occurred and the honest response might have been compromised. The outcome of this study demands educational interventions and awareness programs across organizations to eliminate the glass ceiling effect so that more females take part in leadership positions. This study could provide some key insights to the female leaders, both in-the-system and aspiring, to understand their stand and challenges in their pursuit to take up leadership roles both in and across the country. This research adds to the limited number of gender-based leadership studies in the country and therefore it could also be useful for concerned researchers, academicians and policy makers as an information input in their respective disciplines.