Gender Differences and Leadership Styles in a Non Secular Setting

Judith Corbett Carter
DOI: 10.4236/ojl.2012.11001                

Abstract

Women are increasingly taking on the role of religious leaders despite some institutional barriers. Do ef- fective female clergy lead differently than effective male clergy? The focus of this study was to examine gender differences in the context of non secular leadership. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) styles and NEO-Five Factor Inventory (FFI) was used to measure leadership and personal charac- teristics of female and male pastors. Limited findings indicate that female pastors were higher in Open- ness and Charisma than male pastors.

Keywords

Gender and Leadership, Transformational Leadership, Pastoral Leaders, Non Secular Leaders

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Alimo-Metcalfe, B. (2010). Developments in gender and leadership: introducing a new “inclusive” model. Gender in Management: An In- ternational Journal, 25, 630-639.
[2]	Barna Group, Ltd. (2009). Number of female senior pastors in protes-tant churches doubles in past decade. URL. http://www.barna.org/leadership-articles/304-number-of-female-senior-pastors-in-protestant-churches-doubles-in-past-decade
[3]	Bass, B. M. (1998). Transformational leadership: Individual, military and educational impact. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
[4]	Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1994). Shattering the glass ceiling: Wo- men may make better managers. Human Resource Management, 33, 549-560. doi:10.1002/hrm.3930330405
[5]	Bass, B., M., & Avolio, B. (1995). MLQ multifactor leadership ques-tionnaire for research manual. Redwood City: Mind Garden
[6]	Belleville, L. (2000). Women Leaders in the church: 3 crucial questions. Grand Rapid, MI: Baker Books.
[7]	Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row.
[8]	Callister, J. D. (1999). Revised NEO personality inventory profiles of male and female US Air Force Pilots. Bethesda, MD: Association of Military Medicine Surgeons.
[9]	Chaves, M. (1997). Ordaining women: Culture and conflict in religious organizations. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
[10]	Cheung, F. (1997). Engendering Hong Kong society: A gender perspec- tive of women’s status. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press.
[11]	Chin, J. L., Lott, B., Rice, J. K., & Sanchez-Hucles, J. (Eds.). (2007).Women and Leadership: Transforming vision and diverse voices. Malden, MA: Blackwell
[12]	Collins, P. H. (1990). Black feminist thought. New York: Routledge.
[13]	Corbett, J. (2006). The personal and spiritual characteristics of effec-tive pastoral leaders. Doctoral Dissertation, Baltimore, MD: Loyola College in Maryland, Accession Order No. AAT 3437177.
[14]	Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). NEO PI-R professional manual. Odessa: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.
[15]	Eagly, A. H., & Johnson, B. (1990). Gender and leadership style: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 108, 233-256. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.108.2.233
[16]	Eagly, A. H., & Johannesen-Schmidt, M. C. (2001). The leadership styles of women and men. Journal of Social Issues, 57, 781-797. doi:10.1111/0022-4537.00241
[17]	Eagly, A. H., Wood, W., & Diekman, A. B. (2000). Social role theory of sex differences and similarities: A current appraisal. In T. Eckes, & H. M. Trautner (Eds.), The developmental social psychology of gender (pp. 123-174). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
[18]	Fagenson, E. (1990). At the heart of women in management research: Theoretical and methodological approaches and their biases. Journal of Business Ethics, 9, 267-274. doi:10.1007/BF00380326
[19]	Hooks, B. (2000). Feminist theory: From margin to center. Cambridge, MA: South End Press.
[20]	Jones, D. & Rudd, R. (2008). Journal of Agricultural Education, 49, 88-97. doi:10.5032/jae.2008.02088
[21]	Lorber, J. (1994). Paradoxes of gender. New Haven: Yale University Press.
[22]	Meade, M. (1935). Sex and temperament in three primitive societies. London: William Morrow.
[23]	Musson, D. (2001). Male and female anglican clergy: Gender reversal on the 16PF5? Review of Religious Research, 43, 175-183. doi:10.2307/3512061
[24]	Noriko, K. (2000). Seven hindrances of women? A popular discourse on Okinawan women. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 27, 85- 97.
[25]	Nygren, D., & Ukeritis, M. (1993). The future of religious orders in the United States: Transformation and commitment. Westport, CT: Pra- eger Publishers.
[26]	Stelter, N. (2002). Gender differences in leadership: Current social is- sues and future organizational implications. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 8, 88-99. doi:10.1177/107179190200800408
[27]	Sullins, P. (2000). The stained glass ceiling: Career attainment for wo- men clergy. Sociology of Religion, 61, 243-266. doi:10.2307/3712578
[28]	Wallace, R. A. (1992). Women and religion: The transformation of leadership roles. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 39, 496-508. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2000.tb00011.x
[29]	Yukl, G. (1998). An evaluation of conceptual weaknesses in transfor-mational and charismatic leadership theories. The Leadership Quar-terly, 10, 285-305. doi:10.1016/S1048-9843(99)00013-2
[30]	Zikmund, B. B. & Lumnis, A. T., Chang, P. T. (1998). Clergy women: An uphill calling. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.