Leadership Structures in Same-Sex Task Groups

This article investigates contradictory findings reported in the literature concerning differences in leadership differentiation between same-sex groups. Drawing on arguments developed by Walker et al. (1996) addressing measurement validity in this literature, and on an extension in the status literature developed by Ridgeway (1988) and Fennell et al. (1978), this article develops and tests three predictions. Specifically, the authors predict greater differences in leadership differentiation between allmale and all-female groups when assessing leadership based on procedural behaviors than when assessing leadership based on influence. Also, leadership differentiation will be greater in all-male groups within a male-dominated organization, and in all-female groups within a female-dominated organization, than in all-female groups within a male-dominated organization when assessing leadership based on procedural compared with influence behaviors. Contrary to predictions, results show that all-male and all-female groups are equally likely to develop differentiated leadership structures when using proceduraland influenced-based measures. Implications of these results are discussed. Small group researchers regularly report that in mixed-sex discussion groups, men talk more, engage in more task behavior, 1 are evaluated as more competent and knowledgeable, and exercise more influence within the group than women, while women tend to accept influence more often and exhibit higher levels of positive socioemotional behavior (e.g., making compliments and showing consideration) than men (Ridgeway and Smith-Lovin 1999; Wagner and Berger 1997). In addition, men tend to occupy leadership positions more often than women, particularly when the task is “masculine-typed” or gender-neutral (Aries 1996; Eagly and Karau 1991; Ridgeway and Smith-Lovin 1999). The term leader *Please direct correspondence to: Stuart Hysom, Department of Sociology, Mail Stop 4351, Texas AM e-mail: shysom@tamu.edu. This content downloaded from 207.46.13.43 on Thu, 14 Apr 2016 06:51:29 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 392 SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES Volume 49, Number 3, 2006 often refers to the group member who is the most talkative, task oriented, and influential, and who provides the most guidance in completing the task. In contrast to this research on mixed-sex groups, results on same-sex groups are inconsistent. While some researchers report that women in all-female groups exhibit lower levels of task behavior than men in all-male groups (e.g., Carli 1989; Piliavin and Martin 1978), others find few gender differences in task behaviors (e.g., Johnson, Clay-Warner, and Funk 1996; Shelly and Munroe 1999). Findings regarding leadership structures in same-sex groups are similarly inconsistent (Walker et al. 1996). Based on actors’ levels of procedural behavior, 2 Fennell and colleagues (1978) report that all-male groups are more likely to develop differentiated leadership structures than all-female groups. Fennell et al. (1978) and later Ridgeway (1988) explain these gender differences by suggesting that members of all-female groups meeting in male-dominated organizations, such as many universities and colleges, may lack legitimacy as leaders (i.e., lack the right to be in the leader position) and may therefore hesitate to engage in procedural behavior compared with men in all-male groups meeting within the same organizational setting. This implies that such all-female groups may be less likely to develop differentiated leadership structures, at least when differentiation measures are based on differences in members’ rates of procedural activity. Walker et al. (1996), however, argue that the empirical inconsistencies in leadership differentiation in same-sex task group studies arise, in part, from the different ways leadership has been measured in various studies. They developed an influence-based measure of leadership and used it to reanalyze the data in Fennell et al. 1978. In contrast to the findings of Fennell et al. (1978) regarding procedural leadership, Walker et al. (1996) find that all-male and all-female groups were equally likely to form differentiated leadership structures when using an influencebased measure of leadership. To address these inconsistent findings, and bearing in mind the measurement concerns of Walker et al. (1996), in this article we assess leadership differentiation in same-sex discussion groups, using differentiation measures based on four commonly used, individual-level behavioral measures: procedural acts, influence, task behaviors, and amount of time spent talking. We apply each of these four measures to a single data set gathered from all-male and all-female discussion groups meeting in one of two organizational settings. In one setting, women held the majority of authority positions within the organization; in the other, men held the majority of positions. By taking this approach, we can better assess how the leadership differentiation measures compare with one another, and we are also able to investigate the effect of an organization’s authority structure on leadership in small groups meeting within the organization (Ridgeway 1988; Fennell et al. 1978). We proceed as follows. First, we review the four behavioral measures of leadership commonly used in comparing leadership structures in same-sex groups. Second, we summarize measurement concerns raised by Walker et al. (1996). Third, we develop three predictions about the relationship between measurement of leadership and gender differences in leadership differentiation by drawing on status and legitimacy arguments (Berger et al. 1998; Fennell et al. This content downloaded from 207.46.13.43 on Thu, 14 Apr 2016 06:51:29 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Leadership Structures in Same-Sex Task Groups 393 1978; Ridgeway 1988; Ridgeway and Berger 1986; Walker et al. 1996). Finally, we present our methods and results before closing with a discussion of the implications of our research.