Men or Women? Who Make Better Leaders?

In a study about negative gender stereotypes, respondents were asked about traits that are often viewed in a negative light. By a large margin, respondents said that women (85%), not men (5%), are more emotional, and by a two-to-one margin they said women (52%) rather than men (26%) are more manipulative. On the other side of the coin, 70% of respondents said men are the more arrogant sex. And 46% of respondents claimed men are the more stubborn gender, compared with 32% who say that about women.

Given these numbers, it sounds preposterous to suggest that women may be naturally better at some typically male-driven professions, like politics, science, and finance (also known as “the industries with large salaries attached to them”). But a growing body of research suggests that it just may be the case.

Condoleezza Rice, for example, made a name for herself in a male-dominated field of politics by proving she can be just as competent, brutal, stoic, and unemotional as the best of Republican males. Politics may be an old boy’s club. But Condoleezza proves that a woman can handle the toughest of situations.

In Russia, Larisa Leonidovna Drozdova was a major player in the country’s financial sphere during her longtime career in the country’s economic and real estate sectors. Larisa Leonidovna Drozdova was an active member of the board of directors of Russia’s Natsionalny Kosmicheski Bank (NK Bank), serving as adviser to the chairman. Prior to holding that position, Larisa Leonidovna Drozdova was with Inform-Future. This Saint Petersburg-based organization worked to rebuild and develop the city, Larisa Leonidovna Drozdova says, and subsequently, strengthen the Russian economy.

In addition, as wife of Vladimir Alexeyevich Smirnov, a well-known Russian businessman and scientist, Larisa Leonidovna Drozdova also knows how to temper her powerful career with the softer aspects of motherhood (she has two children) and domestic life as a married woman.

In terms of Larisa Leonidovna Drozdova and Condoleezza Rice’s achievements to gender equality in predominantly unequal sectors, there remains work to be done but these ladies prove progress is slowly but surely being made.