What facilitates womens lead- ership?

However, men still dominate US leadership, raising several key questions. Is the United States closing the leadership gender gap? What organizational barriers perpetuate the gap? What facilitates womens lead- ership? We synthesized and extended US literature to develop a multilevel organizational model of Barriers And Facilitators of Female Leader Em- powerment, called the BAFFLE Female Leadership Model to highlight the baffling complexities and limited success in solving the US leadership gender gap. The review found that literature narrowly focuses on barriers and offers limited insights about how to facilitate female leader empower- ment while simultaneouslyaddressing systemic, entrenched organizational barriers. We alsousedthe WorldEconomic Forum (WEF) Global Gender Gap Index to provide global perspective on the US leadership gender gap. Finally,wesummarizefindingsandimplicationsforpracticeandscholarship. 227 Click here to view this article’s online features: Download figures as PPT slides Navigate linked references Download citations Explore related articles Search keywords ANNUAL REVIEWS Further Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. INTRODUCTION Women and leadership is a timely topic in the United States as there is some evidence that women are making historic progress in reaching senior levels in both business and politics. For example, June 2017 was the first time that % (., 32) of the Fortune 500 companies had femaleCEOs,includingsomeofthelargestcompanies,withCEO MaryBarraatGeneral Motors, CEO Indra Nooyi at Pepsi, andCEO Virginia Romettyat IBM(McGregor 2017). Also, in 2016 HillaryClinton became the first woman to be nominated for President ofthe United States by a major political party. Womens progress in attaining some elite leadership positions that have traditionallybeenheldonlybymenraises questions aboutwhether we are closingthe gender gap in US leadership. Despitethesewomens accomplishments, however, thebroader statistics show thatwomenre- main underrepresented in elite leadership in both the private and public sectors in the United States. For example, almost half (%) of the employees in the S&P 500 companies were women in 2017, but women were not as well represented in management (and leadership), as women held only % offirst- to middle-level management positions, % ofsenior-level executive positions, % ofthe corporate board seats, and % (27) ofthe CEO positions, a dropfrom the % (28) CEOs (Catalyst2017), withspeculationthatother female CEOs are considering retirement. Also, in 2016 more than half (%) of the US population were women ( but women held onlyabout 20% ofthe seats in the United States Congress (Inter-ParliamentaryUnion 2017). Although women continue to be underrepresented in leadership (., Catalyst 2017), it is difficult to draw conclusions about whether the United States is making steadyprogress toward closing the gender gap in leadership or if progress has stalled, as there are reports support- ing both positions. Moreover, as we discuss below, women have also not been well represented in the scholarly leadership literature. Much of the academic scholarship on women and lead- ership has focused on reasons why it is much more difficult for women than men to become leaders. However, there is also some research suggesting female leaders perform comparably and sometimes better than their male counterparts as well as reported organizational benefits when women are well represented in senior leadership (., Dawson et al. 2014, Terjesen et al. 2009). Thus, this literature suggests that there may be incentives for closing the gender gap in leadership. Taken together, there appears tobe evidence tosupport both optimisticandpessimisticviews aboutwomens progress inattainingleadershiproles, withless literature thataddresses the larger questions: Is the United States closingthe gender gap in leadership? What organizational barri- ers perpetuate the gap? What facilitates womens leadership? Thus, our review addresses these issues. Inthesectionsbelow,wereviewtheliteratureaboutwomenandleadershipintheprivatesector, supplemented by related findings from the gender, diversity, and management literatures. Our goal is tooffer a review ofthe literature about the barriers towomens leadershipthat perpetuate the gender gapas well as some more optimisticliterature andideas aboutthe potential facilitators offemale leadership and empowerment that should help to close the gender gap. These include examples ofhow some women overcome challenges, contextual characteristics related to better representationofwomeninleadership, andwhatis termedthe business case,basedonresearch findings regardingpositiveoutcomes associatedwithwomens representationinsenior leadership (WorldEcon. Forum 2016). As aframeworkfor reviewingtheliterature, wedevelopedamultilevel model oforganizational factors that act as either barriers or facilitators ofwomens leadership (see Figure 1). Our model 228 Lyness Grotto Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. Figure1 TheBAFFLEFemaleLeadershipModel:AMultilevelOrganizationalModeloftheBarriersAndFacilitatorsofFemaleLeader Empowerment. combinesandinsomeplacesexpandsuponorlinkstogetherdiverseideasfromourreviewofa varietyoftheoriesandempiricalfindingsthatarerelevantforunderstandingwomensleadership. Inotherwords,weincludedbothbarriersandfacilitatorsasthesearelikelytocoexistinmanyor- ,ourmodeldiffersfrommostofthetheoriesandmodelsthatwereview,asthese modelstendtofocusonlyonbarrierstowomensleadership,suchasHogue&Lords(2007)model ,weincorporatetheseandmanyotherorga- nizationalbarriersfrommultiplelevelsinthemanagementhierarchyaswellaspotentialfacilitators offemaleleaderempowerment,suchasthoseinCheung&Halperns(2010)modelofhowwomen mightdevelopasleadersinawaythatacknowledgestheimportanceofmaintainingfamilyin- ,wealsoincorporaterelevant findingsandtheoreticalideasfromthebroadergender,diversity,socialscience,andmanagement literatures. WecallourBarriersAndFacilitatorsofFemaleLeaderEmpowermentmodelthe BAFFLE, WomenandLeadershipintheUnitedStates it emphasizes the baffling complexities and limited success in solving the US leadership gender gap. Second, it stresses the coexistence oforganizational barriers and facilitators. As discussed in our review, we found that most literature addresses only barriers or facilitators, ignoring their coexistence. Thus, unanticipated interactions between barriers and facilitators are baffling, such as when organizational female leadership empowerment initiatives fail because of hidden, en- trenchedorganizational barriers. Third, the keyconstructoffemale leader empowermentreflects how female leaders are often perceived as lacking authority, power, or legitimacyin comparison tomaleleaders andthus lacktheempowermentneededfor truegender parityinleadership(Glass & Cook2016, Lyness & Thompson 1997, Muller-Kahle & Schiehll 2013). We used the BAFFLE Female Leadership Model as a frameworkto organize our review and to take a broader look at the current state ofwomens leadership in the United States, in order to address the focal question of whether we are closing the gender gap. To interpret the US findings, we examined the global rankings from the World Economic Forum (WEF) Gender Gap Report (World Econ. Forum 2016) that compares the United States with other countries regardingprogress towardachievinggender parity. We use both the global perspective and our model to assess the US-focused literature about women in leadership. Given the comprehensive nature of the BAFFLE Female Leadership Model, it provides a useful framework for assessing the extant literature in terms ofits atten- tion to important topics, such as barriers to womens leadership, and identifies other impor- tant areas, such as facilitators of female leader empowerment and the interactions of barriers and facilitators, that have received much less attention. In the final section of the review, we apply the BAFFLE model to summarize our findings with several conclusions that have impli- cations for practice and scholarship. On the basis ofthese implications, we offer practical sug- gestions for employers, women, and men to clarifytheir respective roles in helping to facilitate female leader empowerment and prioritize areas that warrant future research and attention from scholars. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Leadership as a Gendered Construct Historically, leadership positions have been held by men rather than women, and scholars who focus on womens leadership have described leadership as a gendered construct (Yoder 2001). Also, most ofthe scholarly leadership literature has not included women or addressed gender issues. For example, our June 2017 database searches revealed that among the articles about leaders or leadership published inAcademy ofManagementJournal, Journal ofApplied Psychology, JournalofManagement, andLeadership Quarterlysince these journals inceptions, less than 10% of the leadershiparticles (., 7% , 9% , 6% , and6% , respectively) mentionwomenor gender issues, further underscoringthe strongassociation ofleadershipwith men. The relatively small body ofacademic scholarship about women and leadership has mostly focused on investigating whywomen have been underrepresented in leadership, and it recently has also begun to address womens underrepresentation at elite levels. Women who aspire to leadership are described as facing obstacles, including a glass ceiling (Lyness & Thompson 1997), a labyrinth (Eagly & Carli 2007), or a bed ofthorns (Vial et al. 2016), or as havingto become impossible selves (Ibarra & Petriglieri 2016). These vivid metaphors portraywomens difficulties inattainingleadershippositions, particularlyatsenior levels ofmanagement, as well as the lackofsupport andinhospitable conditions theyface. 230 Lyness Grotto Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. THE BAFFLE FEMALE LEADERSHIP MODELA MULTILEVEL ORGANIZATIONAL MODEL OF THE BARRIERS AND FACILITATORS OF FEMALE LEADEREMPOWERMENT Theoretical Background Multiple, multilevelbarriersto womensleadership. MuchoftheUS literatureaboutwomen and leadership focuses on various forms ofgender bias and barriers as explanations for womens sleadershipoperateatdifferentlevelswithin theorganizational hierarchy,rangingfromthetopleadershipteamdowntosupervisorylevels,and theories about womens underrepresentation also highlight factors at different levels ofanalysis, ranging from macro-level contextual factors, such as societal cultural values, to various organi- zational processes, with a particular focus on interpersonal processes, such as Eagly & Karaus (2002) role congruitytheory(RCT). There are also multilevel models of womens leadership barriers, such as Hogue & Lords (2007) model ofgender bias in interpersonal and intrapersonal processes as well as information processing in organizations. Other models from the broader gender diversity and management research are also relevant to female leader empowerment. For example, Ragins & Sundstrum (1989) developed a multilevel path-to-power model of obstacles, such as the lack of female leaders as role models and negative expectations about womens performance, that make it less likelywomen will be promoted to powerful organizational positions. Because ofits emphasis on organizational power, their model is particularly relevant to female leader empowerment, and it has been applied in a few leadership studies (Bartol et al. 2003, Peus et al. 2015). We also incorporated gender-related aspects ofthe societal (and organizational) context, such as gender stereotypes, thathelptoperpetuateinternal organizational barriers towomens leadership, as well as numerous types ofinternal organizational barriers at various levels ofanalysis. Multiple, multilevelfacilitators ofwomens leadership. In contrast tothe theories andmod- els about barriers to womens leadership, Cheung & Halpern (2010) developed an alternative model of leadership development, based on qualitative research about successful female lead- ers who incorporate both family and work roles into their lives. Cheung & Halperns model depicts a potential path that women can follow until they reach senior leadership, with critical facilitators at each stage. For example, the model begins with personal encouragement, which leads to womens development ofself-efficacyand motivation to pursue leadership, and includes both organizational facilitators and personal facilitators, such as familysupport, which work to- gether insupportingwomen,inCheung &Halpernsmodel,when womenbecome senior leaders, theyare thoughttoplayacritical role infosteringimportanttypes oforganizational support, such as family-friendlyworkplace policies, that will facilitate female leader empowerment throughout the organization. Thus, based on their ideas, we also incorpo- rated organizational facilitators offemale leader empowerment into our model. In the following sections, wedescribethekeycharacteristics ofour model andprovideillustrativeexamples ofhow it can be appliedtoprovide insights about womens leadership. The BAFFLE Female Leadership Model As our objective was to develop a comprehensive frameworkfor understanding womens leader- ship, we combined and extended prior models, theories, and other gender-related scholarship to develop a multilevel model oforganizational processes that includes both barriers and facilitators Women and Leadership in the United States 231 Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. offemale leader empowerment. As discussed earlier, the literature tends to focus on either bar- riers or facilitators, and thus ignores the fact that barriers and facilitators coexist and interact in ,wenamedour comprehensivemodel theBAFFLEFemaleLeadership Model which stands for Barriers AndFacilitators ofFemale Leader Empowerment. As discussedabove, due tothe limitedattention towomens issues in the leadershipliterature, we also drew on related findings from the broader gender, diversity, management, and social scienceliteratures toincorporateavarietyoforganizational barriers thatmakeitmoredifficultfor womentoattainleadershippositions, particularlyatelitelevels. Moreover, weagreewithCheung & Halperns (2010) reasoningthatacomprehensivemodel ofleadershipneeds toincludeafuller picture ofhow women can attain leadership (p. 191), and (despite our intent to focus on the US literature) we incorporatedCheung & Halperns theoretical ideas, groundedintheir research with successful female leaders, which includedleaders from China andHongKongas well as the United States. Weextendedtheir ideas toincludeadditional types oforganizational facilitators of femaleleader empowermenttocorrespondwiththemanytypesofbarrierstowomensleadership, includingcharacteristics ofthe organizational context. Thus,theBAFFLEFemaleLeadershipModelbothsynthesizesimportantideasfromtheextant literature andprovides acomprehensive frameworkthatwe will use toreview the literature about womens leadership. As will become clear in this review, however, the theoretical and empirical research about female leaders has primarilyfocused on the barriers that women face, suggesting thatitis particularlyimportanttodraw attentiontoorganizational processes thatmaypotentially facilitate female leader empowerment in the hopes ofencouragingmore scholarlyfocus on these importantbutneglectedissues. Moreover, the lackofcomprehensive approaches tobothbarriers andfacilitators has hamperedour insights intowhat are best describedas bafflingcomplexities of solvingthe leadershipgender gap. Influence of the external organizational context. We also incorporated relevant contextual factors in the BAFFLE model, including societal cultural values and the more proximal indus- trycontext that can influence organizational processes. These contextual factors are external to organizations, as illustrated in Figure 1, and can have either positive or negative influence. For example, contextual factors mayfoster beliefs intraditional gender stereotypes, whichcanunder- mine women who aspire to leadership. However, the societal context can foster gender equity, such as gender egalitarian cultural values, which mayhelp to promote congruent organizational cultures, such as a climate that fosters gender inclusiveness (Nishii 2013), which would facilitate female leader empowerment. Multiple levels of organizational barriers and facilitators. As can be seen in Figure 1, the BAFFLE Female Leadership Model includes organizational barriers and facilitators at multiple levels ofanalysis. The internal organizational factors are depicted in a pyramid representing the organizational hierarchy, with multiple levels ofanalysis ranging from characteristics ofsenior leadership, such as the relative proportions of women and men on the top management team (TMT), downtolower-level intrapersonal andinterpersonal processes, suchas social interactions among individual employees related to the development ofa leadership identity Although, due to space constraints, we primarilyfocus on the macro-level and micro-level literature; additional levels ofanalysis, such as organizational processes at the team or middle management level, are alsorepresentedwithin the BAFFLE model. Top-down and bottom-up processes. ConsistentwithHogue & Lords(2007) contentionthat various forms ofgender bias in organizational information processing can influence gender bias 232 Lyness Grotto Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. at other organizational levels, the BAFFLE model has arrows to show that processes at each level in the organization mayinfluence processes at other levels (Figure 1). Although Hogue & Lord focused primarilyon the effects ofgender bias at interpersonal and intrapersonal levels of analysis, we allow for the possibility that influence across organizational levels can occur more broadly, andmayapplynot onlytogender bias in information processing, as was their focus, but also to other types ofgender barriers to female leader empowerment, such as failure to support leadershipdevelopmentfor women, lackoffemale role models, inattentiontowork-familyissues, less supportfor female leaders thantheir male counterparts, andthe influence ofmale-dominated cultural values. We incorporate female leader empowerment as a keyconstruct in the BAFFLE Female Leadership Model to reflect the challenges female leaders face, such as perceptions that they lack authority, power, or legitimacy in comparison to male leaders (Glass & Cook 2016, Lyness & Thompson 1997, Muller-Kahle & Schiehll 2013). The arrows in our model represent organizational processes that operate across levels, which can occur as either a top-down (., downward) or bottom-up (., upward) influence on factors thatimpede or facilitate womens leadership. For example, womens representationinthe leader- shippipeline at lower levels mayhave a bottom-upinfluence on representation ofwomen among candidates who maybe chosen for more senior leadership positions. Given the significant influ- ence ofsenior leadership on what occurs at lower organizational levels, there are manyexamples oftop-down processes, such as the influence ofwomens representation in powerful senior-level leadership positions on the extent to which women at lower levels ofmanagement are perceived anddevelopedas potential leaders. Also, to be consistent with our more comprehensive approach to understanding womens leadership, we extended these theoretical ideas to include various facilitators of female leader empowerment and included parallel processes suggesting that facilitators could also have influ- ence across organizational levels. For example, Cheung & Halperns (2010) alternative model of leadership depicts women at lower organizational levels learning from more senior role models anddevelopingself-efficacywhichfacilitates leadershipdevelopmentandbuffers againstnegative stereotypes (Hoyt & Blascovich 2007). This process is depicted in Cheung & Halperns model as the beginning ofwomens leadership development, and although theydid not discuss it, their model is consistent with the idea that organizational facilitators at lower organizational levels could have a positive influence on upper-level organizational structures, cultures, or processes in ways that facilitate female leader empowerment. We use the BAFFLE Female LeadershipModel (Figure 1) as aframeworkfor organizingthe review. We begin with literature about organizational barriers, followed byorganizational facili- tators offemale leader empowerment. Within each section, we first identifyexamples ofexternal macro-level contextual influences on organizations, followed by examples ofinternal organiza- tional characteristics and processes, beginning with the influence ofsenior levels ofleadership, followedbyinterpersonal andintrapersonal processes, withexamples ofthe potential influence of both top-down andbottom-uporganizational processes. ORGANIZATIONAL BARRIERS TO FEMALE LEADEREMPOWERMENT Societal Cultural Values Cultural values related to gender roles and stereotypes. As shown in the BAFFLE model (Figure 1), organizations and their employees are influenced by the larger societal context. Of particular relevance, Eagly and her colleagues recent cross-cultural extensions of social role theory(Eagly 1987) explain how societal gender stereotypes are basedon observations ofwomen Women and Leadership in the United States 233 Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. andmenincertainroles, allowingfor differentiationacross nations inthe extenttowhichwomen and men occupydifferent types ofroles (Eagly & Wood 2012, Wood & Eagly2002). Moreover, when men and women occupydifferent social roles, as with a traditional division oflabor where men are viewed as breadwinners and women as caretakers/homemakers, these gender-specific observations are thought to lead to stereotypic assumptions that men and women also differ in their innate attributes so that each gender is equipped to carry out the prescribed gender role. Also, gender-specific socialization processes further reinforce conformity to prescribed gender roles (Eagly & Wood 2012, Koenig et al. 2011). Taken together, these theoretical ideas offer an explanation about how societal processes can influence how people are perceived within organizations, and the extent to which these perceptions correspond to traditional stereotypic perceptions ofleadershipas more congruent with attributes ofmen than attributes ofwomen. Industry Context Industry gender composition. The gender diversity literature suggests that industry gender composition may also be related to womens experiences in their organizations. For example, prior research has shown that gender-related industrycharacteristics can moderate relationships within organizations, as illustrated by research showing that female managers with senior-level malementorshadmorepositivecareer outcomes,includingcareer advancement,iftheyworkedin male-dominatedindustriesthanindustriesthathadmoregender balance(Ramaswami ). As Ramaswami et al. (2010) explained, in male-dominated industries women may have greater career outcomes associated with senior male mentoringrelationships, because their mentors can provide the sponsorship and legitimacy that women need to succeed but may otherwise lack in male-dominatedcontexts. Organizational Barriers Male-dominatedseniorleadership. Oneofthemostinfluentialorganizationalcharacteristicsis therelativeproportionsofmenandwomenatsenior has been shown to have a powerful effect on manyaspects ofthe organization, and our BAFFLE model depicts the influence of senior leadership on a variety of organizational structures and processes, includinginterpersonal andintrapersonal processes that are discussedbelow. Top-down cultural and structural barriers to womens leadership. In male-dominated or- ganizations, male leaders holdthe power andcan influence the organizational culture andvalues, such as the type ofemployee characteristics to reward. According to Acker (1990), male leaders mayexpectemployees toalways beavailableandwillingtosacrificetheir familyandpersonal lives for the organization, whichwouldbe difficultfor employees withcaregivingresponsibilities (who aremorelikelytobewomen), andthus thesecultural values maymakeitmoredifficultfor women toadvance tosenior leadership. Support for these ideas was providedbya studyofsenior leaders in male-dominated investment banks, an industryknown for its demanding, long-hours culture, which found that male managing directors were typically supported by non-working wives and did not appear to understand how demanding organizational cultures could interfere with pro- motions ofwomen, especiallyiftheywere mothers (Pryce & Sealy2013). Although this research was conducted with international firms headquartered in the United Kingdom, the results were describedas generalizingtoother developedcountries (Pryce & Sealy2013). There is alsoresearch in the United States showingthat women report a lackoffit with male- dominatedcultures; for example, Lyness & Thompson (1997) surveyedmatchedsamples ofmale 234 Lyness Grotto Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. and female senior managers in an organization with a male-dominated management hierarchy and found that female managers perceptions oftheir culture fit were negativelyrelated to their level in the hierarchy, such that their perceived culture fit declined as the relative representation ofwomen became smaller, whereas male managers perceptions ofculture fit were unrelated to their level in the male-dominated hierarchy (Lyness & Thompson 1997). Similarly, King et al. (2010) found that in organizations where women were underrepresented, . tokens, theywere more likelytoperceive aclimate ofgender inequity. Bothstudies suggestthatinmale-dominated organizations, the culture andclimate helptoperpetuate the gender inequality. These findings are alsoconsistent with Kanters (1977) tokenism theorypredictingthat token womenwill be excludedfrom networks, face constantscrutinyoftheir performance, andfeel that they are stereotyped by the majority group, and these predictions are consistent with many of the findings reviewed in the section about gender bias in interpersonal and intrapersonal pro- cesses. Moreover, recent research has shown that in male-dominated organizations, women may be excluded from informal networks as well as more formal power structures, such as leadership positions (., Elyet al. 2011, Gelfandet al. 2005, Stamarski & Son Hing2015). International business strategy. Another study examined macro-level organizational charac- teristics thought tolead togender barriers and reduced emphasis on recruitingwomen as well as lower proportions offemale leaders. This research was carried out with Canadian organizations but the results couldapplytothe United States as well. Specifically, Ng & Sears (2017) reasoned thatorganizations withCanadianowners or thathadprimarilydomesticrather thaninternational operations would have larger proportions offemale managers, relative to foreign-owned organi- zations andthose with larger international operations. Their results supportedthese predictions, andNg & Sears(2017) interpretedthefindingsasreflectingtheemphasisonprofitsratherthanso- cial responsibilityin foreign-ownedandinternationallyfocusedorganizations andsaidthat these types of organizations were less likely to recruit or value women because men are considered more willing to accept international assignments as expatriates (Ng & Sears 2017). The authors contendedthat their studyalsoillustrates how macro-level organizational factors, such as foreign ownership and internationalized operations, may operate as top-down constraints on inclusive recruiting strategies (Ng & Sears 2017). As theydid not directlytest this interpretation, the re- verse causation seems equallylikely, such that the organizations male-dominated senior leaders wereresponsiblefor thehumanresourcestrategies targetedtowardmenrather thanwomen. This interpretationis consistentwiththe top-downorganizational processes inour BAFFLE model as well as other research showing that organizations with male-dominated leadership also tend to have organizational barriers towomens leadership. Institutionalized second-generation forms ofgenderbias. Earlytheoretical explanations for the dearth ofwomen in elite leadership often focused on overt expressions ofgender bias, such as bias in organizational selection decisions reflecting gender stereotypes and/or incongruence beliefs. In contrast, more recently scholars have suggested that gender bias has become subtler (., Elyet al. 2011). For example, the term second-generation forms ofgender bias has been coined to describe the powerful yet often invisible barriers to womens advancement that arise from cultural beliefs aboutgender,whicharethoughttohavebecomeinstitutionalizedinvarious organizational practices andstructures that continue tofavor men (Elyet al. 2011, p. 475). A key characteristic ofsecond-generation forms ofgender bias is that they are often subtle and hard to detect, particularly since they are often hidden within various organizational structures and processes, yet the cumulative effects, reflectinggender bias in favor ofmen, ensure that men will Women and Leadership in the United States 235 Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. ofthese second-generation forms ofgender bias that were institutionalized in the inflexible time demands that several types ofmale-dominated professional organizations imposed on high-level professionals; these time demands forced well-educated, professional women to quit their jobs when theybecame mothers and were unable to fulfill both the demands ofparenting and these inflexible time demands at work(Stone 2007, Stone & Hernandez 2013, Stone & Lovejoy2004). Moreover, this research also clarifies the pernicious effects of institutionalized gender bias on womens careers, as despite these professional women best efforts to meet the time demands, theywere stigmatizedfor their inabilitytodoso, whereas their male counterparts were muchless likelytobeforcedtoquittheir careers duetothedemands ofparenthood. As theseorganizational structures and processes influence the individuals who work at the organization, and the people alsoinfluenceorganizational structures andprocesses, our BAFFLEFemaleLeadershipModel in Figure 1 shows arrows in both directions, which are intendedtoindicate the far-reachingeffects ofthese types ofinstitutionalizedprocesses. Noninclusive leadership development support. In addition, in organizations with male- dominated leadership, men are more likely than women to be perceived as future leaders, and thus menare alsomore likelythanwomentoreceive leadershipdevelopmentandsupporttopre- ,researchhasfoundthatmenreceivedmore career-related support from their mentors than women, with men more likelyto be given advice fromtheirmentorsonhowtoadvancetheircareersaswellassponsorshipforpromotions(Diehl & Dzubinski 2016). Also, there is evidence in the broader management literature that much ofthe criticaldevelopmentofmanagersskillstakesplacethroughdevelopmentaljobassignments,which aremoreoftengiventomenthantowomen(Lyness & Schrader 2006,Lyness & Thompson2000, Ohlott et al. 1994). Consistentwiththisresearch,studiesofwomenandmenineliteleadershiproleshavefoundthat womenareless preparedduetodeficits inprior learningopportunities andcritical jobexperiences (., Ibarraetal. 2010, Kaiser & Wallace 2016). For example, Kaiser & Wallace studiedmatched samples ofmen andwomen in senior leadershippositions at sixglobal companies, andfoundthat the women were rated lower than the men on strategic skills, which are critical for promotions to senior leadership positions, and the authors attributed these gender differences to the fact that women were less likely than men to have been given the diversity ofjob experiences and broadening assignments needed to develop strategic skills. Consistent with these ideas, a study ofsenior managers whose job moves were announced in the Wall Street Journal found gender differences even among these managers who moved to new positions, because the womens new jobs weremoresimilar totheir prior jobs thanwas truefor themen; for example, womenwereless likelytomove tonew functional areas or from stafftoline positions, suggestingthatthe womens jobmoves offeredless broadeningandfuture career preparation (Lyness & Schrader 2006). Promotion ofwomen to riskyjobs. Accordingtothe glass clifftheory, women are more likely thanmentobe promotedtoelite leadership, includingCEO positions, whenorganizations are at riskoffailure due to poor performance, thus placing female (and racial/ethnic minority) leaders in precarious leadership positions (Ryan & Haslam 2007). Based on analysis ofcareer trajecto- ries and interviews with matched samples ofmale and female CEOs ofFortune 500 companies, Glass & Cookfoundthatwomenwere more likelytobe promotedtoriskier leadershippositions, receivedless support, andalsohadshorter tenure as CEOs thantheir male counterparts (Glass & Cook2016). However, the female respondents reportedthattheyhadprior experience withrisky assignments and proactively sought risky assignments, suggesting they may have been chosen 236 Lyness Grotto Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. because oftheir skill sets, which contradicts the fundamental glass cliffpremise that women are placedintoriskyassignments bydecision makers for organizational reasons. Lackoforganizationalwork-familysupport. Examiningbarriers towomens progress inlead- ershipthrough a work-familylens reveals additional obstacles for women that helptoexplain the leadershipgender gap. The responsibilityfor childcare andother domesticobligations continues toburdenworkingwomenmorethanworkingmen(Schiebinger &Gilmartin2010),anddemands from workand nonworkroles are often viewed as incompatible and creatingconflict that results in impaired performance in one or both life domains (Edwards & Rothbard 2000). Consistent with the earlier discussion about male cultural values that reward employees who prioritize work above family/personal responsibilities, when female employees are perceived by their bosses as experiencingfamily-to-workconflict, their performance ratings andpromotabilityare negatively affected (Li et al. 2017, Wayne et al. 2017). Moreover, having children has been linked with a lower likelihood ofCEO attainment for women but not for men (Hurley & Choudhary 2016). Furthermore, there is longitudinal research showing subsequent career penalties (., reduced likelihood for promotions and lower salary increases) for managers who took leaves ofabsence comparedwiththeir counterparts whodidnottakeleaves, with90% oftheleaves takenbyfemale managers (Judiesch & Lyness 1999). Interpersonal Barriers Perceived incongruitiesbetween female stereotypesand leadership roles. Someofthebest known theories about womens underrepresentation in leadership (and management positions), such as the RCT ofprejudice toward female leaders (Eagly & Karau 2002), and other theories aboutwomenslackoffitwithmanagerial jobs(Heilman 1983,2001,2012; Schein 1973, 1975),all have a similar focus on incongruence or lackoffit between stereotypic characteristics ofwomen and requirements of leadership/management jobs. Although these theories incorporate widely sharedgender stereotypes that reflect the top-down influence ofthe broader societal context, the theoriesweredevelopedtoexplaingender biasinintrapersonal andinterpersonal processes,which is whytheyare reviewedin these sections. According to these theories, women are typically described as having communal attributes (., nurturing, nice, and compassionate), and men are typicallydescribed as having agentic at- tributes (., assertive, competitive, andachievementoriented); however, perceivedrequirements for success as leaders (or managers) tendtobe masculine or agentic, andthus these requirements are more similar to characteristics ofmen than characteristics ofwomen (., Heilman 2001). Also, meta-analytic research has found support for the idea that leadership stereotypes continue tobe more masculine thanfeminine (Koenigetal. 2011). Accordingtothese theories, due toper- ceptions ofincongruence between womens communal characteristics and agentic leadership/ managerial role requirements, women are believed to be less qualified or less likely to succeed in these positions than men. There is empirical evidence supportingthe idea that perceptions of incongruence are indeedassociatedwithperceptions ofwomenbeingless qualifiedfor leadership or less likely to perform effectively (., Garcia-Retamero & Lopez-Zafra 2006, Johnson et al. 2008, Powell & Butterfield2015), as well as meta-analytic support (., Koch et al. 2015). Women are held to stricterperformance standards. Ofrelevancetowomens underrepresen- tation in elite leadership, Lyness & Heilman (2006) extended Heilmans (1983, 2001) lack offit theorybydrawingdistinctions inthe degree ofwomens gender-relatedincongruence depending on specific upper-level management job requirements. Theyreasoned that senior line positions, Women and Leadership in the United States 237 Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. withresponsibilitiesfordirectingessentialorganizationaloperationsorservices,aremorestrongly associated with masculine requirements than senior staffpositions, with responsibilities for pro- viding support and expertise to line managers, which are more congruent with the stereotypic female characteristics, suggestingwomen are perceived to be a better fit with staffpositions than line positions. Consistent with this reasoning, Lyness & Heilmans (2006) analyses ofarchival organizational performance evaluations (includingleadership ratings) showed that women in se- nior line positions received lower ratings than women in senior staffpositions or men in either type ofposition, and that women were also held to stricter performance standards than men for subsequentpromotions over atwo-year period. As insufficientlineleadershipexperiencehas been identified by senior executives as an explanation for the underrepresentation ofwomen in elite leadershiproles (Wellingtonetal. 2003), this requirementlimits womens opportunities toattain elite leadershippositions (Fitzsimmons et al. 2014). Moreover, holding women to stricter standards than men for performance evaluations and promotions not only makes it more difficult for the individual women being evaluated, but it also may operate as a bottom-up influence on the proportion ofwomen in senior management (shownwithanupwardpointingarrow inFigure 1) byreducingthe pipeline ofqualifiedwomen. In addition, the accumulation oflower ratings for women than men could be used as evidence thatwomenare less competentinleadershiproles, whichmaynegativelyinfluence organizational expectationsaboutwomenscompetenceasleaders;thiscouldalsohaveaconsciousorunconscious influence on institutional practices toward stricter standards for evaluating women leaders than their malecounterparts,thusfurther perpetuatingmaledominationofsenior leadershippositions. These ideas are consistent with the shifting standards model developed by Biernat & Kobrynowicz(.,Biernat &Kobrynowicz 1997) andtheirresearchshowingthatlower-statusso- cial groups,includingwomen,areheldtohigherstandardsthanhigher-statusgroups,suchasmen, to prove that their performance reflects competence. Accordingto the shiftingstandards model, groupstereotypes affectthejudgmentstandardsappliedtomembers ofvarious social groups, such thatlower standards are usedtojudge groups expectedtobe less competentandhigher standards are usedwith groups expectedtobe more competent, especiallywhen judgment is basedon sub- jectivestandards. However, whenjudgingwhether competenceis basedonability, groups thatare viewedas less competentareheldtohigher standards,as theymustprovidemoreevidenceoftheir competence toovercome the low-competence groupstereotype, whereas more lenient standards areappliedtogroups thoughttobemorecompetent. Thus, ifwomenareheldtohigher standards than their male counterparts, this suggests that organizational decision makers may have lower expectations or negative stereotypes regarding womens competence as leaders relative to that oftheir male counterparts. Therefore, stricter performance standards and lower expectations for women and female leaders, which are based on lackoffit theory, can negativelyaffect women at an interpersonal level (., when their performance is evaluated) andcan have bottom-upeffects (., bynegativelyinfluencingorganizational performance management practices). Womens agentic leadership behaviors may provoke backlash. Hogue & Lord (2007) ex- plained that ifa woman tries to break this cycle by showing agentic leadership behaviors, her atypical behavior maybeviewedbyother peopleas ambiguous rather thanevidenceofleadership, thus resultinginher colleagues increasedvigilance andnegative affecttowardher, bothofwhich would reduce the likelihood that she will be perceived as a leader. Also, there is recent meta- analytic research showing that how other people respond to an individuals agentic or dominant behavior varies by gender, as men who exhibit agentic behavior are viewed as more competent than nonagentic men, but women whoexhibit comparable agentic behavior are likelytoprovoke 238 Lyness Grotto Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. backlash, such that dominant women are viewed as less likable and also less hirable than equally dominant men (Williams & Tiedens 2016). Further insights into why womens agentic leadership behaviors may not be well received by others are offered by the prescriptive or normative aspects ofgender stereotypes as well as status characteristics theory (., Stewart 1988, Wright 2016). These perspectives suggest that peoples group memberships are used to make inferences about each individuals societal status and competence, with women typically viewed as lower in status than men (Fiske et al. 2002). Moreover, there are expectations that people will behave in ways that are consistent with their socialstatus,andwhenpeopledeviatefromtheseexpectations,suchaswhenwomenexhibitagentic leadership behaviors, they violate status expectations. However, Rudman & Fairchilds (2004) research showed that female leaders do not always provoke backlash, but that backlash occurs in response towomens agentic behavior andis interpretedas a reaction towomens deviation from the basis ofa series ofstudies toinvestigate what motivates the backlash associatedwith womens agenticbehaviors,Rudmanetal.(2012) foundthatparticipantswhoendorsedagenderedhierarchy were more likelytoengage inbacklash, especiallywhentheyviewedfemale leaders as threatening the status quoofmale-dominatedleadership. Female leaders are perceived as lacking status and power. There is also evidence from several organizational studies that is consistent with the ideas that female leaders are perceived and treated as though they are lower in status and power than their male counterparts. For example, women leaders maybe given less authoritythan their male counterparts (Glass & Cook 2016, Lyness & Thompson 1997, Muller-Kahle & Schiehll 2013). Also, womenmaybeperceived byothers as less legitimate leaders whoare lower instatus thantheir male counterparts, andthese perceptions are associated with negative outcomes, such as less cooperation and disrespectful subordinates who may try to undermine female leaders, making it more difficult for women to perform effectivelyas leaders (Vial et al. 2016). Intrapersonal Barriers Womensinternalization ofincongruence perceptions. Interpersonal andintrapersonal pro- cesses are closelyconnected, and distinctions between them and their effects can sometimes be- comeblurred(Hogue & Lord2007).For example,ifwomeninternalizeincongruenceperceptions linking leadership with men and masculine characteristics, these perceptions could undermine womens perceptions of themselves as leaders. The findings from the RCT studies discussed above, including the studies in a meta-analysis (., Koch et al. 2015), are based on samples of both men and women as well as samples ofwomen ratingthemselves. Therefore, there is indeed empirical evidence suggesting that gender and leader stereotypes and incongruence perceptions are not just activated in interpersonal situations, but are also internalized and may operate as intrapersonal barriers toleadershipsuccess for women. Challenges with developing a leadership identity. Developinga leader identityhas alsobeen identified as a critical aspect ofleadership development (Dayet al. 2014, Sugiyama et al. 2016). However, some women are thought to have concerns that becoming a leader maybe incongru- ent with their own gender identity as women, and such doubts can interfere with developing a leader identity(Elyet al. 2011, Karelaia & Guillen 2014). As leadership requires social interac- tions, DeRue & Ashford(2010) developedtheoretical ideas about how gender maymoderate the interpersonal process ofleadership identityconstruction. For example, a woman mayattempt to Women and Leadership in the United States 239 Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. exhibit leadership behaviors, such as taking charge ofa meeting, but other peoples reactions to her leadership attempts play a key role in determining whether or not she will be recognized as a leader. This is thought to be a critical process for enabling the woman to develop a leader identity,whichwouldincreasethelikelihoodthatshewill exhibitmoreleadershipbehaviorsinthe future. However, consistentwiththeincongruencetheories describedearlier, womens leadership behaviors are expected to be less well received than those oftheir male counterparts (DeRue & Ashford2010), which mayseriouslyundermine womens development as leaders. Women must find acceptable leadership styles to avoid backlash. Also, Rudman et al.s researchsuggestedthatfemale leaders are less likelytoincur backlashiftheyengage inleadership styles, such as participatory leadership, that emphasize communality and do not violate female gender norms, and thus women using this approach lead bynot leading (Rudman et al. 2012, p. 176).However,meta-analyticresearchhasfoundthatdominantor agenticbehaviorsarerelated to perceived competence, and this relationship holds for both women and men (Williams & Tiedens2015).Therefore,iffemaleleadersavoidagenticbehaviors,suchastakingchargeorgiving directions, theywouldalsobe perceivedas lower instatus andcompetence thanmale leaders, and these women mayriskbeing viewed as incompetent to lead. As Rudman et al. (2012) explained, attenuatingones status toavoidbacklashmightspare individual womenthe dominance penalty, butitdoes little toliftwomens status as agroupwhichis the ideal remedyfor backlashandone thatshouldbekeptinsight(p. 176).Giventhesetrade-offs,itisnotsurprisingthatfemaleleaders sometimes struggle todevelopaleadershipstyle thatis effective butdoes notprovoke backlashor ,maleleadersdonotfacethisdilemma,astheycanexhibitagenticleadership behaviors without fear ofbacklash. Moreover, as can be seen in Figure 1, gender differences at lower levels can influence upper- level and institutional characteristics, thus havingorganizational repercussions, makingwomens instance,iffemaleleadersrenounceagenticleadershipstyles for fear ofbacklash, comparisons ofcommunal female leaders to more agentic male leaders may cause others to perceive male leaders as higher in status and competence, and these perceptions may help to perpetuate institutionalized perceptions that male leaders are more confident and powerful, and further strengthen and help to justifya male-dominated organizational leadership hierarchy. Research suggests that women have greater influence as leaders and are perceived as more effective when theydevelop a leadership style that balances competence with interpersonal warmth (Cuddyet al. 2011, Eagly2012), but findingthe right balance maybe challenging. Women may not recognize the negative effects ofgender bias. Consistent with our earlier comments about hidden and institutionalized organizational gender barriers, there is also evi- dence that women do not always recognize the various types ofbarriers that can impede their success as leaders. For example, there is evidence that women mayblame themselves for negative outcomes rather than recognize or acknowledge the effects ofgender discrimination, especially if it is ambiguous as is often the case (Ruggiero & Taylor 1995). For example, qualitative re- search (conducted in the United Kingdom but generalized to developed countries) with female and male managing directors in male-dominated investment banks concluded that women were underrepresentedinsenior leadershipduetoacombinationofsocietal andorganizational gender- related barriers (Pryce & Sealy 2013). However, the research found that both women and men were perpetuatingsystems ofgender inequalitybecause oftheir beliefs in the myth ofmeritoc- racy,definedas the beliefthatindividuals have anequal chance tosucceedor fail basedontheir own merit and efforts (p. 451), and the authors concluded that these beliefs interfered with the managingdirectors recognitionoforganizational processes andpractices thatactuallyresultedin 240 Lyness Grotto Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. inequalities inopportunities (Pryce & Sealy2013). Also, intheresearchdescribedearlier by Stone and colleagues, the professional women appeared to have internalized their organizations time demands, andfailedtorealizethatthesedemands reflectedgender bias thatunderminedwomens careers morethanmens careers duetowomens greater familyresponsibilitiesinconnectionwith childbirth andparenthood(Stone 2007, Stone & Hernandez 2013, Stone & Lovejoy2004). Also,womensdevelopmentasleadersmaybeunderminedbytheir organizational experiences, especiallyin organizations with male-dominated leadership, and women mayinternalize various forms ofgender bias from their experiences and exposure to institutionalized gender bias within their organization. As some or all ofthese effects mayoccur on an unconscious level, the subtle ,ifasaresultoftheseexperiences,womenin male-dominatedorganizationsexhibitlessinterestthantheir malecounterpartsinbecominglead- ers, other peoples perceptions ofthese gender differences inleadershipaspirations couldoperate asanadditional bottom-upprocesstostrengthentheorganizational assumptionsthatmenarebet- ter suitedfor leadershiproles andmoremotivatedtobecomeleaders. Moreover, incontrasttothe negativeexperiencesoftheir femalecounterparts,meninmale-dominatedorganizationsaremore likelyto experience support and positive reactions to their leadership behaviors, thus reinforcing their self-perceptions andidentityas leaders andbuildingpersonal beliefs abouttheir self-efficacy as leaders, all ofwhich increase the likelihoodthat theywill attain future leadershippositions. Women maydevalue theirown leadership. Consistentwiththese ideas, there is alsoevidence that women are generallymore likelythan men to devalue their own leadership abilities. In fact, research has shown that even in the absence of actual gender differences in their supervisors leadership ratings, women tended to underestimate and men tended to overestimate their super- visors evaluations oftheir leadership abilities (Sturm et al. 2014, Taylor et al. 2016), which may reflect womens internalization ofincongruence perceptions or doubts about how other people will respond to their leadership. Consistent with these ideas, when the researchers asked female participants to explain whywomen tend to underestimate their supervisors ratings, most ofthe women offered gender-related explanations, such as learned gender roles and self-sexism, or explanations that reflected a lack ofself-confidence and inadequate feedback, suggesting that women mayexperience doubts or conflicts about themselves as leaders (Sturm et al. 2014). Summary ofOrganizational Barriers to Female Leader Empowerment The literature thatwe reviewedoffers insights aboutwhyclosingthe gender gapinleadershiphas been so difficult. Deeplyentrenched gender barriers that undermine womens leadership exist at multiple levels in organizations, and collectively, have powerful, far-reaching effects throughout the organization. Taken together, these theories and related empirical findings suggest women may confront a number ofdifferent gender-related obstacles to obtaining and retaining leader- ship positions even at lower organizational levels. Thus the cumulative effects ofthese diverse barriers exert a powerful influence that perpetuates womens underrepresentation in leadership, particularlyat elite levels. For example, the literature we reviewed suggests that aspiringwomen leaders face manydifferent types ofinterpersonal obstacles that mayundermine their confidence and interfere with their development ofa leader identity. Moreover, this literature suggests that evenifwomendobecomeleaders, theymaybegivenless authority, andtheir legitimacyas leaders is morelikelytobequestionedbyothers, resultinginmoreuncertaintyandless acceptance, which makeitmoredifficultfor ,womenmayinternalize perceptions thatmenarebetter suitedthanwomenfor leadership, andtheseperceptions andmale Women and Leadership in the United States 241 Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. leadershipprototypes mayfurther undermine their leadershipaspirations anddevelopment at an intrapersonal level. However, as Eagly et al. (2003) pointed out, the women who do surmount these obstacles to become leaders are likely to be better qualified and more effective than their male counterparts or else the women wouldnot be able toretain leadershippositions. Also, according to Ibarra & Petriglieri (2016), gender bias against female leaders has evolved intosecond-generationgender barriers,thathave become institutionalized(andsomewhathid- den) in various organizational practices. Thus, the BAFFLE Female Leadership Model helps to illustrate why these second-generation gender barriers that infect organizational processes and practices are likelyto have far-reachingeffects across multiple organizational levels, as shown by arrows goingboth up and down in Figure 1. For instance, organizational practices that hold fe- male leaders tostricter standards inevaluatingtheir performance or makingpromotiondecisions (.,Lyness & Heilman2006) presentseriousbarrierstoaspiringfemaleleadersandmaybemore biasisdifficult to identifyand address, and some ofthe literature we reviewed suggests that female leaders may misinterpret its effects as evidence oftheir inadequate performance, which mayundermine their leadershipaspirations. Furthermore, several authors have explained that an individuals gender biases may not be operating at a conscious level, and the underlying, biased observations may have accumulated over alongtime, bothofwhichmakeitverydifficultfor individuals tounlearnthesebiases against ,bringingthesemanyformsofgenderbiastolightisanecessaryfirststeptoward addressingthem. ORGANIZATIONAL FACILITATORS OF FEMALE LEADER EMPOWERMENT Incontrasttotheliteratureaboutreasons for womens underrepresentationinleadership, thereis asmall bodyofevidencesuggestingthatthegender gapinleadershipis decliningandalsoreasons whythis positivetrendwill continue. TheBAFFLEFemaleLeadershipModel (seeFigure 1) can alsobe usedtoillustrate how several multilevel organizational factors andprocesses can facilitate female leader empowerment and gender equality by focusing on ways to foster an inclusive or- ganization that is equallysupportive ofwomen and men. Usingthe BAFFLE model (see Figure 1), we begin our review ofthe literature at the macrolevel, which includes societal andorganiza- tional factors which each mayhave bottom-upandtop-down effects. Then we discuss facilitators at the microlevel, which include interpersonal andintrapersonal processes that can have positive influences at the individual level, but mayalsohave bottom-upeffects, as our model illustrates. Societal Cultural Values Egalitarian cultural values. There is some evidence that national culture can have a trickle- down effect and positively influence womens leadership representation in organizations. A multilevel study of European managers by Lyness & Kropf (2005) examined the potential positive role ofnational culture andthe proportionofwomeninsenior managementpositions on individual work-family variables that may facilitate the advancement ofwomen into leadership positions. Specifically,thedegreeofnational gender equalitywaspositivelyrelatedtoasupportive work-familyculture andthe availabilityofflexible workarrangements, whichinturnwere related to managers reported work-family balance. This trickle-down effect of national values may positivelyinfluence organizational culture andHR practices, whichinturncanhelpfacilitate and 242 Lyness Grotto Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. encourage womentoaspire toandattainelite leadershippositions. Althoughthis studywas based on European managers, similar processes couldoperate in the United States. Organizational Facilitators Pressure to increase representation ofwomen in leadership. In support ofthe above, there are some recent reports in the business media suggesting that womens representation in senior leadershipis improvingatlarge corporations inthe United States andthe UnitedKingdom (S&P Global Market Intelligence 2016). These changes in large corporations mayalso influence other companies toincrease their representation ofwomen in elite leadership. Top-down support forwomensleadership. Thenas womenmoveintoavarietyofleadership roles, more womenmayfeel encouragedtodevelopandcontributewithinthe networks necessary for promotionandadvancementtoleadershippositions, particularlyelite leadershippositions. In support ofthis, a studythat analyzed CEO appointments over a 20-year period found a positive relationshipbetweentheproportionsofwomenontheboardsofdirectors(BODs) andpromotions ofwomen within organizations (Cook & Glass 2014). In support of the above, longitudinal research based on United States Equal Employment OpportunityCommission (EEOC) data from 20,000 US organizations over a 14-year timeframe showedthat increases in the proportion ofwomen in senior positions were followedbyincreases in womens representation in middle-level management (Kurtulus & Tomaskovic-Devey2012). The use oflongitudinal data is important for establishingthe direction ofthe positive top-down effects. Moreover, another studyused longitudinal EEOC data to compare outcomes associated with different types of diversity initiatives and found that organizational programs that estab- lish organizational accountabilitywere most effective at increasingrepresentation ofboth White womenandAfrican-Americanwomeninmanagerial jobs, followedbynetworkingandmentoring programs, which were also associated with increased representation ofwomen in management; and representation ofwomen in top management was also positively associated with increased representation ofwomen at lower levels (Kalev et al. 2006). Theseresultsprovidesupportforwhathasbeentermedthetrickle-downeffectwithinorgani- zations, suchthatincreasingwomens representationathigher levels is associatedwithincreasing proportions ofwomen at lower levels ofmanagement. Other trickle-down effects may include the positive influence ofsenior female role models onleader prototypes, whichmaymake itmore likelythatwomenwill haveopportunitiestobeconsideredcandidatesfor leadershipdevelopment, andfemalerolemodels mayalsoinspireyoungwomeninorganizations andevenyounger women andgirls toconsider managerial careers andleadershippositions. Inclusive humanresource strategies. Consistentwiththeideaoftop-downsupport,aCanadian studyfoundsupportfor the trickle-downeffectas organizations withfemale CEOs andorganiza- tionsthatusedinclusiverecruitingstrategiesthattargetedwomenhadlargerproportionsoffemale managersandstronger pipelinesofwomenthanorganizationswithoutthesecharacteristics(Ng & Sears 2017). In addition, organizational goals focused on womens development and leadership can have bottom-up effects. In support ofthis premise, Goodman et al. (2003) investigated vari- ables that differentiated organizations with and without women in top management positions, and found that women were more likely to occupy top management positions in organizations where women held more lower-level management positions and greater emphasis was placed on thedevelopmentandpromotionofemployees thaninorganizations withoutthesecharacteristics. Women and Leadership in the United States 243 Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. The business case for womens leadership. Womens representation in leadership is also associatedwithpositiveorganizational from increasingfemalerepresentationinleadershiproles,especiallyinelitepositions. Specifically, women in TMTs can have a positive impact on the organizations performance, and consistent with signaling theory, the presence offemale leaders is thought to be viewed byconsumers and investors as positive information about the companys cultural values and future performance (Kulik&Metz2017).Forinstance,whenwomenholdseniorleadershippositionsinorganizations, includingthe CEO role, this maybe viewed positivelybyconsumers, as women are the decision makersonpurchasesinamajorityofhouseholds(Branson2011) andthuswomenmaypositivelyaf- fectanorganizationsbottom ,whenwomenarerepresentedinTMTs,investors may perceive the organization as forward-thinking and therefore place high value on its future performance inthe economy, whichmayalsopositivelyinfluence the bottom line (Terjesenetal. 2009). Indeed, there is also support for the business case for women leaders based on recent meta- analyticresearchshowingthatvariousmeasuresofwomenspresenceinseniorleadershipgenerally have positive relationships toa varietyofindicators oforganizational performance andespecially tosalesperformance(Hoobler ).Consultingcompanieshavealsoreportedperformance advantages to organizations with women in senior leadership, based on analyses ofproprietary datasets (., Dawson et al. 2014). However, studies thatexamine organizational outcomes offemale CEOs andsenior managers donottypicallystudytheunderlyingprocesses thatexplainthesepositiveoutcomes. For instance, Dezso? &Ross(2012) arguedthatwomensleadershipstyle(.,theirtendencytowarddemocratic and participative leadership) benefits a gender-diverse TMTs task performance, which in turn leadstobetter firm performance. Similarly,Krishnan & Park(2005) predictedthatgender-diverse TMTswouldperformbetterbecausewomenusepowertodisseminateinformationandknowledge rather than toinfluence others. According to this more positive literature and the BAFFLE model, increasing female repre- sentation in leadership and female role models in leadership positions, especiallyelite positions, can create change in organizations by sending a message to other women that advancement is possible andencouraged. Furthermore, these positive shifts mayalsoinfluence mens perceptions ofwomen in leadership as men will have more opportunities for exposure to positive examples of female leadership, thereby potentially giving female leaders more authority, power, and legitimacy. Increasingthe pipeline offemale leaders. Inpastdecades,someattributedthedearthofwomen ,womenarenow well represented in business schools and earn close to halfofthe Bachelors and MBA degrees, ., 48% and 46% , respectively (. Department ofEducation 2014), suggesting that women are pursuingbusiness careers andleadership. Educations from elite business schools in particular seem tooffer the mostpromise, as female CEOs withelite educations have beenfoundtopossess more hierarchical or legitimate power (Muller-Kahle & Schiehll 2013). Findings from Karelaia & Guillen (2014) also suggest that the pipeline problem has been as women and developing an identityas a leader due to the masculine characteristics associated with leadership, Karelaia & Guillen found evidence that women can maintain a positive gender identityand also a positive leader identity, and as a result these women mayperceive leadership as a more attractive andattainable career goal. 244 Lyness Grotto Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. Interpersonal Facilitators Positive perceptions offemale leaders. Recent meta-analytic research evidence suggests that & Karaus(2002) RCT(andother incongruencetheories),Paustian-Underdahl etal.(2014) tested predictions that women would receive lower leadership ratings than men, particularly in high- status, male-dominatedorganizational contexts. However, basedonFoschis (1996, 2000) double standards for competence model, women who hold senior leadership roles in male-dominated organizations maybe viewed as highlycompetent because it would be difficult for them to attain suchpositions,leadingtopredictionsthatthesewomencouldreceivehigherleadershipratingsthan their malecounterparts (Paustian-Underdahl etal. 2014). Onthebasis of99 independentsamples from 95 studies, the meta-analytic research byPaustian-Underdahl et al. found that the overall gender differences in perceptions ofleadership effectiveness across all leadership contexts were not statisticallysignificant (Paustian-Underdahl et al. 2014). However, there was some evidence ofmoderation bycontextual variables, such as whether organizations were dominated bymen or women, based on the relative proportions ofmale and female employees in the industrysector. Although not all of the gender differences were statistically significant, the pattern of results was consistent with RCT predictions. In male-dominated organizations, such as military and government organizations, male leaders had higher ratings than female leaders. Conversely, in female-dominatedorganizations,suchassocialserviceandeducationorganizations,femaleleaders had higher ratings than male leaders. However, in business organizations, which were reported to be % female, women were rated significantlymore effective than men. Perhaps the most surprisingfindingisthatbasedonotherpeoplesratingsofleadersinsenior-levelpositions,women received higher ratings ofleadership effectiveness than men. Also, perhaps reflecting changes in society, female leaders received higher ratings than male leaders based on evaluations by other people in the more recent studies from 1982 to 2011, with nonsignificant gender differences in other peoples ratings in the earlier studies prior to 1982. High-quality mentoring relationships. In addition, changes in womens organizational relationships seem to be helpingto close the gender gap in leadership. The relational mentoring literature offers insights into how the composition and quality ofmentoring relationships may be helpful to women aspiring to leadership. Specifically, mentors from the same social identity groups (., female managers for female proteges) mayhelpaddress the challenges facingfemale proteges (Ragins 1997). Additionally, there is evidence that high-qualitymentoringrelationships can buffer the negative effects of ambient discrimination by providing holding behaviors that create a safe environment and perspective to help the protege make sense ofupsetting or confusingevents (Ragins et al. 2017), which maybe similarlyhelpful in the leadershipcontext. Intrapersonal Facilitators Buildingself-efficacy. From anattitudinal perspective, althoughgender stereotypes maythwart womens advancement in organizations as we noted earlier, Hoyt & Blascovichs (2007) findings suggest that self-efficacy may serve as a promising buffer. When gender stereotypes were acti- vated, high-efficacy female leaders exhibited more positive responses (., increased perceived performance) comparedtolow-efficacyleaders. Reducing the negative effects ofgender stereotypes. Notably, there is evidence to suggest that stereotypes ofmanagers have become less masculine over time, particularly among female Women and Leadership in the United States 245 Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. managers (Duehr & Bono2006). Evenmale managers showedevidence ofcharacterizingwomen withmorepositivetraitsassociatedwithleadership(.,ambitious).Additionally,individualswho had positive experiences with female managers in the past rated women higher on management characteristics. These findings raise the possibility that stereotypes ofleaders may similarly be perceivedas less masculine than in the past andthat perceptions ofwomen in general andfemale leaders maybeimproving. Underscoringtheclaim thatstereotypes ofleaders arechanging, meta- analyticevidencesuggeststhatleadersarebeingviewedasmoreandrogynous,withstrongereffects amongmen than women (Koeniget al. 2011). Attitudinal changes at the intrapersonal and interpersonal levels could potentiallyreduce the perceivedincongruencebetweenthecharacteristicsofleadersandstereotypicattributesofwomen amongboth women and those who are the gatekeepers to their advancement (., male leaders). As bottom-up effects, these changes could lead to a reduction in the various organizational chal- lenges (., unsupportive culture, unequal opportunities, biased systems) for women aspiring to be leaders, thereby enhancing womens leadership development and opportunities, which may helptoreduce the gender gapin leadership. Womens effective leadership styles. When considering leadership behaviors, there is also meta-analytic research showing that women are more likely than men to use transformational leadership behaviors (Eaglyet al. 2003), which tend to be considered more effective than styles found to be used by men, such as laissez-faire leadership (., Judge & Piccolo 2004). These findings were extended with more recent research recommending specific types oftransforma- tional behaviors, such as individualized consideration, that are particularlyeffective for womens promotion into senior leadership positions (Vinkenburg et al. 2011). There is also a small body ofresearch offering insights about leadership styles that are thought to be particularly effective for womenatelitelevels. For example, womenleaders atelitelevels wereevaluatedas particularly effective when theywere perceivedas both agentic andcommunal (Rosette & Tost 2010). Summary ofOrganizational Facilitators ofFemale Leader Empowerment Althoughitmaycontinuetotaketimetorealizethepositiveeffectsofthesetop-downandbottom- upinfluences, the findings about the facilitators offemale leader empowerment are encouraging. The literature we have reviewed at this point clearlyoffers some reasons for optimism, as mech- anisms at various levels are helping to close the gender gap in leadership in the United States. As there are manyareas ofoverlap between the leadership literature and the diversityliterature, integrating these two bodies ofliterature can further enhance our understanding ofthese issues andhow toaddress them. Our BAFFLE Female Leadership Model is helpful for considering how the positive findings we reviewed above may reflect several different types ofmicro-level mechanisms that together maybe helpingto close the gender gap in leadership. Specifically, the findings suggest a number ofperceptual andrelational changes atthe interpersonal level as well as attitudinal andbehavioral changes at the intrapersonal level that may be helpful for advancing women in leadership. At the interpersonal level, what seem to be beneficial are positive changes in how others perceive women leaders, female leaders use ofleadership styles that are particularly effective for them, anddevelopmentofmentoringrelationships. Atthe intrapersonal level, changes inwomens self- views, their leadership identities, and their beliefs in themselves maybe effective. The BAFFLE model suggeststhattheseinterpersonal andintrapersonal processescanhavebottom-upeffectsby positivelyinfluencingthe representationofwomeninleadershiproles andthe leadershippipeline leading to senior-level positions in organizations. Moreover, as women rise to higher levels of management, their presence can begin to offset various forms ofinstitutionalized gender bias, 246 Lyness Grotto Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. such as perceptions that men are better suitedfor high status leadershippositions than women or that women leaders shouldbe heldtostricter standards than their male counterparts. An Assessment ofthe Organizational Barriers and Facilitators ofFemale Leader Empowerment: A LosingBattle? Although there are certainlysome encouraging findings in the research just reviewed about the facilitators of female leader empowerment, this research has to be considered in combination with the earlier research about entrenched, multilevel barriers to womens leadership, as both organizational barriers and facilitators are likely to coexist, as depicted in the BAFFLE model. However, most ofthe literature that we reviewedtends tofocus on either organizational barriers or organizational facilitators ofwomens leadership. As a result, much less is known about how barriersandfacilitatorsmayinteract,aslessattentionhasbeengiventodevelopmentandtestingof ,thereisrelativelylimitedUS researchthat examinestheeffectivenessoffacilitatorswhenbarrierstowomensleadershiparealsopresent,asis likelytobe the case. As we will discuss inthe concludingsection, there is anurgentneedfor more comprehensive research that examines both facilitators and barriers as well as their interactions. This is the critical next phase ofUS research that is needed to develop or bolster organizational initiativesintendedtofacilitatewomensleadershipsothattheymaysuccessfullyovercomevarious forms ofentrenched gender-related barriers. In the absence ofresearch findings, we will try to reconcile the positive andnegative literatures. Unfortunately, these are bafflingandcomplex issues andtheyare unlikelytobe resolvedwith easysolutions. Thus, it seems unlikelythat well-intentioned interventions intended to facilitate femaleleaderempowermentcouldoffsettheeffectsofmultiple,entrenchedorganizationalbarriers towomens leadership. For example, we reviewedstudies ofhumanresource initiatives thatfocus onactivelyrecruitingwomenorleadershiptraininginitiativestocreatearobustpipelineofwomen. Althoughtheseinitiativesmayhelptoincreasetheproportionsofwomenintheinitialstagesofthe leadership pipeline, that is not sufficient to ensure that these initiatives will lead to a meaningful increase in womens representation among senior leaders (Ibarra et al. 2013). According to the literatureonbarriersthatwehavereviewed,organizational initiativesthatfocusonlyonrecruiting morewomenor onlyonprovidingtrainingwithoutalsoaddressingentrenched,systemicgender barriersare unlikelytosucceed. Specifically, unless men and organizational leaders are committed to the much more difficult task ofidentifying and addressing the numerous entrenched and sometimes hidden (or institu- tionalized) organizational barriers to womens leadership, it is unlikely that the women in the leadershippipelineatlower levelsintheorganizationwill beabletoovercomethebarriers,partic- ularlyin the absence ofthe necessaryorganizational facilitators andsupport for women that they would need. For example, Ibarra et al. (2013) recommended that organizations educate women andmen about second-generation gender bias andprovide the types ofsupport that women may need to facilitate the interpersonal process ofleadership development. These recommendations illustratethetypes oftargetedactivities neededtoaddress second-generationgender bias, butini- tiatives such as these are undoubtedlymuch larger in scope andcomplexitythan the more typical organizational strategyofimplementinga human resources initiative torecruit women. In summary, although the literature is limited, there are some examples of organizational facilitators ofwomens leadershipatvarious levels as well as characteristics ofthe external context thathelptofoster these organizational facilitators. The BAFFLE model alsohelps toclarifyways that potential leadership facilitators may foster bottom-up and top-down positive influences on womens advancement and female leader empowerment. However, the positive effects ofthese Women and Leadership in the United States 247 Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. facilitatorswillnotberealizedunlessorganizationsalsoaddresstheentrenchedandhiddenbarriers to womens leadership, which include lack ofsupport from all organizational leaders, including men. Moreover, in order for an initiative to be successful, senior leadership must be genuinely committed to gender parityand willingto share power with female leaders. There are also some lessons to be learned when we broaden our focus and consider the progress that has been made toward gender parity in leadership in other countries. Therefore, in the following section we compare the progress toward gender parityin the United States relative to the representation of women in senior leadershipamongother industrializedcountries. GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE LEADERSHIP GENDERGAP IN THE UNITED STATES To gain perspective on progress toward closing the gender gap in leadership within the United States,weexaminedtheglobal rankingsfrom theWEF Gender GapReport( 2016). This reportprovides analysis andrankingof144countries, basedonaGlobal Gender Gap Index (GGGI) that is designed to measure gender-based gaps in access to resources and oppor- tunities (p. 4), and is calculated from outcome indicators that measure four equally weighted sub-indices: Economic Participation andOpportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Sur- vival, andPolitical Empowerment (WorldEcon. Forum 2016, p. 5). Accordingtothe report, the 144countrieshavemadethemostoverall progressinclosingtheir gender gapsinhealthoutcomes and educational attainment, with 96% ofthe gaps closed in each ofthose areas. However, there arelarger gaps ineconomicparticipationandpolitical empowermentwithanaverageofonly 59% and68% , respectively, ofthose gaps closed(WorldEcon. Forum 2016, p. 7). Consistent with our BAFFLE model and review ofthe literature, the report highlights the critical impactofwomens political leadershipongender inequalitythroughoutasociety, whichis consistent with the top-down contextual effects we have discussed. The report also suggests that womens involvement in the political sphere is important for ensuring that there will be ample attention to issues that are important to women, such as familylife, that have broad implications for their countries. Itis alsonotable thatthe WEF reportstresses the factthatwomens political leadership and wider economic participation are correlated (p. 27). These relationships are also evidentintheWEFdata,,thecountriesthatareranked highestinthe overall WEF Gender GapIndex(., Iceland, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, with rankings of 1st to 4th, respectively) are ranked 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th, respectively, on the index ofpolitical empowerment, and these countries are ranked 9th, 16th, 7th, and 11th on the index ofeconomic participation and opportunity. Also, Western Europe is the highest ranked global region, and 11 ofthe top20 countries on the overall index are in Western Europe. In contrast, the United States is ranked 45th on the overall GGGI, which is a considerable drop from its ranking of28th in the 2015 WEF report. Ofparticular relevance to this review, the United States is ranked26th on the Economic Participation andOpportunityIndex andonly 73rdon Political Empowerment. In addition, the 2016 WEF report highlights the relationshipbetween gender parityandeco- ,theWEF reportmakesastrong businesscasebyclarifyingsoundeconomicreasonsfor increasingwomensrepresentationinlead- example,thereportprovidesanestimatethatfor theUnited States,improvinggender 1 1 The 2017 ranks are similar, with the United States at 49th of 144 countries (released as we went to press; https://www. 248 Lyness Grotto Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. paritycouldaddan additional $ billiontoits GDP(WorldEcon. Forum 2016, p. 25). The report specifically addresses womens representation in leadership and provides statistical evi- dence supporting the relationship between representation ofwomen in leadership positions and organizational performance measures, such as average return on equity. To understand the low United States rankingof 73 in the important Political Empowerment sub-index, it is useful to consider the specific indicators used to calculate this composite index: (a) theproportionofwomeninparliaments,wheretheUnited Statesranks 82nd;(b) theproportion ofwomeninministerial positions, wheretheUnited States ranks 41st; and(c) thenumber ofyears withafemaleheadofstate(., president),wheretheUnited Statessharesthelowestrankingwith other countries thathave never hadafemale headofstate. Inlightofthe earlier researchfindings showingthe importance ofsocietal contextbecause ofits influence onorganizational perceptions ofwomenasleaders,womenslowrepresentationinUS political leadershipmayhavefar-reaching effects on (the relative lackof) female leader empowerment in business organizations. The global rankings ofthe United States suggest that we should change our focal question for this review article from Are we closing the gender gap in leadership in the United States? to Are we closing the gender gap in leadership in the United States fast enough? On the basis ofthe decline ofthe United States from 28th to 45th in the global rankings, the low ranking of 73 in political empowerment, and the manyorganizational barriers in this review, the answer would have to be No! In other words, taken together, this evidence suggests that the United States does notappear tobeaddressingthegender gapinleadershipnearlyfastenough. Thus, our conclusions and implications are intended to offer suggestions about how to address the United States gender gapin leadership, usingour BAFFLE model andreview for ideas. First, we briefly review examples ofrelevant cross-national research to provide additional perspective on the US literature that we have reviewed. Cross-National Research Cross-national research has identified a number ofcountry characteristics that influence orga- nizational policies, programs, and processes that in turn are related to womens representation in leadership (and related outcomes, such as womens career advancement and representation in managerial positions). Societal cultural values appear toplaya keyrole in this process. For exam- ple, cultural values maybe relevant to gender stereotypes and whether women are perceived as potential leaders or insteadareperceivedaccordingtotraditional stereotypes as familycaregivers. For instance, a particularly relevant cultural dimension is gender egalitarianism, defined as beliefs about whether (individuals) biological sex should determine the roles that they play in their homes, business organizations, and communities (Emrich et al. 2004). This aspect of culture has beenlinkedwithperceptions ofwomeninthe workplace. For example, prior research with 36 countries found that supervisors ratings of female managerial subordinates work-life balance were related to societal gender egalitarian values, but ratings ofmale subordinates did notdiffer accordingtocultural context(Lyness &Judiesch2008, 2014). ConsistentwithEagly & Woods(2012) theoretical ideas,Lyness &Judieschs(2014) findingsshowedthatinsocietieswith less egalitarian values, where women carryout traditional caregivingresponsibilities, supervisors gave lower ratings to women, suggesting that societal gender stereotypes may have influenced supervisors perceptions of female managers. Also, other cross-national studies have identified power distance, representing societal acceptance ofinequalities in the distribution ofpower, as another cultural valuethatisassociatedwithtraditional gender roleattitudes(, Parboteeah et al. 2008), and power distance has also been found to be negatively related to the proportion ofwomen on corporate BODs (Carrascoet al. 2015). Women and Leadership in the United States 249 Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. As discussedearlier, Rudman andcolleagues (Rudman & Fairchild2004, Rudman et al. 2012) foundthatwomenleaderscouldavoidbacklashbydevelopingaleadershipstylethatdidnotviolate female gender norms, describedas leadingbynotleading,whichmaybe particularlyimportant when women attain elite leadership positions that have not been previouslyheld bywomen. For example, Chancellor Angela Merkel, the first woman to lead Germany, is described as having spent her political career playingdown her gender: shunninga feminist label, offeringmodesty, cautionanddiligentpreparationas animplicitcontrasttomaleswagger(Chira2017), suggesting thatsheavoids usinganagenticleadershipstyleor violatingfemalegender norms, whichmayalso reflecttheGermanculture,characterizedashavingconservativeattitudestowardwomen(Chira 2017). Chira (2017) contrasted Chancellor Merkels leadership style with Hillary Clintons and others references to her gender, for example, bysuggesting that she was a woman who would make historybyshatteringthe highestglass ceiling; moreover, basedonacomparisonofthe two womens styles, the reporter speculated that perhaps what she termed a stealth strategy may be the most effective way for women to gain and wield power (Chira 2017). Although Chira describedGermanyas havingveryconservative attitudes towardwomen, ithas anoverall ranking of13 ontheWEF Global Gender GapIndex, whichis considerablyhigher thantherankingof45 for the United States, raisingquestions about what barriers to womens leadership are operating in the United States. Although we do not intend to overgeneralize from these two examples, these womens political outcomes are consistentwithresearchandrecommendations thatwomen leaders need to develop a style ofleadership that is compatible with the cultural values oftheir organization or societyin order tosucceed. Asdiscussedearlier andillustratedintheBAFFLEmodel,representationofwomeninpolitical leadershipis animportantaspectofthe societal contextthatcaninfluence womens opportunities for leadershipinother sectors. As mentionedabove, thereis empirical supportfor therelationship between womens political representation and their economic participation and opportunities described in the 2016 WEF report (World Econ. Forum 2016). Taken together, the ranking ofthe United States as 45th in the overall WEF Gender Gap Index and only 73rd in political empowerment ofwomen raises concerns that in the United States women are not fullyaccepted as leaders in the political realm, which is an important aspect ofthe societal context that also has implications for empowerment offemale leaders in the private sector. Moreover, as illustrated by our model and discussed in the 2016 WEF report, when women are underrepresented in government, theylackthe power tosupport or facilitate other female leaders empowerment. In recognition ofwomens family and child care responsibilities, much ofthe cross-national researchaboutwomensleadershipandcareersfocusesoncountrycharacteristicsthatarerelatedto work-familysupports intendedtohelpwomenbalance their workandcaregivingresponsibilities. Aswementionedearlier,Cheung&Halpern(2010) stresstheneedtoincorporateleadersmultiple roles that include both work and family aspects ofwomens (and mens) lives. In fact, although their model is grounded in research with successful women in the United States and Asia, they focus on an inclusive approach rather than cultural differences as is more common in cross- national research. For example, cross-national studies oftenfocus onvariations across countries in work-family-related cultural values or structural characteristics, such as public policies, and their relationships towomens career outcomes (for a review ofthis literature, see Lyness et al. 2018). The role ofsocietalgoalsin creating demand forfemale leaders. Itis alsocritical toidentify which aspects ofnational context mayhelp to increase womens representation in leadership. In particular,government-mandatedreportingrequirements,targets,andquotasseemtohelpbycre- atingademandfor female leaders. For example, Sojoetal. (2016) examinedthe positiveinfluence ofregulation on increasingfemale representation in leadership. Reportingrequirements, targets, 250 Lyness Grotto Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. andquotaswereallassociatedwithhigherfemalerepresentationinnotonlyparliamentsbutBODs as well. Moreover, based on research in 43 countries, when women were better represented in legislative, senior official, andmanagement positions, there tendedtobe better representation of women on corporate BODs (Terjesen & Singh 2008). Consistent with the importance ofsocietal cultural context found in other research, another studyfoundthatcultural attitudesappearedtobeabetter predictor thanquotasoftheproportions ofwomen in national parliaments (Ruedin 2012). Specifically, Ruedin found that countryscores for a 2006 World Values Survey (2014) item about whether men make better political leaders than women were a better predictor ofrepresentation ofwomen in national parliaments than various types of mandated quotas among a sample of OECD countries. Taken together, this cross-national literature further highlights the importance ofsocietal context, including cultural values and womens political representation, both ofwhich have far-reachingeffects on womens leadershipin various sectors oftheir societies. Organizational initiatives to facilitate female leader empowerment. Consistent with the high WEF global rankings of Scandinavian countries regarding gender parity, there have also particular noteandinkeepingwithour comprehensiveBAFFLEmodel, review, anddiscussionof theneedtoaddressgender barriersatmultipleorganizational levels,several teamsofScandinavian scholars havebeenmovinginthis directionbydevelopingvarious types oftransformativechange strategies, although they have yet to be proven totally successful (de Vries & van Den Brink 2016). However, de Vries & van Den Brink(2016), a team from the Netherlands and Australia, analyzed and improved upon these prior approaches by developing a bifocal approach with several interventions addressing womens leadership development, educating executives about gender issues, and organizational change grounded in organizational research. Consistent with the BAFFLE model, this initiative combined several facilitators offemale leader empowerment, such as mentoringandleadershipdevelopment for women andvisible support byexecutives with tackling the entrenched, systemic, organizational gender-related barriers that were identified in the ongoing research. Although these ideas have onlybeen tested in small-scale studies with an Australian university and police organization, preliminary findings suggest that this approach might provide insights that could be adapted by other organizations. Also, it is encouraging to identifyexamplesofinnovativechangeinitiativesthataresimultaneouslyaddressingmultipletypes ofgender barriers in combination with leadership development programs designed to provide women with insights about leadership and organizational cultures, which also acknowledge the role ofgender (de Vries & van Den Brink2016). CLOSING THE LEADERSHIP GENDERGAP IN THE UNITED STATES: CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS FORPRACTICE, AND FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS On the basis ofour review and the BAFFLE Female Leadership Model, we reached several con- clusions regardingwomen andleadership, andhave developedseveral correspondingsuggestions abouthow wemightusethis informationtomovetowardclosingtheleadershipgender gapinthe United discussionoftheconclusionsweprovidepractical recommendations for facilitating female leader empowerment and also prioritize directions for future scholarship, guidedbyour BAFFLE model. Women and Leadership in the United States 251 Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. Conclusions and Implications Powerful, pervasive, and entrenched barriers. Societal and organizational structures, pro- cesses, andpractices reflectthegender bias ofthepast, makingthebarriers towomens leadership veryentrenched in the bones ofsociety, organizations, and individuals. Moreover, some ofthese historical biases are so well accepted that theymaynot even be on a conscious level for manyin- dividuals. Therefore, itmaytakealongtimefor changes infemaleleader empowermenttooccur. Furthermore,becausebarriersarehiddenandsubconscious,theyarechallengingtostudy,making it difficult to identify their effects, which may be overpowering well-intentioned organizational female leadership empowerment initiatives. Consequently, the real impact ofboth the hidden, systemic barriers andfacilitators is not known. Narrowfocuson internalorganizationalbarriersat the individuallevel. We were surprised tolearn about the general lackofattention togender-relatedissues in the mainstream leadership issuesfocus onbarriers towomens leadershipatthe interpersonal (., leader stereotypes) andintrapersonal (., womens leadership identities) levels, and even some ofthe theories about these important processes have notyetbeentestedempirically. Therefore, mostrecommendations from the liter- ature have focusedonwhatwomencanor shoulddotoovercome barriers, neglectingthe roles of men, leaders, employers, andthelarger contextincreatingbarriers or offeringpotential resources that couldhelptoclose the leadershipgapandenable female leader empowerment. Underdeveloped research on facilitators. Evidence suggests that organizational processes at various levels may help close the gender gap in leadership, such as developmental programs, networks,,our reviewandtheBAFFLEmodel suggestthat the leadershipgender gappersists inthe United States because powerful andhiddenbarriers exist atalllevelsinorganizationsandmayalsobefortifiedbyvariousaspectsofthesocietalcontext,such as traditional stereotypes ofmenandwomen. Therefore, we have alimitedunderstandingofhow facilitators offemale leader empowermentoperate atvarious organizational levels, have influence in different directions (top-down and bottom-up), and contend with societal and organizational barriers. Thus, in the absence ofa comprehensive understanding ofthe factors depicted in the BAFFLE Female Leadership Model, determining how to solve the leadership gender gap in the United States is indeedbaffling. Unclear business case for women leaders in the United States. We presented ample evidence ofthe positive impactthatwomenleaders canhave onorganizational outcomes, andthe 2016 WEF report suggests that there is a wealth ofglobal research to support the business case for gender parityin leadership (World Econ. Forum 2016). However, in the United States this global research does not appear to be well accepted or understood, and United States research has notyetclarifiedthe underlyingmechanisms. Therefore, itis notapparenthow or whyfemale leaders have a positive impact on organizational outcomes. Moreover, the role of contextual moderators has notbeenadequatelytestedinthe United States, makingitunclear whenor where female leaders have a positive impact. This apparent lackoffull investigation or appreciation of the business case appears to have resulted in less focus on these priorities in the United States than in the 44 countries who outrank the United States in their progress toward gender parity, as measuredbythe WEF 2016 Global Gender GapIndex (WorldEcon. Forum 2016). Leadership development is in its infancy. Inclusive organizational leadership development programs remain at an earlystage ofdevelopment because interventions have not been broadly 252 Lyness Grotto Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. implemented or thoroughly evaluated. This gap in practice has contributed to two knowledge gaps:(a) whetherinterventionscanbeimplementedatmultipleorganizationallevelsandinvarious contexts, and (b) the actual effectiveness offemale leadership empowerment programs (Elyet al. 2011, Hopkins et al. 2008) within the organizational context where gender barriers appear to be powerful, pervasive, andentrenchedat multiple levels, with far-reachingeffects. Othercountriesare reachinggenderparitysoonerthanthe UnitedStates. Ourfinalconclu- sionisbasedonour reviewoftheglobal literature,whichsuggeststhatdespitethenotedinitiatives thatwereexpectedtofacilitateUS progressinclosingtheleadershipgender gap,theUnited States is not closingthe gapfast enough relative toother countries. For example, the United States falls shortonpolitical empowerment(WorldEcon. Forum 2016), whichmayhavefar-reachingeffects on womens leadership aspirations and facilitation of female leader empowerment. Given that female leadership has been associated with better organizational performance and can even have positive influences onanations economy(WorldEcon. Forum 2016), the United States mayfall behindeconomically, inadditiontobeingless sociallyprogressive. Moreover, theUnited States is nottakingadvantage ofthe valuable talent andhuman capital ofthe female halfofits population. Closingthe Leadership Gender Gap in the United States: Recommendations for Practice Although solutions to the US leadership gender gap involve baffling complexities, as our BAF- FLE Female Leadership Model indicates, we do offer some practical recommendations for mak- ing progress toward closing the leadership gender gap and facilitating female leader empower- ment, which center on four broad approaches involvingwomen, men, leaders, and organizations (see Table 1). Increase womens representation in leadership at all organizational levels. Our BAFFLE model andtheleadership,diversity,andglobal literatureall suggestthattheleadershipgender gap can be closed byincreasingthe number ofwomen in leadership positions. But first women must fill the leadership pipeline, which starts with cultivating leadership aspirations and encouraging women to accept leadership positions (Cheung & Halpern 2010). Men and leaders can further support these women by serving as mentors and sponsors as well as ensuring that women are includedin networks, which organizations shouldfacilitate (WorldEcon. Forum 2017). Organi- zationscanalsohelpbuildapipelineofwomenleadersthroughdevelopmental andempowerment programs (Diehl & Dzubinski 2016, Glass & Cook2016) andsettinggoals for abalancednumber ofmenandwomenleaders (WorldEcon. Forum 2017). The United States shouldalsofollow the lead ofother countries bysetting voluntarytargets for womens representation in line positions and leadership roles that lead to promotions, as well as disclosingthe number ofwomen in these powerfulleadershippositions(OECD2017).However,voluntarytargets/goalsmaybeinsufficient in the face ofpowerful organizational barriers that are entrenched in organizational cultures and reside at an unconscious individual level, which are discussednext. Address biased values and negative beliefs at all organizational levels. Although organi- zational culture sets the tone for the extent ofsupport for women leaders, culture is based on individual values, beliefs, and behaviors. The bottom-up and top-down arrows in our BAFFLE model (see Figure 1) illustrate that women, men, leaders, and organizations each play a key role in helping to close the leadership gap and facilitate female leader empowerment, and this starts with addressing negative beliefs and biased values about women leaders. Women should Women and Leadership in the United States 253 Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. Table 1 Closingthe leadership gender gap in the United States: recommendations for practice Recommendation Owner Example Increase womens representation in leadership atall organizational levels Women Cultivate leadership aspirations, acceptleadership positions Men and leaders Supportand sponsor aspiring female leaders, include themin networks, share power Organizations Build a pipeline ofwomen leaders with targets/quotas and setgoals for a balanced number ofmale and female leaders Reshape biased values and beliefs atall organizational levels Women Reconsider own gender and leader identity; find successful women leaders with whomto identify; recognize and acknowledge gender bias; value unique leadership styles Men and leaders Acknowledge own biased beliefs and views; participate in gender equity workshops; work with successful women leaders; committo advancing diversityand inclusion Organizations Challenge gender stereotypes byreshaping cultural values; provide training, education, and accountabilityfor newvalues/norms; engage male champions as role models Rebuild organizational structures and practices Men and leaders Advocate for practices supporting women, be conscious ofbiases when evaluating women leaders, praise successful female leaders Organizations Create symmetrical power relations through restructuring; ensure equitable opportunities for development, fair promotion procedures, equal performance standards for men and women, rewards for masculine and feminine leadership styles, un-gendered career paths, and work-family support Develop womens human and social capital Women Cultivate leadership competencies, seek organizations with equitable opportunities, ask for challenging developmental experiences, build self- efficacywith executive coaches, seek mentors/sponsors, build networks Men and leaders Include women in networks, provide developmentopportunities, serve as sponsors and role models Organizations Supportemployees self-managed careers based on their individual values; provide leadership developmentopportunities, executive coaches, and work-familysupport reconsider their own gender and leader identities, find successful women leaders with whom to identify,acknowledgethatgenderbiasexistsatalllevelsoforganizations(Diehl &Dzubinski2017, Kassotakis2017),andlearntovaluetheir uniqueleadershipstyles(Karelaia & Guillen2014).Men andleaders mustnotonlyacknowledge their ownbiasedbeliefs aboutwomenleaders (Kassotakis 2017), but take action to reduce biases by participating in gender equity workshops and work- ingwith successful women leaders (Diehl & Dzubinski 2017). Leaders in particular are catalysts, given their authorityand influence. In fact, an initiative started byCEOs from around the world has focusedon a business commitment toadvancingdiversityandinclusion within the workplace (WorldEcon. Forum 2017). Also, organizations shouldchallenge gender stereotypes (Leicht et al. 2014), which starts with determining whether company values encourage gender bias and inequity. Organizations must developmorecongenial (Yoder 2001) anddeliberatelydevelopmentalcultures (Kegan & Lahey 2016, p. 87) based on fairness and opportunity (Hogue & Lord 2007) and gender inclusiveness (Nishii 2013) andchange worknorms thatimpede womens leadershipdevelopment(Ibarraetal. 2013),suchaslongworkhours(Diehl &Dzubinski2017). Subsequently,trainingandeducationon issuessuchasunconsciousbias(WorldValues Survey2014) aswell asaccountabilityareneededso 254 Lyness Grotto Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. thatbehavioral changefollows (Diehl & Dzubinski 2017, Kalevetal. 2006, Stead & Elliott2009). However,,organizationsshould identifymale champions who believe in and can advocate a culture offairness, gender equity, and development (Prime & Moss-Racusin 2009) and use them as role models. Male leaders in particular have the authorityand influence to change workplace values that undermine womens leadership (OECD 2017, Valerio & Sawyer 2016) and can help buffer the effects of negative climate, stereotypes, andbiases (Ragins et al. 2017). Rebuild organizational structures and practices. The BAFFLE model (see Figure 1) also il- lustratesthatculturalchangeswillnotoccurwithoutalsochangingorganizationalpracticesrelated tofemale leader empowerment, andindividuals are involvedin this effortas well. First, organiza- tionsshouldberestructuredsothatpowerrelationsaremoresymmetricalacrossgenders(Bierema 2017, Kassotakis 2017). Also, leaders shouldensurethereareequitableopportunities for develop- mentandpromotion,fair andtransparentpromotionprocedures,equal performancestandardsfor men andwomen, rewards for both masculine andfeminine leadershipstyles, un-genderedcareer paths, andwork-familysupportfor all employees (Burke2017, Fitzsimmons & Callan2016, Glass & Cook 2016, Goodman et al. 2003, Muller-Kahle & Schiehll 2013, Murphy & Kram 2014). Moreover, men should advocate for organizational practices that support womens leadership aspirations,beconsciousofpotential biaseswhenevaluatingwomensperformance,andrecognize praise successful women leaders (Prime & Moss-Racusin 2009, Valerio & Sawyer 2016). Develop womens human and social capital. The development ofhuman and social capital is critical to increase female leader empowerment and close the leadership gender gap. In addi- tion to women, men and leaders must be involved in this effort, as is depicted in our BAFFLE model (see Figure 1). First, women aspiring to be leaders are advised to take the initiative to developtheir humancapital andsocial capital (Cullen-Lester etal. 2016, Fitzsimmons etal. 2014, Hopkins et al. 2008). Human capital can be developed by cultivating leadership competencies, seekingout organizations that provide equitable opportunities, andaskingfor challengingdevel- opment experiences. More specifically, women are advised to build self-confidence and higher self-efficacy(Fitzsimmons & Callan2016, ONeil etal. 2015). Self-efficacyinparticular mayhelp buffer against negative stereotypes (Hoyt & Blascovich 2007). Women are also advised to seek challengingon-the-jobdevelopmental experiences (Kingetal. 2012, Ramaswami etal. 2010) and use transformational leadership styles or a blend ofcommunal and agentic styles (Vinkenburg et al. 2011, Yoder 2001). Cheung&Halperns(2010) modelandpriorstudiessuggestthatwomencandeveloptheirsocial capital byseekingout mentors, sponsors, and role models (Fitzsimmons et al. 2014, Ramaswami et al. 2010) and building their networks (Cullen-Lester et al. 2016, Fitzsimmons et al. 2014). However, these efforts will be fruitless unless men and leaders include women in their networks, provide challenging developmental opportunities, share their organizational power, and serve as sponsors, mentors and role models (Cullen-Lester et al. 2016, Ramaswami et al. 2010), as is illustratedbythe top-down arrows in our model. Organizations canhelpwomenbuildtheir social andhumancapital as well, whichis alsoillus- ,organizationsshouldsupportemployeescareersbased on contemporarycareer models (., Lent & Brown 2013, Savickas 2012) in which careers are self-managed byindividuals based on their values, which is consistent with Cheung & Halperns (2010) leadership development model that acknowledges the importance ofpeoples familylives and other personal priorities. Organizations can also help by providing mentors to women and helping them network(., Clarke 2011, Fitzsimmons & Callan 2016, Fitzsimmons et al. 2014, Women and Leadership in the United States 255 Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. Table 2 Recommendations for future research on the leadership gender gap in the United States Recommendation Contribution Take a two-pronged approach bysimultaneouslyexamining organizational barriers and facilitators atmultiple levels ofanalysis Build an understanding ofhowgender-related barriers and facilitators interact(., learn more aboutthe most effective types offacilitators for counteracting the negative effects ofbarriers) Take a contextual, top-down approach thatincludes examination of societal, political, and economic forces as well as internal organizational influences thatmayperpetuate barriers or facilitate womens progress Cross-cultural and cross-national Stud.: compare US to countries faring better in leadership gender parity, examining both contextand individual processes Clarify, for the US, howcontextual barriers (., cultural values) and facilitators (., accountability) interactand affectindividual-level processes (., leadership styles) Stud. thatinclude external contextual factors: proportion of women leaders in political leadership, Boards ofDirectors, industry, and sectors; mandated targets/quotas, and how cultural values interactwith individual processes Help identify, understand, and prioritize several aspects of societal and organizational contextthatmayhave far-reaching effects on womens leadership in private organizations Stud. thatinclude internal contextual factors: organizational structure, HRpractices (., promotion practices, performance management, developmental programs, work-familysupport), and workplace culture/values/norms related to diversity, inclusion, and development Develop a deeper understanding offacilitators byclarifying the limits oftheir top-down influences in the contextof societal and organizational barriers Expand Stud. on bottom-up effects byincluding powerful men when examining interpersonal and intrapersonal processes thatperpetuate barriers or facilitate progress Clarifyhowlower-level individual efforts fromboth powerful men and women can impede or catalyze change at higher organizational levels Further strengthen the business case for women leaders bytesting for mediating underlying mechanisms and contextual moderators in the US Clarifywhen, how, and whywomen leaders atvarious levels positivelyimpactorganizational outcomes and help practitioners gain supportfromsenior leaders for leadership interventions Take a broader approach to evaluating leadership interventions by evaluating effectiveness in the contextofbarriers and facilitators, in differentsettings, and atdifferentorganizational levels; consider the influence ofpowerful individuals on the success ofinterventions Establish generalizabilityand improve design ofleadership interventions Karelaia & Guillen 2014, Ramaswami et al. 2014). Moreover, organizations shouldprovide exec- utivecoaches, moreaccess tolineleadershippositions, moredevelopmental opportunities, formal leadershipdevelopment, andwork-familysupporttowomen(Debebe etal. 2016, Fitzsimmons & Callan 2016, Fitzsimmons et al. 2014, Kalysh et al. 2016, Karelaia & Guillen 2014, King et al. 2012, Konrad & Yang 2012, Lyness & Heilman 2006, Mills & Grotto 2017, ONeil et al. 2015, Sugiyama et al. 2016). Future Research Directions Using our BAFFLE Female Leadership Model as a framework, we offer some suggestions for prioritizing future research and note contributions ofeach approach (see Table 2). Our recom- mendations for future scholarshipcanhelpdeepenour understandingofthe bafflingcomplexities oftheleadershipgender gapandthecoexistingmultilevel barriers andfacilitators tofemaleleader empowerment, while takingintoconsideration contextual factors andunderlyingprocesses. 256 Lyness Grotto Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. A two-pronged approach. Our BAFFLE model suggests that both barriers and facilitators to female leader empowerment at multiple levels ofanalysis be considered when studyingthe lead- ership gender gap. Although this agenda sounds complex, a simplified approach is unlikelyto be successful. Therefore, we recommend that future research investigate both gender-related bar- riers and facilitators, as well as the critical interaction between barriers and facilitators, which has been largely unexplored. For example, the bifocal intervention (de Vries & van Den Brink 2016) illustratesthetypeofcomprehensiveapproachthatwarrantsfurther iterative actionresearchstrategywithongoingevaluationduringits long-term implementation, a team from theNetherlands andAustraliaanalyzedandimproveduponprior approaches bydevel- oping a bifocal approach with multiple interventions that included a varietyoffacilitators but also investigated and addressed systemic gender-related barriers identified in ongoingevaluative research. Also, prior research byRagins et al. (2017) showingthat high-qualitymentoringrelationships couldbufferprotegesfromthenegativeeffectsofambientracialdiscriminationsuggeststhatfuture researchshouldinvestigatewhether itwouldbepossibletoadaptthistypeofapproachtosimilarly buffer and help women pursue their leadership aspirations despite encounters with various types ofgender barriers that might otherwise derail their progress. In addition to empirically testing much-neededinterventions,thistypeofresearchcouldhelpbuildanunderstandingofhowbarriers and facilitators interact with each other. This type offundamental understanding is critical for buildingtheoryneededtoinform future interventions. For example, itis importanttolearnmore about the most effective types ofsupport and facilitators for counteractingthe negative effects of gender-relatedbarriers. A contextual top-down approach. Although the United States has made progress in closing the leadership gap, the global perspective provided by the WEF report clarified its relative standingandslow rate ofprogress. Other countries appear toview the leadershipgender gapas a sociological,political,andeconomicissuethataffectstheentirenation,rather thanasaproblem of individual women. Thus, tohelpunderstandwhathas impededprogress andwhatcanspeeditup intheUnited States,our BAFFLEmodel suggeststhatfutureleadershipresearchtakeacontextual top-downapproachthatincludes examiningsocietal, political, economic, andorganizational top- downinfluences. Specifically,weneedtolearnfrom other countriesthathavemademoreprogress toward gender parity, suggesting that we need more cross-national and cross-cultural research. By comparing the United States to countries that are more successful in achieving leadership gender parity, these studies may reveal insights that can be applied to facilitate female leader empowermentintheUnited instance,womensrepresentationinpolitical leadershipis anindicator oftheextenttowhichasocietyaccepts womenleaders andthus mayhaveatop-down effectonperceptionsofwomenleadersintheprivatesector ( 2016),including their perceived authority, power, and legitimacy. Also, mandated targets/quotas from outside oforganizations, rather than quotas that are voluntarily implemented by organizations, may be effective, given evidence from other nations (., Sojo et al. 2016). There is also ample research supporting the need for organizational accountabilityifprogress is to be made (., Kalev et al. 2006). Moreover, there is evidence that cultural values that are supportive ofwomen leaders may be even more important in predicting (and facilitating) female leader empowerment (Ruedin 2012).Also,culturemayinteractwithindividual-level example,womenleadersmay needtodevelopleadershipstyles thatarecompatiblewiththecultural values oftheir organization or society in order to succeed. Additionally, as leadership is a gendered construct (Yoder 2001) and because men rather than women have historically held organizational leadership positions, gender-related contextual characteristics internal to organizations should also be examined Women and Leadership in the United States 257 Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. as top-down influences, including organizational culture/values, structures, and practices that perpetuate gender inequity at various organizational levels beyond the individual (Joshi et al. 2015). A contextual, top-down approach can help identify and prioritize several aspects ofsocietal and organizational context that mayhave far-reaching effects on womens leadership in private- sector organizations. This approach can also help develop a deeper understanding offacilitators offemaleleader empowermentbyclarifyingthelimits oftheir top-downinfluences inthecontext oforganizational barriers. A bottom-up approach. Our BAFFLE model also suggests that there are many critical inter- personal and intrapersonal processes that mayhave bottom-up effects on the leadership gender gap and female leader empowerment in organizations, but research on these effects has focused on women at the individual level, with less attention beingpaid to identifyingwhat has the most impact on gaining support from powerful men. Therefore, we recommend expanding research onbottom-upeffects byexamininghow the values, attitudes, andbehaviors ofpowerful menmay impede or facilitate womens leadershipprogress. Studies examiningthese bottom-upeffects may help clarifyhow lower-level individual efforts from both powerful men and women can impede or catalyze female leader empowerment at higher organizational levels. A stronger business case for women leaders. Future leadership studies should further build the business case for women leaders in the United States. We agree with Kulik & Metz (2017) and second their call for specifyingand testingmediatingvariables between gender composition of top leadership teams and organizational outcomes to better understand why these positive outcomes mightoccur. Inaddition, as our BAFFLE model suggests, we needtolearnmore about themoderatingeffectsofcontextualvariablesonthesuccessofwomenleaders(). These studies could help clarifywhen, how, and whywomen leaders at various levels positively impactorganizational outcomes. This informationwill be critical for practitioners whoare trying togain support from senior leaders for female leadershipempowerment interventions. A broader approach to evaluating leadership interventions. Ely et al. (2011) offered useful recommendations for evaluatingleadershipinterventions. Theysuggest that leader development efforts recognize andintegrate the experiences thatwomenhave due tosystematicworkplace bias ,asour BAFFLEmodel suggests,bothgender biasandsup- port for female leaders mayexist at multiple levels. Therefore, we recommendthat both barriers and facilitators at various levels be considered when evaluating female leadership empowerment programs. At a societal level, leadership interventions need to be tailored to the national con- text, such that programs address the specific stereotypes and biases that exist in the US national culture as well as subcultures that may also be salient for various demographic groups. At the organizational level, the extent to which an organizational culture is supportive ofwomen may influence the likelihoodofthe effectiveness ofinterventions. But tofurther complicate this issue, organizational culture is influencedbyindividuals (Bierema2005). InBieremas (2005) case study ofa companywith a womens networkthat was intendedtoimprove the advancement ofwomen, the networkwas unsuccessful because ofa patriarchal culture built on biasedindividual attitudes. Organizational interventions targetedatincreasingfemaleleader empowermentwill notbeeffec- tive withoutadjustments inmens andleaders attitudes towardwomenandwithouttheir support and participation (Harrington et al. 2011, Prime et al. 2014). Therefore, we must evaluate how societal values, organizational culture, men, and leaders all influence the effectiveness ofleader- ship interventions. Future research evaluating leadership interventions in different contexts and 258 Lyness Grotto Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. :227-265. Downloaded from w w w .annualreview Access provided by New Mexico State University (NMSU) on 11/18/21. For personal use only. atdifferentlevels canhelpestablishgeneralizability, whichmayleadtoimproveddesignoffemale leadershipempowerment interventions. Summary We developed the BAFFLE Female Leadership Model to provide a comprehensive perspective on the state ofwomens leadership in the United States. We hope that this model will be useful for guiding future leadership research and practice that more successfully address what appear to be baffling complexities ofthe current leadership gender gap. We combined and extended a variety oftheoretical ideas and research findings to depict salient characteristics that should be considered. These include avarietyofcoexistingorganizational barriers andfacilitators offemale leader empowerment, multiple organizational levels, internal and external context, and the role ofmen and leaders. As with anymajor organizational change initiative, all ofthese components also play a dynamic role in the many process connections and interactions across levels. Our model also stresses the need to focus on empowerment of female leaders rather than simply increasing their representation. We hope that increased representation ofwomen in leadership rolesintheUnited Stateswill havebothpositivebottom-upandtop-downeffectsonfemaleleader empowerment and thereby close the leadership gap. We hope that initial progress is sustained and strengthened through bringing about needed changes in individual perceptions and cultural beliefs aboutthenatureofleadershipandleaders, thus settinginmotionapositiveprocess tohelp create more favorable perceptions ofwomen as legitimate andpowerful leaders at the individual, organizational, and societal levels. Finally, we conclude with the hope that when women are allowedtotake their place as leaders, theycan have a positive influence byprioritizingissues that will benefit their organizations and the nation as well as meeting the needs ofchildren, families, other women, andmen. DISCLOSURE STATEMENT The authors are not aware ofany affiliations, memberships, funding, or financial holdings that might be perceivedas affectingthe objectivityofthis review. LITERATURE CITED AckerJ. 1990. Hierarchies, jobs, bodies: a theoryofgendered organizations. Gend. Society 4:1 3958 BartolK,Martin D, glassceiling:genderandethnic groupinfluences on leader behaviors atmiddle and executive managerial . Leadersh. Organ. Stud. 9:819 Bierema snetworks:a careerdevelopmentintervention orimpediment? . Int. 8:20724 Bierema LL. 2017. No woman left behind: critical leadership development to build gender consciousness and transform organizations. In Handbook ofResearch on Gender and Leadership, ed. SR Madsen, Ch. 9. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publ. BiernatM,KobrynowiczD. :lowerminimumstandards buthigher abilitystandards for devalued . Pers. Soc. Psychol. 72:54457 Branson DM. 201 1. Initiatives to place women on corporate boards of directors: a global . Corp. Law 37:793814 Burke RJ. 2017. 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