Gender leadership as a social phenomenon: the experience of a narrative essay

Abstract

Gender leadership is a complex and multifactorial process, inscribed into social norms and attitudes of the society. It is viewed as a social phenomenon based on an analysis of a narrative essay. It is a creative work, the distinguishing feature of which is the description of the author's personal attitude to a particular event, phenomenon or process. The article examines leadership on the basis of this analysis through social statuses and roles of men and women in Russian society. It shows typical gender-oriented leadership qualities, describes the image of women and men-leaders, and explores barriers that impede the advancement of women on the career ladder. The dependence of the essay's author on the gender picture of the world is shown, i.e., through the prism of gender-oriented stable stereotypes of thinking, value orientations, and behavior. 2 Gender leadership through the prism of a narrative essay During the course "Gender Processes and Relationships in Management" at the Russian Academy of Science and Technology, the master students of "State and Municipal Management" and "Human Resources Management" of 2014-201, three forms of training, were given the task of writing an essay on "The Modern Image of Man and Woman: Leadership Qualities". 142 essays were analyzed, including 68 written by men, 74