A number of writers have suggested that when men dominate numerically in an industry, women in that industry experience pressure to alter their leadership style, which in turn impacts on their mental health. These assertions, based largely on limited research ndings and anecdotal evidence, were tested empirically. Specically, the study investigated the impact of working in either a male-or female-dominated industry on the leadership style, stress levels and mental health of 60 women and 60 men managers. As hypothesized, women and men in male-dominated industries did not diVer in interpersonal orientation, whereas in female-dominated industries women were more interpersonally oriented than men. Consistent with predictions, women did report more pressure from their jobs than men, with women in male-dominated industries reporting the highest level of pressure from discrimination. Although there was no overall diVerence between women and men's mental health, there was a diVerence in the pattern of relationships between leadership style and mental health. Women in maledominated industries reported worse mental health when they utilized an interpersonally oriented leadership style, whereas men in male-dominated industries reported better mental health when they utilized such a leadership style. These ndings suggest that both gender and the gender ratio of the industry in uence leadership style, stress and mental health, and as such contribute to our understanding of the barriers to women working in senior management roles in male-dominated industries.Many authors have raised the question as to why women are so under-represented as managers in general, and as senior managers in particular. Despite a gradual increase in the number of women in managerial roles, they are still estimated to ll only 25% of managerial positions in Germany, 28% in Switzerland, 33% in the UK