Alice Eagly (2008) argues that some women who have risen to high places (Margaret Thatcher was a good example) may have had to emulate men and in fact ‘overachieve’—that is, be more extreme—to gain legitimacy as a leader. She notes that leaders such as Golda Meir and Indira Gandhi adopted quite commanding, masculine leadership styles too.

She also notes, however, that in settings in which women leaders are more common, they tend to develop a more differentiated, nuanced style. Women can even take on a more maternal role, as in the case of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who is president of Liberia. Eagly comments that Johnson-Sirleaf presented herself as a maternal leader capable of healing the nation’s problems.

Do you think that women leaders have to be tougher than men?