Women and Leadership: A Neuro-Social Point of View

Abstract

Women’s brains are different from men’s in very significant ways. Yet, on closer examination, there is nothing about those differences that suggests any reason why women should not be found at all levels of leadership in close to full proportion to men. Recent work in neuroscience demonstrates the variety, capacity and plasticity of the female brain. These characteristics make it fully equivalent to a male brain, and with the correct social environment, training and nurture, female brains ought to produce the same social performance outcomes. However, the human brain is wired in such a way that it resists significant personal change in the face of social obstacles. There are specific strategies women must adopt to get out of the middle management ghettos in which they are often stuck. If women understood their brains better, they could make them work for them to achieve more social and organizational power.