Do Women Make Better Leaders Than Men?

Psychologists, women entrepreneurs, their male counterparts, and a human resources expert weigh in.

- Maahi Shah

I’ve grown up in two worlds. There’s the world of fiction, doting on the likes of perfectly imperfect leaders and ambitious women like Barbie, Jessica Pearson, and Andy Sachs, wanting to be them every step of the way and aghast yet mesmerised by the portrayal of characters like Miranda Priestly. I’ve also grown up in a world vastly different from the make-belief one— of Indra Nooyis, Jacinda Ardens, and Michelle Obamas—female leaders whose journeys have challenged ageold stereotypes. While the fictional world brought me solace and inspiration, things are only now seeming to add up in the real world.

I, like several others, saw an evident gap in the number of women in leadership positions across industries, until Falguni Nayar of Nykaa, Divya Gokulnath of Byju’s, and Vineeta Singh of Sugar Cosmetics took the world by storm— we just aren’t sure if it is enough. We also saw the perpetuation of the horrible female boss stereotype, and an unlevelled playing field for men and women. Despite science’s best efforts to prove that women can make better leaders than men, we took it upon us to understand why the problem still persists and discover whether women actually make better leaders than men.

WHERE ARE THE WOMEN?