Beyond the Prototype: How Implicit Leadership Theories and Intersectional Identities Shape Perceptions of Leader Effectiveness

<p>Despite clear evidence demonstrating the benefit of diversity within leadership, individuals from traditionally marginalized groups are still vastly underrepresented in top roles within organizations. The individuals we most frequently see in leadership roles inform who we implicitly envision as a prototypical leader. The disproportionate representation of straight white men in leadership suggests our idea of a leader is crafted from this image. This reality has significant implications, yet thus far, leadership research has fallen short of adequately capturing the impacts on diverse leaders due to the tendency to examine leader social identities in isolation and methodological approaches inadequate for targeting implicit beliefs. To rectify those shortcomings, two choice-based conjoint studies of everyday Americans (n=359, n=379, respectively) examine the interactive impact of intersectional leader social identities (i.e., gender, race, sexual orientation) and Implicit Leadership Theory (ILT) characteristics on perceived leader effectiveness. In addition to evidence that all evaluators continue to favor leaders who embody socially dominant identities (i.e., white, male, straight), the studies found that the presence of ILT characteristics that (mis)aligned with social group stereotypes created differential effects on perceptions of leader effectiveness. By integrating an intersectional lens with ILTs and employing innovative methodologies to target implicit beliefs, this work advances our understanding of the underlying mechanisms perpetuating the disenfranchisement of leaders with socially nondominant identities. The findings underscore the need to challenge entrenched prototypes and implicit biases in leadership evaluation, informing strategies to promote more equitable leadership advancement.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Psychology, PhD

Level thesis:degree_level

Open Access Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

School of Social Science, Politics, and Evaluation

Year dc:date.available

2025

Author dc:creator

• Jensen, Krista L.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Michelle Bligh
• M. Gloria González-Morales
• Stefanie K. Johnson

• Choice-based conjoint analysis
• Gender
• Intersectionality
• Leader prototypicality
• Race
• Sexual orientation
• Organizational Behavior and Theory

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/1019

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarship.claremont.edu:cgu_etd-2041