‘If they can lead, I can too’: Supervisors, social comparisons and women’s leadership aspiration.

• Autores: Vedika Lal, Janneke K. Oostrom, Kathleen A. Stephenson, Svetlana N. Khapova
• Localización: International Journal of Social Psychology, Revista de Psicología Social, ISSN-e 1579-3680, ISSN 0213-4748, Vol. 41, Nº 1, 2026, págs. 51-94
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.1177/02134748251405198
• Títulos paralelos:
  • ‘Si ellos pueden liderar’, yo también: Superiores, comparación social y aspiración de liderazgo de las mujeres.
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen
  • español

    Nuestra investigación analiza los factores que permiten a las mujeres interactuar y aspirar a roles estereotípicos incoherentes como el liderazgo. En dos estudios distintos, probamos los efectos del género y otras características del superior en las comparaciones sociales de las mujeres y sus aspiraciones de liderazgo. El primer estudio, basado en un cuestionario (N = 303), reveló que las mujeres establecen un mayor nivel de comparación social con superiores o supervisores comunales con independencia del género de estos. El segundo experimento (N = 465) reveló que las mujeres establecen un mayor nivel de comparación social con superiores o supervisoras mujeres y con superiores comunales. En general, observamos que la comparación social actúa como factor mediador que incrementa la aspiración de liderazgo de las mujeres. Centrándonos en las comparaciones sociales como mecanismo psicológico, abordamos el valor de los superiores incoherentes con el estereotipo como factor que brinda a las mujeres la oportunidad de identificarse con esos modelos de comportamiento y considerar el acceso a puestos que rompen con los estereotipos de género existentes sobre el liderazgo, a través de un mayor nivel de aspiración de liderazgo.

  • English

    Our research examines which factors enable women to relate to and aspire for stereotype-inconsistent roles, like leadership. Across two studies, we tested the effects of supervisor gender and supervisor characteristics on women's social comparisons and their leadership aspiration. Our first survey study (N = 303) found that women had higher social comparisons with communal supervisors irrespective of supervisor gender. Our second experiment (N = 465) found that women had higher social comparisons with female supervisors and with communal supervisors. Overall, we found that social comparisons serve as a mediator that enhances women's leadership aspiration. By focusing on social comparisons as a psychological mechanism, we address the value of stereotype-inconsistent supervisors as presenting women with the opportunity to relate to such exemplars and envision occupying roles that dismantle existing gender-leader stereotypes through increased leadership aspiration.

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