Gender and Leadership in Hospitality

Although women have increased in management positions in recent years, they are still underrepresented proportionally compared to men. The paucity of women in management holding significant roles in organizations initiated research on gender similarities and differences in leadership roles and interest in the relationship between gender and transformational leadership. Male and female managers are found by many to employ different leadership styles, while more recent studies suggest there is little or no difference in the result men and women achieve as leaders. The nature of the transformational leadership concept is explored and gender differences are investigated among female and male managers in their use of transformational leadership in the context of the Greek hospitality industry. The findings suggest that transformational leadership style is the most effective leadership style in hospitality in Greece. Therefore, the author suggests that hotels should hire female managers if they want to be successful!