Gender stereotypes may not influence the choice of female leaders

Key findings

This research examined whether female or leaders leaders are preferred during a pandemic when stereotypically feminine leadership is deemed useful. We hypothesised that citizens prefer female (vs. male) politicians when the crisis is framed as social (rather than economic) because they believe it requires feminine (vs. masculine) leadership. 

But, although our participants believed that a social crisis required more feminine leadership than an economic one, we found that gender stereotypes didn't factor into their assessment of the political leaders. They did not deem a female leader a more suitable choice to handle this crisis or perceive the female leader as possessing more "feminine" leadership traits compared to a male one.