Think Leader, Think Different: Early-Career Women on Leadership in Life Sciences
(2025) MGTN59 20251Department of Business Administration
- Abstract
- The life science industry has strong female representation at entry levels, yet women remain
underrepresented in senior leadership roles. A range of structural and cultural barriers contribute towards
this imbalance, one of which is the enduring association between leadership and masculine-coded traits.
Masculine-coded traits, often termed as agentic (e.g., assertiveness and dominance), are often contrasted
with communal traits, which are typically coded as feminine (e.g., empathy and support). Research
continues to show a link between perceived leadership effectiveness and agentic traits. Although recent
literature suggests a gradual shift towards more androgynous leadership ideals, little research has explored
how early-career... (More) - The life science industry has strong female representation at entry levels, yet women remain
underrepresented in senior leadership roles. A range of structural and cultural barriers contribute towards
this imbalance, one of which is the enduring association between leadership and masculine-coded traits.
Masculine-coded traits, often termed as agentic (e.g., assertiveness and dominance), are often contrasted
with communal traits, which are typically coded as feminine (e.g., empathy and support). Research
continues to show a link between perceived leadership effectiveness and agentic traits. Although recent
literature suggests a gradual shift towards more androgynous leadership ideals, little research has explored
how early-career women in the life sciences perceive and potentially internalise these gendered
expectations. This study addresses that gap by investigating whether emerging professionals themselves
reinforce or challenge these leadership norms.
The aim of this study was to explore how early-career women in the life sciences perceive effective
leadership and whether these perceptions reflect traditionally masculine, feminine, or androgynous ideals.
Specifically, the research sought to understand which traits these women associate with effective and
ineffective leadership, and to what extent those preferences are implicitly gendered. To fulfil these aims,
ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with early-career female professionals in the life sciences
sector. Thematic analysis of the data generated four overarching themes and thirteen subthemes.
The results from the study indicated that early-career women in life sciences do not appear to conform to
the association between effective leadership and masculine traits. Instead, participants expressed a clear
preference for communal, relational, and support-oriented traits, while expressing negative opinions on
overly masculine-coded or neutral traits. When agentic traits were valued, they were typically balanced by
or embedded within communal behaviours. This suggests that participants are not simply rejecting
masculine-coded leadership but are instead aspiring towards a more androgynous model, which blends
agency with communality. Many participants also expressed aspirations to lead in transformative and
inclusive ways, highlighting a desire to define leadership on their own terms. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9207592
- author
- Harrington, Tadhg LU and Daniell, Emma Pernilla LU
- supervisor
-
- Martin Blom LU
- organization
- course
- MGTN59 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Agentic, communal, androgynous, leadership, 'think-leader, think-male', life sciences, gender and leadership, and early-career women.
- language
- English
- id
- 9207592
- date added to LUP
- 2025-07-02 15:12:47
- date last changed
- 2025-07-02 15:12:47
@misc{9207592,
abstract = {{The life science industry has strong female representation at entry levels, yet women remain
underrepresented in senior leadership roles. A range of structural and cultural barriers contribute towards
this imbalance, one of which is the enduring association between leadership and masculine-coded traits.
Masculine-coded traits, often termed as agentic (e.g., assertiveness and dominance), are often contrasted
with communal traits, which are typically coded as feminine (e.g., empathy and support). Research
continues to show a link between perceived leadership effectiveness and agentic traits. Although recent
literature suggests a gradual shift towards more androgynous leadership ideals, little research has explored
how early-career women in the life sciences perceive and potentially internalise these gendered
expectations. This study addresses that gap by investigating whether emerging professionals themselves
reinforce or challenge these leadership norms.
The aim of this study was to explore how early-career women in the life sciences perceive effective
leadership and whether these perceptions reflect traditionally masculine, feminine, or androgynous ideals.
Specifically, the research sought to understand which traits these women associate with effective and
ineffective leadership, and to what extent those preferences are implicitly gendered. To fulfil these aims,
ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with early-career female professionals in the life sciences
sector. Thematic analysis of the data generated four overarching themes and thirteen subthemes.
The results from the study indicated that early-career women in life sciences do not appear to conform to
the association between effective leadership and masculine traits. Instead, participants expressed a clear
preference for communal, relational, and support-oriented traits, while expressing negative opinions on
overly masculine-coded or neutral traits. When agentic traits were valued, they were typically balanced by
or embedded within communal behaviours. This suggests that participants are not simply rejecting
masculine-coded leadership but are instead aspiring towards a more androgynous model, which blends
agency with communality. Many participants also expressed aspirations to lead in transformative and
inclusive ways, highlighting a desire to define leadership on their own terms.}},
author = {{Harrington, Tadhg and Daniell, Emma Pernilla}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Think Leader, Think Different: Early-Career Women on Leadership in Life Sciences}},
year = {{2025}},
}