May 2, 2005

The More Women in Groups the Better

Women do well in groups it was found in a recent study undertaken at the University of Toronto in which the leadership behaviour of 169 students was studied. Divided into three teams, each group had to present a project to the rest of the class and prepare a project paper.

While all the teams started off with one person taking a lead, in the male-dominated teams, the same person was consistently the leader throughout the project. While the women tended to share the leadership roles and were more egalitarian as the work continued.

The male-led teams with one dominant leader received poorer grades on their project whereas the teams where women were actively sharing the lead roles faired the best. The results were more creative and innovative.

It was concluded in the study that the more women participate equally in the group, the better the outcome.

Posted in: Training, Business