New research from Cornell University reveals that investors respond more favorably to CEOs who conform to gender stereotypes when addressing shareholder activism. Female CEOs are viewed more positively when they adopt cooperative approaches, while male CEOs receive higher approval when they take dominant or assertive stances, according to the study published in Contemporary Accounting Research.
The research was reported by Sarah Magnus-Sharpe, Media Relations Director, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and appeared in the Cornell Chronicle last week. The study was led by Kristina M. Rennekamp, professor of accounting at Cornell’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, highlights how investor biases based on gender can influence their perceptions of CEO behavior in the context of shareholder activism—a tactic often employed by hedge funds to push for changes within corporations.
One of the key takeaways, Rennekamp noted, is that both male and female CEOs are judged negatively when their behavior deviates from gender expectations. “Investors’ evaluations weren’t based on whether they believed cooperation or assertiveness was the right approach, but rather on the perceived ‘right approach’ for a leader of a particular gender,” Rennekamp said.
The study, co-authored by Blake A. Steenhoven from Queen’s University and Scott C. Jackson from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, sheds light on how gender stereotypes affect investor behavior and decision-making in the corporate world.
If you’d like to read the full-story by Magnus-Sharpe click here.
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