DESPERATELY SEEKING DIFFERENCES - IS MANAGEMENT STYLE GENDERED

The increase in the number of women occupying managerial positions has led to a debate about whether women are bringing a distinct style of management to organizations in the 1990s. It has also prompted a reass essment of the traditional negative stereotype of women managers. This paper examines whether there are sen: differences in how women and me n manage. It also reports on managers' motivation to work and their at titudes towards women managers. The data are drawn from a large study of men and women senior managers in Jive multinational companies. My a rgument is that there is no such thing as a 'female' management style and that the similarities between women and men far outweigh the diffe rences between women and men as groups. Powerful organizational impera tives allow for few substantial modifications in management approach.