There has been a lot of progress for women in occupying executive positions and closing the gap with male leaders (FTSE Women Leaders, 2026; Krivkovich et al, 2025). Despite this being welcome news, these reports fail to address the impact on women who exert additional effort to succeed and gain respect in their leadership positions. The benefits for organisations who have women on boards are also well established: organisational adaptability, increased performance and financial profits.
So, how are women experiencing these double standards? My interview study considered gender as a social construction that individuals perform to meet societal expectations. This is based on the theory of gender performativity (developed by Butler, 1990 and West and Zimmerman, 1989). Being a leader myself and passionate about equality in the workplace, I was interested in unpacking some of the disadvantages women leaders face in the workplace. I spoke to 21 women in senior leadership positions in local government, NHS and the charitable sector to understand whether they had to make compromises in being their authentic selves and what the impact of that may have been.
Participants shared some interesting yet concerning experiences that I summarise below (see case studies). Importantly, all the women I spoke to were truly inspirational in the way they led organisations. They were inclusive, relational, democratic, collaborative and interested in the development of others, which are also considered behaviours women are expected to demonstrate. They were also strategic, direct and firm, when needed, but when leading difficult conversations, they did that with empathy and compassion. They claimed they were able to bring their true self in their leadership positions.
At a closer look, though, it appears their authenticity was compromised. They adjusted their style to be respected, often fitting masculine standards for leaders, for example, in their choices of clothing or language and tone of voice used. They would be treated differently too, often being assumed to be someone's secretary or taking notes at meetings and not in the position of power they occupied. They wouldn't have the same opportunities for networking, often referring to a ‘boys club' that existed in organisations. They would continuously need to prove themselves to others, exerting additional effort compared to their male counterparts, which could be experienced as exhausting and carry an emotional cost that their worth is decided based on gender biases. They would, at times, change jobs or sectors to avoid criticisms, being underestimated or not appreciated.
Women were experiencing a double bind. They spoke about never being enough: not being feminine enough, as expected for women, or masculine enough, as expected for leaders. They could not get it right, according to others, who would have opinions about how they should be and keep reminding them of that. These opinions reflected societal expectations: women cannot be assertive as they are then called aggressive, and when they are firm and driven, they are called bossy – whereas these are acceptable behaviours for male leaders. If they are considerate and collaborative, they are seen as weak. And this goes on and on…
What this study really demonstrated was the resilience women in senior roles develop, as they adjust and adapt to often hostile environments where their skills and abilities are under scrutiny. All the women were very inspirational, their actions guided by high moral standards to best serve the public, whether working in local government, NHS or charitable sector. So what can organisations do to encourage women to take on leadership roles and progress in these? How can we create cultures where gender is not an issue in organisations and societal stereotypes are challenged and eliminated? Workplaces mirror society, including its biases, but they have control on whether they choose to replicate gender stereotypes.
Looking at potential solutions, this study also considered the three-pillar authentic leadership (AL) model, developed by Beddoes-Jones and Swailes (2015). Even though this is not a gendered model, it embraces qualities that seem to be linked more with women, like self-regulation, self-awareness and ethics. Organisations, then, could offer leadership development programmes on AL, reinforcing the message that it's not about gender but what desired behaviours are for their leaders.
They also need to stop targeting women for training, as if it is their problem and they are the ones not good enough to be in executive roles. More effort can be placed on other organisational initiatives, including policy work, that targets equality, not only for gender but for other identities and protected characteristics employees have.
What my study strongly showed is that there is more to the story than numbers tell; it is important to carefully listen to the lived experience of those impacted most by stereotypes and dominant, often patriarchal and hierarchical, discourses. These voices would then guide the creation of equal and inclusive workplaces that foster positive experiences for employees.
Matina Marougka is head of operations for a national mental health charity. Her research was conducted for a thesis entitled Double bind, double standards: Gender performativity and authenticity in female leaders as part of a professional doctorate in occupational psychology at Birkbeck, University of London
Case Studies
‘ALICE'
(Executive director)
Alice acknowledged there is more gender diversity in her current workplace. However, she has found herself in spaces, being one of the few women present, where she was assumed to be there to make the tea for the men. Now, having invested a lot in her development through coaching, she has proven her worth and she is widely respected. To do so, she needed to display behaviours that would be easily recognised and accepted by her male colleagues.
Even though experience increased her confidence, she still faced double standards. An assertive woman is perceived differently to an assertive man: less favourably and attracting criticisms. When a woman clearly voices her opinion, she is perceived as moaning and not taken seriously, whereas a man would be seen as being a strong leader. Such examples suggest that women are still not valued as leaders but rather judged due to their gender. As a result, she has adjusted her style and language, which has had an impact on her being authentic.
Alice has been pushed to compromise her standards of high-quality practices, which she felt was due to her gender. She did not compromise though, staying true to herself and risking her job.
As a younger leader, she was excluded from networking, which would happen in pubs and involve heavy drinking. She would still attend part of it, while another female colleague with childcare responsibilities, was excluded. These are spaces where decisions are often made and those present may be privy to information that would support career promotion. Women's access to information, then, felt restrictive and conditional.
Alice feels that things are a bit different now, not because these practices are not prevalent anymore, but rather given that there are more online peer networks.
‘ANNA'
(Chief executive within local government)
Anna succeeded a man who ‘was very command and control'. She takes a different approach, empowering her teams to make decisions and collaborate, believing this can achieve the best outcomes for residents. She often chairs meetings where she tries to allow everyone to voice their opinions, but also offers clear instructions when this is needed.
Anna has been working in a male-dominated space, where ‘if a man says it, it's heard; but if I say it, it's not heard'. She has found it difficult to navigate this as she has experienced double standards when voicing her views, being called difficult and bossy. She shared that ‘you're just always judged on what you wear', once advised by a man to be mindful of what she wore at work. And she also revealed she had to change her accent, so people didn't make assumptions about her background.
Anna feels the more confident women become in their roles as leaders the less it matters to them what others think. One can wonder though what happens to those women who don't make it to the top, as they may have been discouraged by the differential treatment they were receiving early in their leadership journey.
Anna decided to leave the organisation she was working for when her values were challenged. This was her way to remain authentic.
In another example, she had to call out inappropriate behaviour, something her male predecessors had chosen to ignore. This was a very weighted decision, which could have costed Anna her job. But she remained true to herself and led by example. Losing women from their workforce is a big hit for organisations; they are losing talent, diversity in approaches and all the leadership qualities women bring with them – which include the relational aspects, inclusivity and collaboration.
‘MARIA'
(Director within local government)
Maria has high standards for herself and her team. She delegates, is decisive, collaborative and takes pride in supporting other people's development. During her first role as a leader, which was in her late 20s, she felt great responsibility to do it all right in order to show other women that they can reach positions of power.
She gave some positive examples of being encouraged by men in applying for senior positions in the organisation, but she has also experienced being doubted for her abilities as a woman in a male-dominated field – and often one of the youngest people in the room. She has at times been undermined in her role, an experience that is common for women.
While Maria is now very well established and her teams and colleagues respect her, she finds she must continuously try to establish authority and prove herself to new colleagues. She is not taken seriously, until she demonstrates that she knows what she is talking about. She is used to it, but at the same time it is exhausting and can signal to women they have to try twice as hard as men to be heard and respected.
Maria believes that men in senior positions need to play a more active role in supporting women, through for example sponsoring women's networks in the workplace.
She has seen changes happen within the public sector, where there seems to be less gender division and positive cultural changes. For example, fewer conversations happen that could exclude women, such as men talking about sports for a big part of a meeting.
Maria has become more comfortable in such environments and – being in a position of power now – she would always call out behaviours that may be inappropriate, discriminatory or non-inclusive.
