The Gendered Benefits of Communication Strategies: Women Leaders Are Less Effective but More Liked When They Use Prevention-Focused Language

Research has identified a double-bind for female leaders: When acting in line with gender stereotypes, they are viewed as more likeable but less competent. Here, the authors test the impact of using gender stereotypical language—characterized by more prevention-focused language (e.g., avoiding risks) and less promotion-focused language (e.g., seeking gains)—on U.S. governors’ approval ratings during COVID-19 and their ability to promote effective social distancing behaviors. With a final dataset of 3,759 documents capturing governors’ communication, a 13-week panel of Google mobility data containing 6,534 observations (Study 1), U.S. nationally representative survey data from 57,532 participants (Study 2), and 24,247 tweets (Study 3), they find that female governors who use less prevention-focused, stereotypical language in their communications are more effective at increasing compliance with social distancing measures but receive lower approval ratings. As such, women leaders’ necessary approaches in crisis situations may undermine their sustainability in positions of power.