Researchers have uncovered a link between managers’ narcissistic traits and their views on gender roles, shedding light on how personal attributes can impact leadership dynamics. The study, published in the Journal of Personnel Psychology, found that narcissistic admiration and narcissistic rivalry are differently associated with support for traditional gender roles. Additionally, the presence of a daughter can moderate these associations, particularly for managers high in narcissistic rivalry.
The underrepresentation of women in leadership positions remains a pressing issue worldwide. In countries like Germany, gender quotas have shown limited success in breaking the so-called glass ceiling, an invisible barrier preventing women from advancing to top management roles. This persistent inequality has been attributed to various factors, including organizational culture and the personal attributes of male-dominated executive teams.
The study, authored by Anna-Katharina Stöcker, Iris Katharina Gauglitz, and Astrid Schütz of the University of Bamberg, aimed to explore how narcissistic traits among managers influence their gender role attitudes and whether having a daughter can alter these views. By focusing on managers, who hold significant decision-making power, the researchers sought to understand better how personal traits might contribute to maintaining or challenging traditional gender norms in the workplace.
“We intended to fill gaps in existing literature, using a large and representative sample of managers to provide insights that could enhance gender diversity in organization and increase equity in career chances,” the researchers told PsyPost. “We aimed to further disentangle the effects of the bright and dark sides of narcissism, i.e. narcissistic admiration and narcissistic rivalry. Finally, we wanted to further explore the so-called daughter effect in this field.”
Narcissistic admiration involves a tendency to engage in assertive self-enhancement, characterized by behaviors aimed at gaining admiration and social success. Individuals high in narcissistic admiration often exhibit charm and strive for uniqueness, boosting their self-image through positive social interactions.
Narcissistic rivalry, on the other hand, is characterized by antagonistic self-protection strategies. Those high in narcissistic rivalry tend to engage in aggressive and competitive behaviors, devalue others, and seek supremacy, which often leads to social conflicts and reinforces their grandiose self-views through dominance and control.
To carry out this study, the researchers utilized data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), a representative, multicohort survey. They focused on data collected in 2017 and 2018, ensuring the inclusion of managers—defined as individuals supervising at least two employees—who had not changed jobs since the end of 2016. This resulted in a sample size of 2,850 participants, 37.5% of whom were women.
The study employed the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire short scale (NARQ-S) to measure narcissistic traits. This scale includes items such as “I want my rivals to fail” (rivalry) and “Being a very special person gives me a lot of strength” (admiration), rated on a six-point Likert scale. Traditional gender role attitudes were assessed using three items focusing on beliefs about the impact of maternal employment on young children and the ideal division of labor between men and women.
The researchers found that managers who scored high on narcissistic admiration tended to hold less traditional gender role attitudes. This finding aligns with the notion that individuals high in admiration are likely to promote themselves with progressive, innovative views to enhance their self-image.
But managers with high levels of narcissistic rivalry exhibited more traditional gender role attitudes. This could be due to their tendency to seek supremacy and maintain established power structures, which are often traditional in nature.
The findings provide evidence that narcissistic tendencies can “influence behaviors that support or hinder women in their careers and can thus contribute to the underrepresentation of women in leadership roles,” Stöcker and her colleagues explained.
The researchers also found that managers with at least one daughter showed less traditional gender role attitudes compared to those with only sons or no children. This supports the daughter effect hypothesis, suggesting that having a daughter can increase awareness of gender discrimination and promote more egalitarian views.
“We were surprised that there was a daughter effect not only in male managers, but also in female managers,” the researchers said.
Interestingly, the presence of a daughter moderated the relationship between narcissistic rivalry and traditional gender role attitudes. Managers with high rivalry scores who had daughters were less likely to hold traditional gender role attitudes than those without daughters. This indicates that having a daughter might mitigate some of the negative effects of narcissistic rivalry on gender attitudes.
“The findings highlight the importance of understanding and addressing personal and psychological factors that can contribute to gender disparities in the workplace,” Stöcker and her colleagues said.
The researchers included variables for age, gender, income, and employment sector to control for potential confounding factors. But as with all research, there are some caveats. The cross-sectional design of the study limits the ability to make causal inferences. While associations were identified, it is unclear whether narcissistic traits directly cause traditional gender role attitudes or if other underlying factors influence both.
Looking forward, the researchers plan to “continue our work on narcissism and its effects in the workplace.”
The study, “Managers’ Traditional Gender Role Attitudes: Diverging Relations With Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry and the Daughter Effect,” was published online on May 22, 2024.