All Leaders Are Not Male

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Hi All- I am relatively new to this forum and had no plans to participate so early in my tenure. However, when I read the implication that all leaders are male, I quickly made the decision that responding would be worth the precious time away from writing Chapter II of my Dissertation. The sentence that starts "However, leaders, managers, workers, wives, and even children realize the difference when..." not only places 'wives' behind workers and just ahead of children,(what would Freud say?!) it assumes leaders have wives and do not have husbands. THis is such a gross assault on my senses, and so subtlely woven into the topic at hand, I had to acknowledge the insulting and abusive assumptions it includes. I hope the belief that men = people and people = men which is built into so much of leadership literature is not perpetrated by people with titles that suggest they should know better. Even Bass in his Handbook of Leadership relegates the study of "Women Leaders" to Chapter 32 (at the end of this 'bible' in our field) - I guess he thinks we are a mere diversity issue. HELLOOOOO OUT THERE is anyone getting this?

• All Leaders Are Not Male by Mahendra Thacker, 2/28/98