UIC Business Professor Explores Effect of Female Leadership

Earlier this month, U.S. News & World Report interviewed UIC Business Professor Susan Perkins regarding a research paper she had published a few years back. Along with co-author Katherine Phillips, Perkins discussed correlations between female leadership and economic growth.

In 2013, Perkins, Phillips and Nicholas Pearce published a research paper in the Journal of International Affairs in which the researchers found that female national leaders were more effective than their male peers in addressing perceived inequities, problems of inclusiveness, and the need to empower others.

In their research paper entitled “Ethnic Diversity, Gender, and National Leaders” the researchers found;

“In these complex conditions, which call for deep cooperation and collaboration, female leaders outperform their male counterparts.”

Following the publishing of the paper, Perkins and her co-authors have called for more research into national-level outcomes that correlate with female leadership.

“If a president makes a decision today, the earliest the effects of that decision are felt is the following year when the policy is in effect,” Perkins told U.S. News & World Report. “Often, policy transformations can take up to five years or more.”

Melissa Labonte, an associate professor of political science at Fordham University, also chimed in the U.S. News & World Report piece, saying, “Most women (leaders) support policies that tap into otherwise unrealized growth potential. Any leader who supports increased participation in education and empowerment is making a long-term investment in the economy. But we can’t demonstrate with high degrees of confidence that a woman is somehow affecting economic growth directly.”

regions: Chicago

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