Exploring female managers’ perceptions of the behavioral effectiveness of male managers: evidence from Kuwait

Purpose This study, a Type 3 (emic-as-emic) indigenous research study, aims to explore how Kuwaiti female managers perceive the effective and ineffective behavior of colleague male managers working in the Kuwaiti private sector and to explore the gender-based barriers they experience when working with them. Design/methodology/approach Based theoretically on implicit leadership theory and philosophically on a “pragmatic” qualitative methodology, the study used the critical incident technique to collect empirical data and applied open, axial and selective coding to group the data into discrete behavioral categories and subsequently to derive dimensions. Findings The study offers three important findings: there are no significant differences in the behavioral effectiveness of female versus male managers, though there are several important differences relating to the issue of behavioral ineffectiveness; feminine leadership styles offer certain advantages for women in management roles; and gender stereotypes and specific male manager behaviors create unique challenges that can negatively impact female managers. Research limitations/implications The study focuses solely on female managers’ perceptions and, consequently, more research is required to reveal the perceptions of female non-managerial employees. Practical implications The emergent “Kuwaiti behavioral taxonomy of perceived managerial and leadership effectiveness” provides valuable insights for Arab Gulf Region organizations aiming to promote gender inclusion in the workplace. Originality/value The findings add to the limited literature on “gender in management” studies within Arab countries. It offers contextually relevant and richly nuanced indigenous insights and understanding of how Kuwaiti female managers perceive the behavioral effectiveness of male managers and of the gender-based barriers and obstacles they experience.