Research
has revealed that female managers are more able than their male counterparts
and the skills gap extends with age.
In
a study of more than 400 managers conducted for the East Midlands Development
Agency women scored ahead of men in every one of six core management skills.
Managers
were graded in managing people, personal effectiveness, leadership, team
working, communication and planning.
The
study was based on a questionnaire, sent out by training company Exponential,
which asked three colleagues and the managers themselves to rate their
individual management performance.
John
Moore, managing director of Exponential, which carried out the research,
commented: "Female managers consistently scored higher than male managers
in each core management skill and this became more noticeable for managers over
39 years old. It would now be very useful to explore the different learning and
development strategies adopted by male and female managers," he said.
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