Gender Stereotypes In The Romanian Public Administration

The present research aims to investigate the presence of gender stereotypes in the public administration of Romania, by observing if civil servants’ associate effective and ineffective leadership behaviors with gender. The research methodology consists of a survey conducted in institutions from the public administration of Romania, using a questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed considering public institutions’ peculiarities in order to explore the presence of gender stereotypes among civil servants’ in a feminine working field. The sample contains ministries and subordinated institutions, Prefectures, and County Councils. The study revealed the presence of gender stereotypes in the studied institutions because in men’s case, effective types of leadership behaviors are found more in the image of male leaders. This association is not valid for women, who tend to consider effective leadership behaviors as specific to both categories of leaders. However, gender stereotypes are also present in female thinking, but to a lesser extent than in men’s case. In the male respondents’ case, a clear tendency to attribute effective leadership behaviors to the masculine gender could be observed. In terms of ineffective behaviors, they have been associated with both genders. This trend is less visible in the case of female respondents, who attributed effective behaviors as being specific either to both genders or to male leaders, rather to female leaders. However, there is a clear tendency of female leaders to associate inefficient behaviors with masculine gender, which leads to the idea that gender stereotypes are present in the studied institutions at a pretty high intensity.