"Evolutionary theory predicts that men will tend to exhibit greater status-seeking, competitiveness and risk-taking than women, and that women will exhibit more nurturance and affiliative behaviour. These predictions are borne out in every known human society" (Marshall, 1984).

        From the Case Study, Whirlway's Chief Executive Officer, James Grant, after 28 years at Whirlway has decided to retire.  After holding selection interviews two external candidates are considered to have all the attributes to 'lead' Whirlway. The candidates are:

* James Cavendish, male, 42 years old

* Jasmine Carusi, female, 45 years old

The Board is unable to decide between the candidates. However, one member of the Board is strongly arguing to appoint Jasmine Carusi to the position - saying "leaders may have always traditionally been men with special qualities, but nowadays it is women who are more likely to be considered as effective leaders".

        Stocks of the eight Fortune 500 companies run by female CEOs underperformed the Standard & Poor's 500 index in 2004, but they beat the men so badly in 2003 that they remain a collective winner over the past two years (www.usatoday.com).

USA TODAY tracked their performance with a fictional investment for a second year to see whether the smart money is on the women. Those eight companies turned in mixed results in 2004 after a blowout 2003, when seven out of eight were winners. While an index of the Standard & Poor's 500 stocks was up 9% in 2004, a portfolio of stocks in the companies led by women was up just 2.2%, and three companies lost money:

* Rite Aid, up 147% in 2003, fell 39% in 2004.

* Pathmark Stores, a chain of supermarkets in the Northeast, was down 24% after rising 50% in 2003.

* Hewlett-Packard slipped 9% after rising 32% in 2003 (www.usatoday.com).

        Stock prices rose in 2004 at four of the companies, including a 32% gain for Patricia Russo's Lucent Technologies. That followed Lucent's 125% jump in 2003 as Russo continues to guide the company through a transformation from the days when it was AT&T's hardware maker. A $100 investment when Lucent was selling for $1.26 a share at the start of 2003 would have been worth $298 at the end of 2004 (www.usatoday.com).

        USA TODAY's fictional investment of $100 in each of the eight companies at the start of 2004 had a capital gain of just $17 compared with a $72 increase for those who invested $800 in the Standard & Poor's 500. Additionally, only H-P, Avon Products and Golden West Financial paid dividends, and the combined yield of the eight woman-led companies cost investors another percentage point in total return, vs. the Standard & Poor's 500 (www.usatoday.com).

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        The gender differences were often small, and men sometimes earned higher marks in some critical areas, such as strategic ability and technical analysis. But overall, female executives were judged more effective than their male counterparts. ''Women are scoring higher on almost everything we look at,'' says Shirley Ross, an industrial psychologist who helped oversee a study performed by Hagberg Consulting Group in Foster City, Calif. Hagberg conducts in-depth performance evaluations of senior managers for its diverse clients, including technology, health care, financial-service, and consumer-goods companies. Of the 425 high-level executives evaluated, each by about 25 people, ...

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