Fear has much to do with the decision women make. Men as well as women have fear about where ambition, achievement, and accomplishment can lead but men, unlike women, are socialized that it is acceptable and appropriate to be ambitious, competitive, and to achieve, and are challenged to face these fears.
Without support and encouragement for women to be ambitious, competitive, and to achieve, it is very difficult for them and results in instances where capable women choose out of fear not to develop their talents, abilities, and interests (Schlesinger, 1999). Dr. Schlesinger, a psychologist, studied 45 women for 5 years and determined that 38 women out of the 45 she was studying decided to choose roles that are accepted by society, such as home responsibilities and commitment to others. She concluded that by accepting women’s work and not embracing male specialties, women are creating the situation of self-exclusion which will “keep women from achieving full equality in the realm of work, and that keeps them underperforming and under-represented” (Schlesinger, 1999).
Social stereotyping extends into identification of leadership characteristics or traits. Maccoby and Jacklin ( 197 4) found that characteristics of people in leadership positions were identical to characteristics of the male social stereotype. There characteristics were appropriate with the authoritarian pyramidal power structure found in business and education (Wheatley, 1978). The identification of leadership characteristics as identical to male social stereotyping justified the absence of women in leadership positions because the identified female characteristics are not those associated with people in leadership positions; therefore, women were believed not to be skilled enough to be in leadership positions.

One can read Stogdill’s Handbook of Leadership ( 1974) and find scarcely any reference to women leaders, except as a subject deserving further research. By 1995 women made up about 63 percent of the total workforce. Currently, only 3 of every 100 top jobs in the largest US companies are held by women. In an often cited survey by Judy B. Rosener, female leaders were found to be better at sharing power and information than were their male counterparts. Critics have chided Rosener for reinforcing this traditional feminine stereotype. Actually, a comprehensive review of 102 different studies implemented by Price Waterhouse Consulting Firm, found no significant difference in leadership styles exhibited by women and men. Dr. Phillip Campbell (1999) an Organizational Behavior researcher, surveyed 2, 750 business managers and came to the following conclusion:
People with traits associated with leadership — such as intelligence, confidence, and sociability– are more likely to be perceived as leaders and encouraged to pursue careers where they can exert leadership. This is true regardless of gender.

*The complete research on this topic and bibliography are available at the USC Library