Employees' Perception on Female Leader : A Study at Sabah Labor Department / Kamariah Karlam

Despite the progress made and new measures introduced, concerns on the status and position of women continue to prevail. Previous empirical researches have revealed that women are likely to face more negative criticism than men in leadership positions. They are seen as ineffective leader, which steams from differential distribution of men and women into social roles. Thus, there is an urgent need to examine the perceptions of employees' towards their female leader to unfold some of the prejudice facing them. This was due to the fact that human development will be very difficult when half of the nation's population comprising women, are marginalized and discriminated upon. In this study on "Employees' Perception on Female Leader: A Study at Sabah Labor Department", a sample of 32 respondents form Sabah Labor Department have been selected. Based on the data gathered, it has been analyzed using SPSS 12.0 versions. In assessing the perception of female leader, it has bee studied based on three dimensions, i.e. the leadership styles, problem-solving capabilities, and leader's traits. Both three dimensions been studied by looking at the frequencies of each items. The degree of cooperation among employees also been examined. This dimension also been analyzed by looking at their frequencies. The findings reveal that, both male and female employees do not have any problem accepting female as their leader. Finally, the characteristics of an effective leader based on employees' perspective also being studied.