The success of leaders and organizational leadership function, behavior, and practices are determined by a variety of internal and external organizational factors. Gender differences in leadership are found to have implications for organizational effectiveness on a theoretical level. However, evidence to investigate the relationship between gender differences in leadership and organizational effectiveness is scanty. As a result, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of gender differences in leadership roles on the organizational effectiveness of health service organizations in Ethiopia to address the empirical data gap. Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension Theoretical Framework was used in the study.
The study applied an exploratory mixed-methods approach. As a result, qualitative and quantitative data were gathered through in-depth interviews with 104 participants and focus group discussions. The study employed descriptive statistics to organize, analyze, and interpret quantitative data. This was complemented by the qualitative data to provide depth to the data and its analysis. A total of 104 participants were recruited using a random sampling selection technique, including 15 directors, 25 department heads, and 64 first-line supervisors from both healthcare organizations.
The results of the study show that the majority of respondents (54 percent) preferred either male or female leaders, and 27 percent preferred a male leader only. The proportion of respondents who preferred a female leader only was 20 percent. As per the research respondents, males preferred female leaders mainly because respondents viewed them as quick decision-makers, decisive, and determined. On the other hand, the perception is that female leader are preferable because they adopt a participatory style of lea leadership style and are more transformational moreover, the main research findings indicate that gender differences in leadership roles do not affect organizational effectiveness in Ethiopian non-organization health service organizations. This study contributes to the existing research knowledge in the broader area of organizational effectiveness and the intersection of leadership, gender, and organizational culture.