War Reduces Willingness to Become Leaders in Both Sexes, but Sex Differences Persist

The current study examined sex differences in willingness to become leaders rather than which sex is chosen as leader. Participants took part in an online scenario experiment and were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: a war condition or a non-war condition. The war condition scenario involved a higher risk of becoming a leader than the non-war condition. Results showed that overall men exhibited greater willingness to become leaders than women, and that both men in the non-war condition (vs. men in the war condition) and women in the non-war condition (vs. women in the war condition) demonstrated higher willingness to become leaders. Importantly, under both conditions, men exhibited greater willingness to become leaders than women. In addition, individuals who preferred risk—both men and women—showed greater willingness to become leaders, and men preferred risk more strongly than women. Sex differences in leadership willingness are discussed in the context of risk.