ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Sunday, October 6, 1996                TAG: 9610070108
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: 2    EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press

STUDY SHOWS FEMALE MANAGERS ARE BETTER AT HANDLING THEIR JOBS

On everything from meeting deadlines to generating new ideas, female managers outperform men, a new survey indicates.

The study, by the newly formed Foundation for Future Leadership, surveyed 915 managers and the people they work with, asking them to evaluate managers on 31 skills. Women outscored men in 28 of them.

``Women should not be discriminated against, as they, in fact, have the edge in terms of their effectiveness,'' concluded the study, released Wednesday.

The surveys were completed by 6,403 workers who were asked to evaluate themselves or their peers. Women comprised about 30 percent of the managers evaluated, which is comparable to their proportion in management positions in the American work force, the study said.

Participants were given a list of behaviors and asked to rate the manager on a scale of 1 to 5.

Men scored higher than women in two areas: handling pressure and coping with frustration. Men and women tied in delegating authority.

The study found that both groups did best in intellectual areas and worst in interpersonal fields.

While women traditionally have been recognized for strong interpersonal skills, the study said, they also outscored men in organization, staying on top of work, delivering projects on time and keeping commitments.

The study's authors noted that 25 of the 31 measures were statistically significant, but they cautioned that the differences between men and women were small. On average, women scored 3.64 on the 1-to-5 scale; men scored 3.54.

Furthermore, the surveys were conducted in corporations where assessment and professional development were welcome and where teams exist, which may not represent all managers in all companies.

The Foundation for Future Leadership plans to conduct further studies on gender and ``Generation X'' issues. It is primarily funded by Ken Feltman, executive director of the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation, which has 2,800 members representing corporations, governments, unions, universities, hospitals and clinics with flexible employee benefit programs.

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