The Linguistic Landscape of Female Leadership

In this final chapter, I shall give my response to the driving question of this book, ‘Is language a reason why female leaders continue to be under-represented at senior level?’ This book has shown how a senior woman’s use of language has constructed a leadership style that at times contrasts uncomfortably with the masculinised norms of the business world (Vinnicombe and Singh 2002). A contrast in leadership style can create serious problems for senior women in terms of how their roles, practices and relationships with others are enacted, received and represented. However, a female leader’s language is also strongly shaped by the contexts and communities of practice in which she works. Depending on this context, the gendered nature of leadership language may become a ‘problem’ for senior women, or alternatively be celebrated as a valuable and distinctive ‘asset’.