Leadership and Team Dynamics in Gender-Diverse Teams

Last registered on January 27, 2025

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Leadership and Team Dynamics in Gender-Diverse Teams

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0015271

Initial registration date

January 23, 2025

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published

January 27, 2025, 8:33 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country

United States of America

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Ferdous Sardar

Affiliation

Bryant University

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Allison Butler

PI Affiliation

Bryant University

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

Completed

Start date

2025-01-22

End date

2025-01-24

Keywords

Education, Firms & Productivity, Gender, Labor

Additional Keywords

Leadership, Teamwork, Gender diversity, Team performance

JEL code(s)

J16, D23, M54, L23

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

Abstract

This study investigates the role of leadership selection and gender composition in shaping team dynamics and performance. Using data from a three-day design thinking collaborative program at a U.S. undergraduate institution, we explore how teams organically elect leaders and how the gender of the leader and team composition affect collaboration, workload distribution, and project outcomes. The experiment involves approximately 900 first-year students assigned to small teams with randomized gender compositions. Teams select a leader after initial interactions, allowing us to analyze the influence of perceived competence, and interpersonal dynamics on leadership emergence and team functioning. Data are collected through surveys, peer evaluations, and performance metrics, offering robust evidence on leadership and gender dynamics in short-term teamwork.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Butler, Allison and Ferdous Sardar. 2025. "Leadership and Team Dynamics in Gender-Diverse Teams." AEA RCT Registry. January 27. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15271-1.0

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Teams participate in a three-day collaborative workshop.
Gender composition of teams is randomly varied .
At the end of Day 1, each team select a leader from its members.

Intervention (Hidden)

Intervention Start Date

2025-01-22

Intervention End Date

2025-01-24

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Leadership Selection:
• Probability of selecting a male vs. female leader, based on team gender composition.

Performance:
• Individual performance
• Team performance

Leader Evaluations:
• Team members’ perceptions of the leader.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Team Dynamics
• Cooperation effectiveness.
• Communication effectiveness.
• Conflict resolution.
• Team morale and spirit.
• Decision-making efficiency.

Personal Experience
• Satisfaction with team experience.
• Comfort in expressing ideas within the team.
• Influence in decision-making
• Sense of unity and belonging.

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Students are randomly assigned to one of the following teams:
• All male (5 members)
• All male (4 members)
• Mixed gender - male dominant (3 male and 2 female members)
• Mixed gender - balanced (2 male and 2 female members)
• Mixed gender - female dominant (2 male and 3 female members)

At the end of day 1 of the program, each team select a leader.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

Randomization is done in office by a computer using Stata

Randomization Unit

Individual

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

No cluster

Sample size: planned number of observations

883

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

Students were first assigned to one of 40 cohorts based on their preferences, ensuring alignment with their interests. Within each cohort, students were then randomly assigned to one of five team configurations, each characterized by different degrees of gender diversity:

Male-only: ~60 teams
Male-majority: ~40 teams
Gender-balanced: ~58 teams
Female-majority: ~35 teams
Female-only: ~7 teams

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB