Does a Female Leadership Influence Staff Satisfaction in Microfinance Institutions?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to obtain a better understanding of whether or not a female CEO influences staff satisfaction in MFIs. The microfinance industry has faced rapid growth and stiffer competition in recent decades, where the main MFI challenge being the loss of important and competent staff. Managers should, to prevent staff from leaving their jobs, ensure that the staff is satisfied with the workplace. In this study, a final data set with 225 MFIs from 59 countries in the time period from 2003 to 2015 was applied to the data analyses. A multiple regression model was carried out, findings showing that a female leader has no significant influence on staff satisfaction in an MFI. However, findings showed that the interaction between a female CEO and female staff above a threshold of 70 % positively influenced staff satisfaction. The implications of this study are that if an MFI is recruiting a new CEO to improve staff satisfaction, then the gender of the leader is insignificant. There is, however, one exception. MFIs with a female staff proportion equal to or above 70 % can benefit from having a female leader. Future studies can benefit from investigating whether other aspects influence staff satisfaction. A more qualitative approach could also provide better insight into what personal traits influence staff satisfaction. Future research could, furthermore, examine whether the interaction between a female leader and female staff above a threshold of 70 % influences other aspects of MFI performance.