Dive Brief:

• A recent Gallup poll found employees who work for a female manager in the U.S. are actually more engaged, on average, than those who work for a male manager.
• Polling 27 million employees across four decades, the study highlighted that employees who worked for a female manager were six percentage points more engaged than those who work for a male manager (33% to 27% respectively).
• Female employees who worked for a female manager were found to be the most engaged, at 35%. On the other hand, male employees who reported to a male manager were the least engaged, at 25%—a difference of 10 points.

Dive Insight:

According to the Gallup report, HR and business leaders should also know that female managers themselves tend to be more engaged than male managers.

Though some may find the findings surprising, according to Gallup, the management implication is quite clear: U.S. organizations should emphasize hiring and promoting more female managers. To do this, organizations should use talent as the basis for their selection decisions. Talent is an equalizer that removes gender bias in the hiring process. Talent gives organizations a proven, scientifically sound method for choosing the best candidate, regardless of gender.

There is room for that trend, as only one in three American workers surveyed by Gallup say they have a female boss.