Survey Examines Gender Differences in Perceptions of Skills Needed for Success in Business

A new survey by researchers at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, found that young women are considered better prepared than young men for their first jobs after college. But young men are viewed as better prepared for ultimate success in their careers, according to the survey.

Bentley University researchers surveyed more than 3,100 people for the survey including business executives, corporate recruiters, higher education officials, parents, college students, high school students, and people in the general adult population.

More than 80 percent of the respondents said that women are better prepared for business success in terms of their communication and interpersonal skills. Some 86 percent of the respondents said women were more organized.

But nearly two thirds of respondents, including a majority of women respondents, said men are better prepared for leadership roles. Some 62 percent of women respondents believed that women had better decision-making skills, but 63 percent of male respondents thought men had better decision-making abilities.