Women receive heightened scrutiny in appearances at the workplace, especially when they ascend as leaders. However, there is limited research on how clothing, an important attribute of appearance that is easily modifiable, affects the leadership credentials conferred to women leaders. In two pre-registered studies, we explored how wearing feminine, as compared to gender-neutral clothing, affects the interpersonal and instrumental leadership evaluations of women. We found that while women are perceived as more likable leaders when wearing feminine clothing, they are perceived as more effective leaders when wearing gender-neutral clothing. This occurred because women wearing feminine clothing, as compared to gender-neutral clothing, were perceived as less competent, warmer, and less dominant. Competence mediates the relationship between clothing and leadership effectiveness evaluation, while warmth mediate the relationship between clothing and leadership likability evaluation. In summary, for women leaders in the workplace, there is a trade-off in impressions between feminine versus gender-neutral so that the display of feminine leads to better interpersonal evaluations but sabotages instrumental evaluations.
