Kamala Harris: A Transformational Leader Chased by Gender Stereotypes?
Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Amsterdam
Leadership: 6314M0176Y
Prof. dr. F.D. Belschak & Dr. A.H.B. De Hoogh
December 23, 2022
Word count: 3668
1
, Kamala Harris: A Transformational Leader Chased by Gender Stereotypes?
On January 20, 2021, Kamala Harris was inaugurated as the 49th vice president of the
United States of America. Thereby, Harris became the first female vice president as well as
the first African American and Asian American vice president of the United States (White
House, n.d.). Due to her personal background and being the first women in such a high
position, Harris’ vice-presidency has gained a lot of attention in the media. But regardless of
being a woman of colour, who is Kamala Harris? How can we classify her leadership style
and what role does gender play in how people perceive and evaluate Harris as a leader?
Harris, currently 58 years old, was born in Oakland, California, as the first child of a
Jamaican American economist and Indian biologist (McNamee, 2021). Harris’ parents were
activists and therefore, Harris wanted to become an activist herself, as she developed an
interest in law. Therefore, Harris studied to gain a law degree and began to work as a deputy
district attorney in Oakland and later San Francisco, where she specialized in child sexual
abuse cases (White House, n.d.). After serving several years, in 2010, Harris became attorney
general of California and in 2017, she was elected as senator representing California in the
Senate of United States Senate from 2017 onwards. In 2019, Harris announced her candidacy
for President of the United States, however, she withdrew from the election due to financial
reasons (Reston, 2019). Thereafter, Kamala got chosen by Democrat Joe Biden as running
mate during the presidential elections, ultimately becoming a vice president of the United
States (White House, n.d.). Kamala therefore is the highest-ranking female official in the
history of the United States. During her time as running mate and vice president, Kamala has
highlighted the importance of tackling environmental issues, of building an affordable care
system and of stimulating equal rights for women and black people (White House, 2022).
The inauguration of Kamala Harris as the first women of colour sparked a lot of
attention throughout (social) media, with many women and people of colour referring to
2
, Harris as being a role model (TODAY, 2021; New York Times, 2020). By being referred to
as a role model, by communicating a clear vision on for example gender and race equality and
by her speeches and political interests, Kamala Harris seems to be a transformational leader.
Furthermore, with her inauguration, history was written, however, as a woman ticking many
‘first’ boxes (first female, black, African American, Asian American vice president), a lot of
pressure was put on Harris’ shoulders. The major focus on Kamala’s gender and background
raises the question whether Harris is treated by other politicians, the media and citizens like
any other vice-president, or that she has to prove herself due to gender-stereotypes that have
been present throughout history. Therefore, building on transformational leadership theory
and gender stereotypes, in this research, I will investigate whether Kamala Harris can actually
be seen as a transformational leader, and what influence Harris’ gender has on how people
perceive her as a leader.
Theoretical Background
Introduction to Transformational Leadership
Throughout the past decades, much research has been devoted to the concept of
leadership, with academics focusing on many different leadership approaches, such as the
trait, style and contingency approach (Den Hartog, & Koopman, 2001). However, from the
1980s, researchers developed the ‘new leadership’ approach, focusing on a new paradigm: the
transactional-transformational model of leadership (Bass, 1990). This concept was first
introduced by Burns (1978), who argued for a clear distinction between transactional and
transformational leadership. Transactional leadership is based on an exchange between the
leader and the follower, where a constant cost-benefit analysis is conducted between the two.
The leader determines what is expected from the follower and the follower performs their
tasks in turn for a sufficient reward (e.g. loan) from the leader. Transformational leadership,
on the other hand, goes beyond this cost-benefit analysis, focusing on employee performance
3
Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Amsterdam
Leadership: 6314M0176Y
Prof. dr. F.D. Belschak & Dr. A.H.B. De Hoogh
December 23, 2022
Word count: 3668
1
, Kamala Harris: A Transformational Leader Chased by Gender Stereotypes?
On January 20, 2021, Kamala Harris was inaugurated as the 49th vice president of the
United States of America. Thereby, Harris became the first female vice president as well as
the first African American and Asian American vice president of the United States (White
House, n.d.). Due to her personal background and being the first women in such a high
position, Harris’ vice-presidency has gained a lot of attention in the media. But regardless of
being a woman of colour, who is Kamala Harris? How can we classify her leadership style
and what role does gender play in how people perceive and evaluate Harris as a leader?
Harris, currently 58 years old, was born in Oakland, California, as the first child of a
Jamaican American economist and Indian biologist (McNamee, 2021). Harris’ parents were
activists and therefore, Harris wanted to become an activist herself, as she developed an
interest in law. Therefore, Harris studied to gain a law degree and began to work as a deputy
district attorney in Oakland and later San Francisco, where she specialized in child sexual
abuse cases (White House, n.d.). After serving several years, in 2010, Harris became attorney
general of California and in 2017, she was elected as senator representing California in the
Senate of United States Senate from 2017 onwards. In 2019, Harris announced her candidacy
for President of the United States, however, she withdrew from the election due to financial
reasons (Reston, 2019). Thereafter, Kamala got chosen by Democrat Joe Biden as running
mate during the presidential elections, ultimately becoming a vice president of the United
States (White House, n.d.). Kamala therefore is the highest-ranking female official in the
history of the United States. During her time as running mate and vice president, Kamala has
highlighted the importance of tackling environmental issues, of building an affordable care
system and of stimulating equal rights for women and black people (White House, 2022).
The inauguration of Kamala Harris as the first women of colour sparked a lot of
attention throughout (social) media, with many women and people of colour referring to
2
, Harris as being a role model (TODAY, 2021; New York Times, 2020). By being referred to
as a role model, by communicating a clear vision on for example gender and race equality and
by her speeches and political interests, Kamala Harris seems to be a transformational leader.
Furthermore, with her inauguration, history was written, however, as a woman ticking many
‘first’ boxes (first female, black, African American, Asian American vice president), a lot of
pressure was put on Harris’ shoulders. The major focus on Kamala’s gender and background
raises the question whether Harris is treated by other politicians, the media and citizens like
any other vice-president, or that she has to prove herself due to gender-stereotypes that have
been present throughout history. Therefore, building on transformational leadership theory
and gender stereotypes, in this research, I will investigate whether Kamala Harris can actually
be seen as a transformational leader, and what influence Harris’ gender has on how people
perceive her as a leader.
Theoretical Background
Introduction to Transformational Leadership
Throughout the past decades, much research has been devoted to the concept of
leadership, with academics focusing on many different leadership approaches, such as the
trait, style and contingency approach (Den Hartog, & Koopman, 2001). However, from the
1980s, researchers developed the ‘new leadership’ approach, focusing on a new paradigm: the
transactional-transformational model of leadership (Bass, 1990). This concept was first
introduced by Burns (1978), who argued for a clear distinction between transactional and
transformational leadership. Transactional leadership is based on an exchange between the
leader and the follower, where a constant cost-benefit analysis is conducted between the two.
The leader determines what is expected from the follower and the follower performs their
tasks in turn for a sufficient reward (e.g. loan) from the leader. Transformational leadership,
on the other hand, goes beyond this cost-benefit analysis, focusing on employee performance
3
