Graduate Program

Political Science

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Semester of Degree Completion

2006

Thesis Director

Richard Wandling

Thesis Committee Member

Jeff Ashley

Thesis Committee Member

Andrew McNitt

Abstract

Studies of women in politics traditionally focus on the state and federal levels. Scholarly literature suggests that women mayors have been largely ignored, even though there has been a significant increase in the number of women mayors. This thesis examines women mayors and their leadership styles through the models of transactional and transformational leadership. For this study, as a point of comparison, male mayors also were examined. This study was conducted through three research methods: elite interviewing and observational and document analysis. The findings of this study suggest that women mayors are more likely than men mayors to be transformational leaders.

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