The document reviews literature relevant to male/female leadership effectiveness and outlines research needs in this area. Three factors which contribute to successful leadership include leadership role, leadership style, and situational characteristics. Literature concerning leadership role reveals that in mixed-sex groups, women are less likely to be chosen as leaders and less inclined to perceive themselves as leaders or to seek that role. Studies of leadership style suggest sex differences in several areas: men seek to succeed more on tasks while women seek to achieve interpersonal successes; women exert more activity toward creating positive group affect; men concentrate more on exhibiting recognizable leader behavior. Also, evidence indicates that situational factors can operate to prevent women who have overcome role conflict from exhibiting leadership behaviors: the sex composition of the group, the type of task employed, and the method by which the leader attains his or her status. Finally, conflicting research results tend to be derived from research procedures. Research supporting gender differences in leadership behavior sampled the general population of women while studies finding no gender-related differences sampled actual female leaders. Future research calls for identifying personality characteristics that define leadership style, the situational variables, and sex-role attitudes of leaders and followers. (Author/KC)