Table 2.

Gender differences in leadership competency, emotional intelligence, and self-esteem (N = 260).

Gender	Leadership competency		Test and P-value Z test	Emotional intelligence		Test and P-value Z test	Self esteem		Test and P-value Z test
	Mean	SD		N	%		N	%
Male	139.33	30.45	−9.511	67.45	25.75	−9.265	29.99	5.39	−5.164
Female	94.89	32.14	<0.001	95.39	23.04	<0.001	27.35	4.15	<0.001

Effect sizes were calculated using Cohen’s d for mean differences. The large effect sizes for leadership competency (d = 1.42) and emotional intelligence (d = −1.14) indicate substantive practical significance beyond statistical significance. Gender differences are visualized in Figures 1, 2. The counterintuitive finding, whereby females’ emotional intelligence advantage does not translate to leadership competency advantage, constitutes the central paradox addressed through moderation analysis.