Gender bias is but one of a handful of factors in which we think of leadership as being embedded in personal attributes, behaviors, and traits. Evidence suggests how flippant and superficial people can be in rationalizing what leaders should ideally look like. Study after study shows that one’s leadership opportunities are a function of gender, height, and even face width. Six hundred years after Zheng He was selected as admiral, in part because his facial features prophesied loyalty to his emperor, it’s a reminder that not too much has changed.
