Gender Differences in Personality Traits Using FIKR (Facet, Insight, Knowledge, and Resilience) Personality Assessment Tool: Implications for Leadership Development
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55578/hrdm.2601.002Keywords:
Gender Differences, Personality Traits, Leadership Development, Job Exploration, Principal Component AnalysisAbstract
This study examines gender differences in personality traits and their implications for leadership development and job exploration using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Data were obtained from 409 respondents in Malaysia, comprising 121 males and 288 females, using the FIKR (facet, insight, knowledge, and resilience) personality assessment tool. PCA was conducted for the overall sample as well as separately for male and female respondents to identify underlying personality structures and gender-specific trait configurations. Fourteen components were retained for the overall sample, eleven for males, and thirteen for females, based on eigenvalues greater than one, scree plot inspection, and conceptual interpretability. The results reveal distinct gender-related patterns in personality traits. Male respondents were more strongly associated with analytical, intellectual, control, and achievement-oriented traits, whereas female respondents exhibited higher loadings on emotional, nurturing, supportive, and relational traits. Demographic variables such as age, marital status, and religion emerged as independent or co-loading components, indicating that personality expression is shaped by intersecting social and life-stage factors rather than gender alone. These findings highlight the importance of adopting an intersectional perspective when interpreting gender differences in personality. The study contributes empirical evidence to leadership development and job exploration frameworks by demonstrating how gender and sociocultural context jointly influence personality traits. The findings support the design of more inclusive, context-sensitive leadership development strategies and career alignment practices that better reflect the complexity of individual differences in contemporary organizational settings.
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