Does the gender of a forum admin have any effect on the community?

Now, I'll just say off the bat that this isn't a topic for sexist idiots who think people of one gender are better than those of another, and that this is a purely forum management related question. Hopefully that stops the topic going downhill extremely quickly.

But back to the point; does the gender of a forum admin or a forum's staff team have any effect on the community, how it's managed, how members react or what kind of people join the forum?

I suspect it might have some effect. For instance, it seems like many forums I visit tend to attract mostly members with the same gender as the owner or staff team. Is there a reason for that?

I also think it's possible that for some very specialist types of forums, people might be a tad suspicious if the owner is of a gender which is contrary to the site topic. Like say, a forum for mums or dads might seem strange if someone of the opposite gender was the site owner/admin and I suspect it might struggle to gain activity.

I've also wondered whether it has an effect in communities and industries which have very, very well known problems with sexist attitudes and stuff. For example, I've heard there's a lot of criticism of sexism in the gaming industry and community, and I've sometimes wondered whether it has a direct effect on the popularity of one website or forum compared to another.

So what do you think? Does the gender of a forum's admin have any effect on the community or popularity of the website?

 

Some users believe me to be a gender that I'm not. I try to get to know the other members and staff for who the are even if I never know their gender.

 

There are excellent and poor administrators of both sexes. It helps, I find, to have both male and female staff. What helps more is if staff are all on the same page all the time. And back each other's actions.

 

I don't think it really matters. I've seen good female forum owners and I've seen good men forum owners. I guess it all depends on how dedicated the owner is to their community. Not everyone is fit to be a forum owner and that's the cold truth.

 

Truth. Unfortunately, nearly anyone with a few dollars can pretend to know what he or she is doing.

 

Well, until I changed to my new avatar, most people thought I was a guy

Anyway .. as long as you're doing your best for the community it doesn't mean what gender you are. I have seen lousy male and female admins just as I've seen outstanding admins from both genders. Same with age. In the and a good admin is made by ACTIONS not sex, religion or age.

 

In today's society gender has very little effect on the community, people are showing as much respect to females as to men. What I am trying to say is that no, I feel that the gender of a forum admin doesn't effect the community.

 

I think it does to a certain extent. I don't think that one is better than the other and I don't necessarily think that a forum owner of one gender will always necessarily attract the same gender more frequently....but I do think it affects how some people run a forum sometimes. Stereotypes are there for a reason and while not everyone fits those, there are enough people who are stereotypical that quite often it really is going to have an effect.

 

I know that the sex can matter. For example I imagine there are a lot less girls on forums like admin talk, simply because the field generally attracts more men.

Now the admin doesn't have to be a woman, but a moderator or at least a very active lady member would be helpful in boosting activity.

I didn't think so before, but it proved true on a forum I'm a moderator of .

 

I do not think that it is important, well at least not to me, on what gender the admin is. But then again it depends on the genre. If a male is running a pregnancy forum then it may place more importance on the success of the forum.