They are not.

I am a female CEO. I have worked with many executives over the past 20 years, both male and female. Here are some facts:

1. Gender bias exists. It's largely subconscious and both men and women are equally guilty of it. A 2003 Harvard study illustrates this. Students were presented with a case study, half the class was told it was about Heidi, the other half were told it was about Howard. The rest of the study was 100% identical. Both women and men in the class viewed Howard as appealing and a strong leader. Heidi was viewed as selfish and someone you would not want to work with.

2. Women hold only 4.6 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs. This is not due to the fact that women are less qualified. Female grads now account for about 60% of U.S. bachelor's degree holders. Women are entering the workforce at the same, if not higher, rates than men. However, many women opt out of their careers, for various reasons. In addition, a glass ceiling does still exist. The result is that by the time we get to the executive level, women are much less represented than men.

3. It's not about 1 person, it's about the team. In all the years I've been working, I've never seen 1 person make a great company. Sure you can have great leaders, but the great companies have great teams at the top. Great teams are made of diverse individuals, in terms of gender as well as in terms of how individuals approach problems. Teams that have diverse personality types AND that can harness that diverse energy are the ones that come out on top.

At the end of the day, the great leaders are the ones that can coach and develop talent, can delegate and inspire, and that can handle conflict well. I've seen women and men alike both succeed and fail in this regard. Let's stop talking about about gender and start talking about the real issue surrounding great leadership.