This paper will argue that the categories of 'transformational' and 'transactional' leadership may provide analytical purchase on the question of whether contemporary women leaders have radically-different gender-based styles, political networks and approaches to power from those of the earlier second wave feminist generation. In this paper we will note also the continuities with that earlier wave, and even with the so-called pioneering female politicians of the first wave. The two cases chosen for this paper are the most senior women in the New South Wales Labor and Liberal Parties - Kristina Keneally and Kerry Chikarovski; and will explore the way in which they operated within the parliament and sought to demonstrate leadership within the party and the country. This research suggests that while many observations regarding women leaders are interesting there is a need to develop a more systematic approach, which can also be problematical given the small sample size of the category. We also note that transformational leadership presents as 'nurturing', 'inclusive', and as guided by an overarching vision. Transactional leadership, in contrast, presents as focused on the immediate detail, and as being practical and pragmatic. While values are not absent they are sublimated. Our hypothesis is that the 'new' generation of women leaders may show signs of a classical transactional type, in contrast with some of the earlier women leaders often on the political left, who were transformational in style. this shift in type is also related to a move away from an explicit feminist agenda - although we do note Kristina Keneally's interest in a Christian feminist interpretive approach. The issue as to why such leaders are coming to the fore or why there is a demand for them is a larger question for another paper.
