What do hyenas, killer whales, and elephants have in common?

New research has revealed that of more than 5,000 known species of mammals, only a small part is guided by females.

As people debate over glass tables on how to place more women in leadership, could it be possible to learn something from the animal kingdom? It's a controversial idea, but according to the scientists who made this discovery, the answer is yes.

In a publication published this week, animal behavior professor Jennifer Smith and three of her colleagues identified eight species that illustrate female leadership: Two species of hyenas, killer whales, lions, bonobo monkeys, lemurs, and elephants.

To locate this group, the team had to identify social species that showed any feature of leadership by seeing such features as movement, food, or conflict resolution, they identified 76 such mammals. Then within that group, the team asked for evidence of female leadership, and of the characteristics that define these women as leaders. I think there's much to learn from these non-human societies”, Says Smith.