The article explores how gender influences dark leadership behavior and its impact on social and organizational outcomes. Men tend to exhibit more dark-side traits, but these traits may have less negative effects when displayed by women leaders. Followers perceive men and women leaders with dark-side traits differently, and follower gender also plays a role in dark leadership dynamics. Future research should focus on factors that influence the effects of dark-side traits in both genders, and practical solutions like leader training and support systems for followers are recommended.