Abstract
Leaders have influenced employees who share a similar race and gender with the leader. Yet, little is known about leaders who manipulate employees of a different race and gender from the leader, particularly during the transformation of an organisation. Leaders seem to face tensions when manipulating diverse employees for inclusion. Using political influence and social identity, the study examines employee perceptions of a leader who manipulates resistant employees if a leader has a different race and gender from employees. Data was collected from academic employee perceptions of direct managers who may manipulate academic employees during the transformation of two public higher education institutions located in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The study demonstrates that employees are less likely to show resistance against a perceived manipulative leader based on race and gender differences as transformation progresses.