Gender roles – what do you expect from the “stronger, or weaker sex”? (Series: intercultural teamwork)

“We’ve begun to raise daughters more like sons…but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters.”

– Gloria Steinem

“Girls can be athletic. Guys can have feelings. Girls can be smart. Guys can be creative. And vice versa. Gender is specific only to your reproductive organs (and sometimes not even those), not your interest, likes, dislikes, goals and ambitions. 

– Connor Franta

Whether you agree with the people behind the quotes or not, how we deal with gender roles is and remains a ‘hot’ and important topic, especially in times of the #METOO movement.

What shapes gender roles in your culture?

Are the ideas in your culture about gender-specific behaviour more traditional?

There is a clear difference between what is expected as typical masculine behavioir and typical feminine behavior. Or are overlaps between gender-specific behaviour patterns permitted?

These are the questions addressed in this article, which deals not only with the understanding of gender roles, but also the influence of this understanding on the world of work.

It is about Hofstede’s cultural dimension of masculinity vs. femininity, or assertiveness vs. restraint.

This brings us to the main point of criticism of this dimension: namely that determination and masculinity, and restraint and femininity are equated, so to speak.

Critics of this dimension complain that Hofstede assumes too much of a Western-influenced image of gender here. Personally, I use this dimension less than, for example, individualism or power distance.

What do you think? I hope this article gives you the basics to form your own opinion.

Basically, this dimension is about the two poles of masculinity and femininity and how these are lived in society.

Hofstede postulates that cultures with high masculinity have pronounced differences in gender roles and have expectations of the two genders that correspond to traditionally oriented gender roles:

Masculine behavior is associated with assertiveness, assertiveness, recognition and advancement, among other things, and feminine behavior tends to be associated with restraint, modesty, relationship orientation and cooperation.

Cultures with these gender roles are characterized, among other things, by the fact

• that merit and challenges are important.
• that fathers, or parents read as masculine, deal with facts in the family and mothers, or parents read as feminine, deal with emotions.
• that ideas of female beauty are largely determined by the media.
• that girls, or children read as female, are allowed to cry, but boys, or children read as male, are not.
• that boys, or children read as male, are allowed to argue, but girls, or children read as female, are not.
• that fathers, or parents read as male, earn the family income, and mothers, or parents read as female, care for the children.

In the world of work, this understanding of gender roles is characterized by the fact

• that managers are expected to be decisive and tend to act aggressively.
• that conflicts are resolved by the strongest person winning.
• that career development is imperative for men, or people read as masculine, and optional for women, or people read as feminine.
• that sexual harassment in the workplace is a major problem.

In societies that tend to be characterized by femininity, Hofstede says that the traditional separation of gender roles is dissolved.

so that overlaps occur especially in the emotional sphere, and men, or people read as masculine, like women, or people read as feminine, are expected to be able to show restraint and modesty, as well as to deal with issues such as quality of life.

Such cultures are characterized by

• a societal focus on relationships and quality of life.
• the expectation that both genders are modest.
• Families in which parents are equally concerned with facts and emotions.
• the decisive influence of parents on the beauty ideals of their daughters.
• the starting point that girls, or children read as feminine, and boys, or children read as masculine, are allowed to behave in the same way, and should also play for the same reasons, but not argue.

In the world of work, high femininity is demonstrated by

• a cooperative and intuitive leadership style.
• conflict resolution through negotiation and consensus building.
• the idea that you work to live.
• career development that can be pursued by either gender as an option.

Imagine you are an American interviewing for a manager position in a Northern European company. What do you think will be the biggest points of conflict between your cultural background and the local cultural expectations of leaders?

And to transport the concept of culture from the country comparison to the corporate world, what culture do you find in your working environment? Is it the same as the national culture in the country where you work? And that brings us to the question of what the #METOO campaign might have to do with this. In some industries, the expression of gendered behavior, coupled with power, can show patterns that are culturally specific to that industry.

I, for example, come from Austria. According to Hofstede’s findings, this is a country with a very high degree of masculinity. Perhaps that also helped when I was managing in a strongly masculine aviation industry, even if I didn’t adhere to the feminine gender role. 😊

Which brings me back to the fact that people are far too diverse to be ‘pigeonholed’, but perhaps knowing about the diversity and the influences on it helps us to deal with each other interculturally better.

With this in mind, I hope you enjoy figuring out your cultural puzzle and wish you ‘happy intercultural teamworking’! Thank you for following my series and thank you for your interest. See you next time!

Under the links you will find the previous articles on indulgence, individualism and collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, Hofstede, cultural misunderstandings.

As business coach and trainier  I can help leaders and your team to benefit from intercultural cooperation and diversity in teams.

See you soon,

Cary Langer-Donohoe