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?

Do the gender norms in your culture follow traditional patterns?

Are men and people read as male and women and people read as female expected to behave in specific ways based on outdated stereotypes? Or is there room for overlap and flexibility in how people express themselves, regardless of gender?

This article explores those questions by looking at how we define and experience gender roles, especially in the workplace. A key framework in this discussion is Hofstede’s cultural dimension of masculinity vs. femininity, or more broadly, 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 argue 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 behaviour is associated with assertiveness, assertiveness, recognition and advancement, among other things. Feminine behaviour tends to be associated with restraint, modesty, relationship orientation and cooperation.

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

• A strong focus on performance, merit, and competition.
• Clear role divisions in families. Fathers, or parents read as masculine, deal with facts in the family and mothers, or parents read as feminine, deal with emotions.
• Media-driven standards of female beauty
• Gendered emotional expectations:
  • girls, or children read as female, are allowed to cry, but boys, or children read as male, are not.
  • boys, or children read as male, are allowed to argue, but girls, or children read as female, are not.
• Traditional family roles: 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:

• Expectations that managers act decisively and assertively, as well as aggressively.
• A conflict culture where the strongest person “wins.”
• A career-first mindset is imperative for men, or people read as masculine, and optional for women, or people read as feminine.
• Widespread issues with sexual harassment, stemming from power imbalances and entrenched stereotypes.

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

That leads to overlaps occurring 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

• Strong social relationships and balance in life.
• Equal emotional roles for parents.
• Families in which parents are equally concerned with facts and emotions.
• Parental—not media—shaping of beauty ideals.
• Equal behavior expectations for children, regardless of gender.

In the world of work, high femininity is demonstrated by

• Collaborative and empathetic leadership styles.
• Conflict resolution through consensus and dialogue.
• A “work to live” philosophy.
• Equal career development opportunities for all, regardless of gender.

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 behaviour, 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 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 trainer  I can help leaders and your team to benefit from intercultural cooperation and diversity in teams.

See you soon,

Cary Langer-Donohoe