Differences in Gender Communication

Gender relations - Do stereotypical mind-sets around gender relations lead to gender inequality in this workplace? Do work structures disadvantage women? Is there an alignment of managerial attributes with gender stereotypes, such that male attributes of competitive spirit and technical competence are given

“Sex Differences” is an essay written by a professor of linguistics named Ronald Macaulay. In the essay, he pointed out that there were no gender differences regarding to language development. He talked about various stereotypes about how men and women speak. He also explains in depth about how social environment made an impact on the talking between men and women. He also concluded that those linguists who still believe in that theory only continue to do so even if what they found in their research is not statistically significant. In many ways, Macaulay’s essay is persuasive. Through this essay, one would agree with him that there is no different form of language in which women and men speak.

Women treat men with equal respect, whereas men do not. “Women tend to be receptive to both men and women in superior roles, found a 2014 study titled A Man’s (Precarious) Place. Men, on the other hand, were more likely to be threatened by women in superior positions and were more assertive with female leaders, according to the study.”(Kirkham 2015). Elyssa Kirkham states that women are more willing to receive input from men. This capability creates diversity within the workplace. Diversity leads to more talent within the workplace, an advantage for companies determined to strive. Pallab Dutta, of Demand Media, states, “Access to a larger talent pool is one of the biggest advantages of having an employment recruitment policy that values diversity.”(Dutta 1). This diverse environment leads to more talent, which results in “creative solutions for problems and better organizational productivity”(Dutta 1). Having employees that can endorse equality, accept both men and women’s input, is key to success within a business. Without it, a companies who do not support equality will not thrive. This acceptance towards both men and women creates a positive atmosphere within the workplace. This positive energy, that women acquire, inspires motivation within employees which results in an increase of business

I have noticed double bind in my workplace considering one is too masculine or to feminine. I don't believe in all cases it is not men versus women . In the healthcare setting you see a lot of women in management and director positions . In addition to the women that are trying to work there way up to management and director positions .My manager and assistant manager have totally different work ethic ,however they both want to advance in there careers. My manager mannerism is not as aggressive and doesn't like confrontation yet she has been told she needs to assist more with resolution when issues arise . I personally think in any position a women purses she will need to incorporate others desires and wants in order to achieve her goal.

In similar studies, researchers have argued that there are gender differences in communication styles (Tannen, 1990). Michaud and Warner (1997) conducted a study to expand on this topic. A survey of self-reported responses, were administered to a total of 384 individuals, ranging from 14 to 79 years old; the majority of the participants were Caucasian college students. This study supported Tannen 's predictions; the results showed that there are significant statistical differences. The differences in gender were statistically significant, however, the effect sizes

I would like to start by mentioning that there may be decision making abilities and cultural differences that are affected by gender. Women are usually expected to be nurturing and less aggressive than men. Under attribution theory (ORGB), female managers may be less likely to attribute their success to their own abilities. It is not hard to guess that management may end up not having an entirely accurate assessment of a woman’s skills due to her modesty in that area.

After reading the language and gender section of our textbook I found very interesting what Robin Lakoff proposes about the set of traits which distinguish women’s language from men’s language. Moreover, Deborah Tannen gave great examples of the differences of women’s and men’s language. In addition, I enjoyed watching the video about how children communicate. Bases on what Lakoff proposed, the textbook mentions that women use a greater use of hedges and indirect speech acts. Also, that woman used fewer taboo terms for sexual and bodily functions than men do. Moreover, that boys talk more than girls and that teachers are likely to give more attention to boys. In addition, Women like to speak in a private/small way and men speak in a public

These situations are what give muted females a one sided understanding of the male’s standpoint however also could position women into a negative outlook of males in the workplace. Studies shows that females working in organisations won’t easily promoted as opposed to men (Frankel, 2004).

Gender stereotypes are mostly taken for granted at a young age: girls are told to play with dolls and boys are told to play with trucks. But as children grow older they find themselves in a world where the reality of gender roles and stereotypes aren’t acknowledged, and the illusion of gender neutrality is commended. If gender roles are becoming more neutral, then it would follow that gender role stereotypes are also becoming more lax. However, in actuality this is not true.

The communication styles of males versus females are not similar and can sometimes be misunderstood by the opposite gender. Males are misjudged for having heartless and solitude communication styles, whereas, females are often misjudged for having over-the-top and

Jacobson, Palus, and Bowling’s review explores if women are managed differently than men. This review takes a look at gender and how it affects or impacts internal management and external networking. The review found that women spend less time on external networking whereas men spend less time on internal management. The authors research the different method of management styles and/or techniques that differ between men and women in addition to the external networking styles and techniques. The authors research different management strategies based on a male perspective versus a female perspectives.

We live in a world where communication is significant to help build better relationships and understand others better, even though it can have some positive and negative connotations. The work environment is a difficult place for individuals to communicate because of the competition and judgment people get from other workers. Within the workplace, it is important for those to behave and speak in a professional manner in order for others to see them as assertive. The communication style of men and women creates gender stereotypes in the workplace such as gender role behaviors, social scripts and biological determinism. According to Western Society’s hegemonic norms, the gender binary is given a certain role in which they have to behave to prove their masculinity or femininity, as well as their social scripts. In addition, the idea of biological determinism says that a person’s biology proves his or her own behavior.

A study on the implicit and explicit occupational gender types, Sex Roles, “Occupational gender stereotypes are activated when men and women are considered to be more suited for certain occupations based on stereotyped characteristics and temperaments” (White and White 2006). Matheus represented the following examples, “a stereotypically feminine job would be associated with attributes such as nurturing, caring, and being sensitive to the needs of others and a stereotypically masculine job would be associated with attributes such as decisiveness, coldness and toughness” (Matheus 2010). Nowadays, women are usually seen in the workforce as secretaries and nurses. Meanwhile, most doctors and construction laborers are men. In addition, Anker points out that “Occupational segregation by gender is prevalent in most if not all countries” (Anker 1998). “Women and men work in different fields and within fields at different levels” (Anker 1998). Diekman and Wilde explained that “men’s concentration in leadership and other high power roles led to the assumption that men have “agentic characteristics” such self-assertion and dominance and women’s concentration in subordinate and caretaking roles lead to the assumption that they have “communal characteristics” such as being kind and supportive (Diekman and Wilde 2005).

What would the average person say if asked them. “What are the communication differences between men and women?” Would it be something like women talk about shoes, and men talk about sports? Or maybe something along the lines of women talk all-the-time and men hardly speak at all. What if I said that assumption is correct. Well, not entirely of course. As it turns out, men and women have some fundamental communicative differences. This is also very much a generalization, and I would not think includes persons who identify as different genders.

Perception People selectively interpret what they see on the basis of their interests, background, experience, and attitudes. The importantly different perspective of such attitudes is the perception that prejudice and unfair evaluation exist for women managers. That is, even if one does not personally endorse a negative attitude toward women managers, one may still believe that others in the work environment hold such beliefs and treat them unfairly. the argue that this perception of what others believe or of how others treat managerial women, specifically when considered from the viewpoint of managerial women, is similar to the concept of stereotype threat (Steele,1997, P613-629). This concept has been defined as the social-psychological threat that arises when one is in a situation for which a negative stereotype about one’s group applies.