Industry News
Using gender issues to develop a new blueprint for business 2010 and beyond: Pauline Crawford
Posted: 11/07/10This presentation provided the backdrop to perhaps the most misunderstood and under-researched topic in Human Resource Management, that of gender in business, argued Pauline Crawford, ABP member, Chief Executive of Corporate Heart, and consultant in gender issues to multinationals.
Boardroom conflict can arise for many reasons, but there is mounting evidence that in many cases underperformance can occur as a result of misunderstandings and actions resulting from gender differences. And companies are doing very little to address the issue, despite increasing conflict and underperformance. In the vast majority of cases, organisations see problems more as a general HR issue rather than as friction as a result of gender.
Pauline started to work in this area as a result of observing the behaviour of senior people at work. She observed that males and females had different needs when they interacted with each other in a corporate environment and as these needs were not being met, individuals consistently underperformed. However, where there was a balance, board performance increased markedly. These observations are actually not new: it is interesting that in Norway, and now in France and Spain, organisations above a certain size have to have a main board consisting of 40% women, and this is now incorporated in the respective Companies Acts.
Other forces are at work. Are there a shortage of women in Boardrooms by choice? There are no glass ceilings: only stresses arising from women prevented from performing their jobs to the best of their ability. One might expect in some third world countries that women would not be given opportunities but not in Europe and the US, where only 9% of major company directors are female. What is required is not diversity legislation but a greater understanding of gender and how the working environment can be affected.
Dr. Anne Moir has pioneered some research into how the human brain works, and discovered that the sections of the male brain only responded to one stimulation at once, whereas the whole of a woman’s brain would respond. This might at least partially account for the fact that men are less adept at multitasking. Men tend to have single focus, be solution minded and task orientated, whereas women have a more complete response, are better at multitasking, are more relationship focused, and more emotional. More research has been compiled into one book, How Women Mean Business: Aviyah Whittenberg-Cox, which provides a cohesive discussion on these matters.
Of course, the issue is never simple, nor would one expect it to be. The human make up, biology, emotion and physicality, can be strongly influenced by nurturing or necessity, resulting from upbringing, influence of school peers and, most importantly, the work environment. However, starting from the premise that males (M) and females (F) have distinct differences in their intelligence (men on average tend to have higher Mensa results) and approaches to business, one might develop the idea of a Masculine (alpha) Male (MM), more Feminine Male (FM), Masculine Female (MF) and Feminine Female (FF). Clearly these are concepts rather than distinct species, but it can give a flavour of how tensions and confused emotions can develop. Extremes of male and female behaviour can result at best in difficulties in relating to each other in conversation. Nor does it stop here, as MF and FF women have difficulty in relating to each other emotionally. Stresses at work affect behaviour and communication, but the key differences are in the ability of men and women to focus singlemindedly and drive themselves hard.
External influences are having significant effects. Recent research indicates that extensive uses of the internet can influence behaviour and can over time reduce the gender differences. Much of the difference has to do with the legacy of historical roles in society. If we were to “wipe the slate clean” and start again in developing relationships between men and women, the outcome might possibly be completely different, with smaller differences and better communication. But as it is impossible to do this, one can only speculate.
Business is stressful and challenging for both sexes. It encompasses the whole of life’s experiences, into which life, social networking and the working environment have to be factored in. Gender issues and behaviour are but one aspect of a complex mix of factors which determine performance. However, it is one of the least understood areas and Boards would be well advised to be at least aware that company performance can be affected by ignorance and avoidance: they can take advantage of the limited amount of knowledge and research which is available and use it to try to improve communication and performance.
The ABP has a particular interest in furthering best practice in Business Psychology, and should any member wish to investigate these issues to help them in their professional life, then Pauline Crawford would be delighted to hear from them.