Do women work better than men?

In their work they are more organized, attentive, sensitive to colleagues… Is this really so? We asked experts to confirm or refute several common claims.

“Our mind and creativity do not depend on gender”

Tatyana Chernigovskaya, neuropsychologist, Doctor of Biological and Philological Sciences, Head of the Laboratory for Cognitive Research, St. Petersburg State University.

“In working relationships, I don’t tend to separate people by gender. After all, this is a purely zoological principle – the same, for example, as the division of the animal world into birds, fish and mammals. And in the feminist idea of ​​the superiority of women, I see the protrusion of one zoological essence – and this actually only limits the possibilities of women. We know about the division of thinking into right hemisphere (which is responsible for imagery and creative problem solving) and left hemisphere (logical)*. And you can often hear that the first type is more characteristic of women, and the second – of men. In fact, differences in our behavior, mentality are determined not so much by biological sex as by upbringing and type of activity. Under equal social conditions, the mind and creativity, the desire for success or lack thereof depend on the type of character of a person, and not on his gender. Another point: our brain continues to build and actively develop in the process of life. If we take into account that, in addition to work and career, a woman manages to bear, give birth and feed a child, educate him, manage the household and at the same time take care of her appearance, then under the influence of all these activities, her neural network develops extremely intensively and in different directions. Maybe that’s her advantage?

* The 1981 Nobel Prize was awarded to Roger Sperry, David Hubel, Torsten N. Wiesel “for their discovery concerning the functional specialization of the cerebral hemispheres.”

Indeed, from early childhood until they enter an independent life, girls are often more diligent, focused, responsible than boys, their peers. Why? As children, they have to work harder to get praise from their parents. In part, this can be explained by the historical and cultural tradition, in which sons are perceived as heirs, continuers of the clan. “The reproductive potential of men is higher, that is, the parents of a son can have more grandchildren than the parents of a daughter,” recalls anthropologist Marina Butovskaya. “If a person’s success in life is measured in the number of genes that he passed on to the next generation, then it is more profitable to have sons.”* Having given birth to a representative of the “stronger sex”, as in former times, mothers unconsciously appreciate him more, force him less, allow him more than the girl. “Mothers want to see boys as great – they must achieve something, and they are allowed to demonstrate their own personality in all its scale,” continues psychoanalyst Lola Komarova. – And less accomplishments are expected from daughters. And the girls themselves rarely dream of taking the chair of the president of the country or heading a transnational corporation. The traditional female role is associated with self-sacrifice, adjustment to the family and children. This is how a partial rejection of their own “I”, which is cultivated in men, is brought up in women.

Due to their cultural role, women tend to be more caring and compassionate, resistant to stress and willing to compromise. Does this hinder them in modern society or, on the contrary, contribute to self-realization, creative and professional success? Participants of the International Festival Femme Fest, which takes place in Moscow on November 16-18**, will talk about their personal experience. Its slogan is “Women Create”. They work in completely different fields: in science, business, culture… The speakers and participants of the festival are women who have conceived and brought to life something of their own, without looking back at the stamps imposed by society. But how to distinguish stamps from the truth? It seems that, according to experts and recent research, many of our ideas are far from reality.

* M. Butovskaya “Secrets of sex. Man and woman in the mirror of evolution” (Vek2, 2004).

** More details on the festival website femmefest.com

Women are better at handling stress. Truth

The female psyche is indeed more stable than the male. “Historically, a woman came to her husband’s family, under which she had to adapt: ​​the success of the marriage and the duration of the family depended on this,” explains Marina Butovskaya. Nature also made sure that the female body coped well not only with stress, but also with long-term stress. “When stressed, the adrenal glands release the hormones adrenaline and norepinephrine into the body, which cause blood vessels to constrict, mobilizing for the “fight or flight” response,” explains psychologist Irina Shuvalova. – But in women (unlike men), estrogens stand up to protect the body. Medicine is not yet able to describe the exact mechanism of action of these hormones, but as long as they are produced in sufficient quantities, women do not suffer from coronary heart disease, and their stroke is extremely rare. Another factor is psychological. “Now we are witnessing an epidemic of narcissism,” says Lola Komarova. – It is provoked by many features of modern society: competition, alignment with the ideal appearance, a demonstration of excellent health. And for men, these factors are stronger. But the flip side of narcissistic narcissism is vulnerability: greater ambition comes with greater anxiety. And the more narcissistic a man is, the more difficult it is for him to deal with stress.” It is the lesser focus on the self that can explain the success of women in many areas. They assess the situation more carefully, are capable of compromises and understanding of others. Most survey participants agree that a woman leader is more organized than a man and open to discussion*.

* Polls were conducted by Reabur (UK) in October 2010. 1182 participants (equally men and women).

“It’s easier to have a dialogue with them and count on their support”

Alexey Zimin, co-owner of the Ragu restaurant chain, editor-in-chief of the Afisha-Food magazine

“When I select new employees, I don’t care if it’s a man or a woman. I am only interested in the professional level and personal qualities of the applicant. But my experience tells me that in working relationships, women are much more reliable than men. Because any modern project, be it a restaurant business or a magazine editorial office, requires a person not only to give a lot, but also to sacrifice. The volume of work is so great that you constantly need to help each other, and often do the work of colleagues. A man needs to be persuaded, to explain the reasons, to motivate for this mutual assistance. And these persuasions do not always give a result, because a man knows the scope of his duties very precisely, he clearly defines what is “his own” and what is someone else’s. And women are ready to endure troubles and disruptions in work, plastically adjusting to their colleagues and bosses. It is easier to have a dialogue with them, which almost never develops into a violent argument and confrontation, because women, unlike men, are able to admit they are wrong. They know how to partially yield without a war, but thanks to this they win strategically – in the long term. After all, the most important thing in any business is the end product. And since routine is not an annoying factor for women, they become the main creators of this product.”

Women think about many things at the same time. Not quite true

They say that women know how to prepare for the holidays in advance, and leave a “background” at work during their absence … “No one knows how to think about several things at the same time,” Irina Shuvalova objects. – To solve various problems, it is necessary to switch from one thought process to another. Both men and women lose the speed of information processing, and hence the speed of obtaining a decision. Simultaneous actions are effective only when one of them has become “background”. For women in the course of historical development, household chores have become background. While doing household chores, they kept in touch with each other by talking, accustoming the brain structures responsible for activity and thinking to work synchronously.” Sociologist Barbara Schneider found that women are in multi-tasking mode 48,3 hours a week, while their husbands are only 38,9 hours*. But the female brain also has a biological advantage. “They have 30% more neural connections involved in speech,” says Marina Butovskaya. This helps women do multiple things at the same time, including speaking and listening at the same time.

* S. Offer, B. Schneider «Revisiting the Gender Gap in Time-Use Patterns: Multitasking and Well-Being among Mothers and Fathers in Dual-Earner Families». American Sociological Review, 2011, vol. 76, № 6.

Women feel deeper. Not true

“By what signs can this fact be established at least indirectly? Irina Shuvalova asks a question. — Yes, women are more often seen in an emotionally open state. But this only means that the expression of feelings from the point of view of society is more acceptable for them than for men. Research confirms that prescribed social roles* are of key importance here. “Women are able to speak more clearly about their experiences,” adds Lola Komarova. – Due to cultural characteristics and speech abilities, the connections between emotions and words are better established for them. And more opportunities to make the emotion understandable to others.”

* J. Shibley Hyde «The Gender Similarities Hypothesis». American Psychologist, September 2005.

Women don’t know how to manage. Not true

“Doubts that women can lead can only arise among those who do not remember how they were a child, or have never observed the process of upbringing,” says Irina Shuvalova. “Being a mother and not leading a child is simply impossible. Recognizing that a woman is capable of raising children, we must thereby recognize in her a strong beginning and ability to lead. An analysis of the results of tests that men and women took on the PsychTests.com website found that women scored more than men on two dozen indicators that indicate their ability to successfully lead others *. According to PsychTests President Ilona Jerabek, male and female leaders have different approaches to management, and therefore different strengths. Women performed better on tests in such positions as relationships with subordinates, including recruitment, building a workable team, and the ability to praise and encourage subordinates. And men still outperformed women in such categories as courage in making decisions, a sense of favorable business opportunities, and a willingness to take risks.

Prejudice gives legitimacy to the existing structure of society and keeps part of this society in a subordinate role. This is the case with women: in our still patriarchal society, the entry of a woman into power structures reserved for men is still seen as a diversion. The problem with women is that, as social psychologist Laurent Begue believes, once in power, they often abandon the feminine style of behavior and perception: “Surveys of women in leadership positions show that they themselves begin to think of themselves as “male” categories: they admit that they are not so gentle, not so attentive to their neighbors. On an unconscious level, the possession of power for a woman means the rejection of femininity.

* See ebn.benefitnews for more details. com

Women don’t think as highly of themselves as men do. Truth

Women are less able to evaluate their successes and opportunities. “I have a fear of the first day at work,” Ginger-smile shares on the Psychologies.ru website forum. – How to behave, how to say hello, in the end. I am constantly afraid that I will do something stupid, I will say something wrong, and they will laugh at me. Cause? Irina Shuvalova talks about the physiological background: “It is more difficult for a woman to maintain self-esteem due to hormonal monthly cycles. On critical days, many women experience emotional downturns and dissatisfaction with themselves. In women, self-esteem is more connected with the opinions of others than in men, and this is historically determined, Marina Butovskaya believes: “In most societies, men and men’s activities are recognized as more significant.” By the way, men rate the quality of work of their colleagues of the opposite sex lower. According to the survey, 25% of men who have regular jobs say that their female colleagues work worse than they do*. And women who think the same about male colleagues, 20%.

* The survey was conducted in Russia by the Research Center of the recruiting portal Superjob.ru on February 4–6, 2011.

Confidence Hormone

What makes women good bosses? American neuroeconomist Paul Zak thinks it’s simple biology: women have higher levels of oxytocin* than men. It is this hormone that makes us empathize with others, trust and attach to them. Even with the same levels of oxytocin in men and women, the female hormone estrogen enhances the action of oxytocin. This explains the strong attachment of women to their children and makes them good mothers, and in the work team – attentive and sensitive bosses.

Svetlana Soustina

* P. Zak et al. «Oxytocin Increases Generosity in Humans». PLoS ONE, 2007, vol. 2, № 11.

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