Women vs. Men

"Men and women live on a stage, on which they act out their assigned roles, equal in importance. The play cannot go on without both performers. Neither of them 'contributes' more or less to the whole; neither is marginal and dispensable. But the stage set is conceived, painted and defined by men. Men have written the play, have directed the show...assigned themselves the interesting, most heroic parts."

Gerda Lerner

Ever since men and women became aware of the physical differences between them, they adopted and, later on, were assigned different roles in society.

In prehistoric times, men were usually involved in hunting and the protection of the tribe (as the activities required greater physical strength) whereas women concentrated on agriculture, weaving of textiles and homemaking - preparing food and taking care of children (It is important to note that we do not, in any way, consider the role of women to be less significant than that of men). As society developed, importance was placed on these differences and behavioral stereotypes were assigned to each gender. Physical power became synonymous with superiority and traditional society grew to be dominated by men as the subordination of women was considered to be the natural order (While this proved to be true in a majority of cultures, it would be incorrect to state that it was true for all as women were treated differently in different parts of the world). Men were given the freedom to pursue the careers of their choice while women were assigned specific roles in society - mainly familial roles or were able to pursue careers that were considered to be more feminine like teaching and nursing. Even if women enjoyed a degree of power, it was suppressed with the advent of the patriarchal age of colonization. However, the discontent of women with their treatment soon began to peak. Several organizations and feminist movements were formed in different countries to promote the liberalization and upliftment of women and soon the cause became a popular one.

Since then women all over the world have come a long way. Today women have made their mark in almost every field, and have ventured forth into every career. We have women doctors, engineers, pilots, astronauts, architects, and so forth. But studies indicate that there have always been disparities between careers pursued by women and those pursued by men and although the level of disparity has decreased over the years with the increasing emergence of women in the workforce, it still exists in most parts of the world.

Examples of Occupations Dominated by Genders
MEN	% of jobs
Heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians and mechanics	99.0%
Brickmasons, blockmasons and stonemasons	98.9%
Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists	98.8%
Derrick, rotary drill and service unit operators and roustabouts, oil, gas and mining	98.7%
Cement masons, concrete finishers and terrazzo workers	98.7%
WOMEN	% of jobs
Preschool and kindergarten teachers	97.8%
Dental hygienists	97.7%
Dental assistants	97.1%
Secretaries and administrative assistants	96.5%
Speech-language pathologists	95.1%

Even today, certain professions continue to be dominated by men - computing, engineering and related technical careers (In 2001, only 12% of science and engineering jobs were held by women). The world of computing, in specific, has benefited from the contributions of both men and women. With innovators like Ada Lovelace and Grace Hopper, women have long established themselves firmly in this field, occupying top positions in reputed firms like Hewlett Packard and Google. However, the number of women choosing to pursue careers in computing is decreasing. Therefore an important question arises as to whether women have the necessary skills and abilities to pursue a career in computing or related fields.

With the growing emphasis on the topic of equality between men and women, there have been many debates about whether the so called inequalities existing today arise from biological or socio-cultural factors. That is, do the differences exist in the genes and physical beings of men and women or are they because of the differences in the way boys and girls are brought up - Nature Vs Nurture?

The Case For Similarity

According to an article released by BBC, men and women may not be so different after all. Janet Shibley Hyde, a women's studies specialist from the University of Wisconsin stated that contrary to popular perception, men and women were quite similar with regards to personalities and in the areas of communication and leadership. She also disagreed with common personality stereotypes - women being more emotional than men or men having better spatial awareness.

Dr Hyde, writing in American Psychologist, declared that her review of 46 meta-analyses (which covers a number of studies) conducted over the last 20 years confirms that men and women are alike in the majority of areas. The studies looked at cognitive abilities, verbal and nonverbal communication, social or psychological traits like aggression or leadership, psychological well-being like self-esteem and motor behaviors, such as throwing ability and moral reasoning. The studies revealed that gender differences accounted for either no or a very small effect for most of the psychological variables examined, only throwing distance and physical aggression showing marked differences.

Dr. Anne Fausto-Sterling is an esteemed professor of biology and gender studies in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Biochemistry at Brown University and author of the ground-breaking book, "Myths of Gender". Her area of expertise ranges from basic embryology and genetics to a sociological and historical approach to science. She is currently conducting research on the interaction of nature and nurture and its implications on the complex theory of gender. According to Dr. Fausto, the cited differences in the brains of men and women do not exist in newborns and young children. They develop during his/her childhood and throughout his/her transition into adulthood. This leads us to believe that the divergence of the brains may in fact be caused by the experiences of the individual and the reaction of the person's genes to the experiences. It implies that genes are not the underlying cause of the divergence but they still play a major role. They are the tools that the body uses to interact with and respond to environmental stimuli. When we look at men and women in this context, the differences in their behaviors seem to be more dependent on the familial and socio-cultural environments rather than on inherent biological differences.

However more and more psychologists are adhering to the theory that there are differences between the behavior of men and women - not substantial disparities, but differences none the less.

The Case Against Similarity

Biologically, a study conducted by University of California has shown that the brains of men and that of women function differently. According to the study, men have 6.5 times more gray matter (information processing centers) than women while women have 10 times more white matter (connections between gray matter) than men. Although the average intelligence of men and women are the same, this may be an explanation as to why men tend to be more successful in activities like mathematics which require local processing in the brain whereas women are more successful in language processing which requires the integration of information from different processing centers. A report in 2001 found that women outperformed men on different tests of verbal ability whereas men outperformed women on tests measuring mathematical and spatial ability.

case against similarity

Another factor to consider is hormones. Genes and hormones play an important part in the formation of brains before birth and also in the behavior of adults. According to scientific research, the presence of the hormone androgen in the earlier stages of life leads to the generation of a "male" brain. In contrast, the female brain is thought to be developed by default - in the absence of androgen. One theory suggests that exposure to higher levels of testosterone stimulates the development of the right hemisphere of the brain which is the side that contributes most to spatial awareness. According to author Deborah Blum, who wrote "Sex on the Brain: The Biological Differences Between Men and Women", girls who were exposed to high levels of testosterone seemed to have better spatial awareness than other girls and were more likely to show turbulent and aggressive behavior as kids, very similar to boys.

More psychologists are adhering to the viewpoint that some aspects of social behavior, personality, and abilities differ between women and men (Eagly, 1995; Halpern, 1997). According to UK psychologist Dr Nick Neave, a spokesman for the British Psychological Society and an expert in sex differences at the University of Northumbria, scientists may have over-emphasized the differences in gender but ultimately, they exist.

Why Don't Women Prefer Technical Careers?

Cultural Beliefs

Sociologists have realized that gender has many levels that not only consists of individual roles and identities, but also includes interpersonal interaction between people and the cultural beliefs of the surrounding society. Although the biological differences between men and women may not necessitate differences in skill, cultural beliefs about gender have often led to gender stereotypes because of a certain level of expectation of competence from the different genders.

In North America, men are widely thought to be more competent than women in most tasks other than so-called "feminine tasks" (Conway, Pizzamiglio, and Mount 1996; Wagner and Berger 1997; Williams and Best 1990). Skills related to mathematics and its uses are considered to be "masculine skills". These widely shared cultural beliefs about gender and task competence differentially bias how individual males and females evaluate their own competence at career-relevant tasks. The disparity in the standards used by men and women to evaluate their performance in their career may be caused due to the internalization of these cultural beliefs about gender and gender related skills into the individual's own identity or it may also be caused by societal expectations or a combination of both. These stereotypical beliefs about activities such as mathematics, technical information and communication skills have been shown to sway the attitudes and career aspirations of the youth (Eccles et al. 1999). Women are constantly encouraged to enter disciplines and careers dominated by women, so that they will be able to perform better. However this may differ from culture to culture as different cultures perceive women and their abilities in different ways.

Work Environment

Women tend to shy away from technical-oriented careers as they perceive it to be a solitary occupation, involving little or no social interaction. A study conducted by Hazzan and Levy (2006) showed that women considered people in technical fields to be "geeks" and "loners".

It is a conception amongst women that the work environment (set by a predominantly male workforce) may also not be supportive of women.

Women also associate technical careers with long hours. This poses problems for several women, especially married women who have family commitments and prefer stable working hours.

There is also the possibility of women facing discrimination in these careers where a woman's personal style and needs for work/family balance may clash with workstyle expectations, values, and demands

The Gender Pay Gap

In male dominated technical careers, it is often difficult for women to establish themselves. Studies have revealed that women are often paid lower salaries than men and promoted less often. The gap has been narrowing down over the years, however as we can see in the table below, it still exists. Statistics from the manufacturing industry (also a male dominated industry) have been provided below.

Women’s Earnings as a Percentage of Men’s pay in the Manufacturing Industry
Country	1990	1997
Australia	82	85
Bangladesh	49	50
Brazil	54	54
Costa Rica	74	76
Egypt	68	74
Ireland	69	75
Jordan	57	62
Latvia	84	89
Mexico	50	71
Portugal	69	69
Sweden	89	90
Swaziland	73	71

(adopted from Women across Culture – a Global Perspective by Shawn Meghan Burn)

A reason for this may be because of the stereotype that women are less skilled, less educated or less experienced workers than men. In general, women have often been devalued and so has their work. Also, the cost of hiring women is considered to be higher as they may have to take maternity leave, or ask for leave to handle family situations.

This serves as reason for women to transfer to other careers with are more "friendly".

Promotions

Women are aware of the glass ceiling that exists in technical jobs. The term "glass ceiling" refers to the barriers that prevent qualified women from advancing upward in their organizations into power positions. It has been found that this is because of stereotypes that suggest that women are inappropriate for leadership positions and other organizational barriers such as a lack of mentoring and training of women for leadership positions.

That is why women prefer jobs where they are assured of progression in their careers and personal achievement.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment refers to verbal and non verbal behavior that conveys insulting, hostile and degrading attitudes toward women. For example, in the 1990's, women at the U.S Mitsubishi automobile plant in Illinois were subjected to repeated and unwelcome physical and verbal abuse.

Women are fearful of sexual harassment in male dominated careers especially since they are vastly outnumbered.