GenderSmart Solutions » Biological Differences

Impact! Cleavage on Your Career

Jsanders — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:29:29 +0000

I am SO happy to see this post! It’s an excerpt from “The Male Factor: The Unwritten Rules, Misperceptions, and Secret Beliefs of Men in the Workplace” by Shaunti Feldhahn, and explains in no uncertain terms the negative impact that cleavage and tight clothes have on women’s careers.

I have always said dressing this way at work is a mistake. Do you want men thinking about business or boobs? To maximize credibility, respect, and upward mobility, dress professionally without calling attention to your body parts! Save that for social situations, not business.

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Menopause = Assertiveness and Leadership

Jsanders — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:43:38 +0000

The Dallas Morning News writes (by Debbie Fetterman) that menopause brings out and enhances women’s assertiveness and leadership skills. Well it most certainly can impact women’s lives that way, due to lower estrogen which then allows testosterone to have more influence over behavior and attitude. Interesting!

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Women’s Testosterone Affects Career Choice

Jsanders — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:19:30 +0000

US News & World Report reveals results of a study to determine if higher testosterone in women impacts their career choices and financial decisions. Big surprise…it does! Read article

Gender Laughter Differences

Jsanders — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:36:18 +0000

Jackie Papandrew writes in her Woman Around Town blog that some men don’t believe women can be funny. Well she and I disagree with that…we just do funny differently. Our brains process funny in different ways. Read her take on this laughing matter.

Women’s Emotions at Work

Jsanders — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:42:33 +0000

Great Gen Y site, Small Hands Big Ideas, talks about emotions in the workplace. so, for those who think gender differences don’t apply to younger generations, think again.

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New Audio File – Sanders GAMA-LAMP Keynote

Jsanders — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:57:46 +0000

My 40″ keynote on “Get GenderSmart! Gender Communication for Recruiting & Retention” for the 2009 GAMA-LAMP conference in Atlanta – delivered live and finishing with a standing ovation from over 2000 field and home office leaders in the financial services industry.

Why women leave companies

Jsanders — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:07:38 +0000

This YouTube clip explains one perspective, which I happen to agree with for the most part, about why women leave business…too much testosterone that yields inflexible attitudes. I believe both men and women would benefit by learning about the other and how to work together more effectively, but Patrick Dixon, contrary to some of the comments posted on the blog, makes some worthy points. Some people (like a few of those making comments) have such large chips on their shoulder they can’t see past them.

View clip

Working women – opportunities (or obstacles?)

Jsanders — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:36:25 +0000

Kathy Caprino wrote an excellent article i found on Article Snatch, discussing the opportunites and obstacles facing professional women both now and when the economy recovers. Women may make great strides during the comeback, but is it what they really want and need??? Some food for thought…

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Gender Differences – nature or nurture

Jsanders — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 22:04:54 +0000

Jenny Evans of Suite101.com writes a nice article about the ongoing debate addressing the source of gender differences – biology or socialization. If you’ve been following my work, you know that I believe nature is the primary motivator for gender communication and behavorial differences. And I believe socialization reinforces those differences and adds to them. Apparently Ms. Evans holds similar beliefs. Read article

Opinion – Gender Stereotypes

Jsanders — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:49:04 +0000

Monica Lim writes about gender stereotypes on her blog, a perspective I am in partial agreement with. I agree completely with her definition of feminism, but I disagree with her downplaying of the impact of biology on gender differences. After studying gender issues and communication for 16 years, I believe most differences stem from biological or physiological sources. Yes, society’s expectations and programming adds to these differences and exaggerates them, but they had to be there in the first place! The secret is to accept our differences and not judge them as right or wrong, good or bad…and that’s where our challenges as a species lie.

Read her blog

Gender differences in boys and girls

Jsanders — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:59:34 +0000

The Eide Neurolearning blog reports a Cincinnati Children’s Hospital study that indicated intelligent boys and girls use different pathways in the brain for verbal comprehension and learning. They can get to the same place, but via different processes. Men and women are different!

Here’s the full posting

Gender Differences as Seen by a Mom

Jsanders — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 22:52:28 +0000

Hear hear! A personal blog entry by a psychology and education student with four children that describes, in detail, the differences she saw in her boy and girl children. Read it and decide for yourself:

Full article

Do women really have better reading skills?

Jsanders — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 00:52:02 +0000

Not sure if this article truly answers the question posed. A big study at UC Riverside says the size of the brain is more relevant to reading skills, not gender. Read for yourself, does this answer the question for you? Laurie Lucas writes for the Press Enterprise…

Article

Communication differences in children

Jsanders — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:52:41 +0000

A Northwestern team has found that boys and girls (ages 9 to 15) have different communication patterns and styles. They respond to language tasks differently. Whereas girls abstract language information in a similar fashion whether they listen or read words, the accuracy of boys’ responses depended more on the patterns of activation of their auditory (listening to words) or visual (reading words) cortices.

Click here for full article

Society discourages entrepreneurship in women

Jsanders — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 16:01:43 +0000

David Nicklaus in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch explains a recent study:

“The researchers tried an experiment. They presented some business students with articles that described entrepreneurs in typical fashion, and others with articles that were gender-neutral. The women who read the gender-neutral version expressed much more interest in becoming entrepreneurs themselves.”

Read the full article to learn how our language affects young girls relevant to starting their own businesses…