Question

Do gender differences exist in definitions of success? The article suggests that there may be a few key areas where they do. If so, how much do these definitions shape us and where do these definitions come from? Are the definitions societally defined? Are they different across cultures? Have our definitions of success changed over time? In a well reasoned discussion post, explore these questions, bringing in personal examples as evidence to support your argument. Remember that you must also reply to two or more discussion posts from other students.

this is the article

Journal of Behavioral Studies in Business

Comparing Men’s and Women’s Definition of Success

Iraj Mahdavi

When John Gray’s book, “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” was published in 1992, its success was guaranteed for all practical purposes and intends, because it hit a certain attitudinal cord in the American readers which was bound to make hem respond strongly. In this society, as in almost all other societies, there seems to be a certain cultural belief, implicit or explicit, that men and women are different. Anyone who articulates this cultural belief is certain to be rewarded by public approval, and other more tangible rewards. If an explanation is also offered as to why such differences exist, and the practical implications of their mechanisms, approval and rewards are several folded proportionally. This is an age-old belief.

Whatever its origin, this belief has persisted throughout centuries in almost all civilizations. It can be argued that the most important function of this notion, which may explain its longevity, is the justification it has provided for discriminative treatment of women in the society. Discrimination against any group of people, and prejudice that follows it, seek and develop their justification in the very notions that separate such groups and differentiate them from the rest of the society. David G. Myers (1994) presents a very interesting and concise discussion of discrimination and prejudice. Based on his idea, without justification, affective attitudes of men towards women be they mothers, wives, sisters, lovers, etc. would not allow their treatment as less than equal. Psychological dissonance created by the conflicting attitudes of love, affection and general attraction and the socially determined discrimination (prejudice, sexism) against women can only become tolerable by a culturally shared belief that women are at some level essentially different from men.

Such socially sanctioned beliefs (almost myths) can be observed, even to day, in many cultures where they serve as the justification for such inequitable treatment of women. Although recent studies show that prejudice against women is “far less common today than it was” even a few decades ago (Myers, p.228), there are many articles, research papers and books that are being published every day that argue otherwise. For example see Cynthia B. Costello and others (1998), who through a series of articles examine the dynamic position of women in the American society in the twentieth century. The overwhelming argument put forward, and sentiments presented, along with data and other documentation is that there is no difference between men and women, and therefore, there is no justification for discrimination. There is, however, a growing body of recent studies that point to the existence of some differences. Some of these articles point out differences in the biological functioning of the two genders, such as the recent report from the University of Indiana that proposed that while women use both sides of their brain while listening, men use only the left side of theirs in similar situations (LA Times), or the newer article in the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, that proclaims that men and women process emotional memories in opposite sides of the amygdale region of the brain (Cahill, 2001).

Others concentrate more on finding different patterns of behavior among men and women. These studies generally argue that there are different patterns of leadership behavior (see, for example Deaux, 1985; Eagly, 1990; Helgesen, 1990), or patterns of management behavior and types of relationship with subordinates and/or superiors and attitude toward life in the corporate world and place of women in it Attitudes are learned and, therefore, are very susceptible to influence from the culture. In fact, as individuals grow up in a society many of these so called cultural attitudes are learned through the process of socialization. Many institutions are involved in this process: family, church, school, clubs, etc. Through this process of socialization/acculturation individuals learn a society’s shared values, beliefs, norms, mores as well as world-view and attitudes. Thus, it is reasoned that girls and boys learn to respond to different expectations, aspire to different ideals, and hope to fulfill different roles in their lives by example, differential treatment and injection of a value system which teaches them their expected roles. Most of these processes, it is further argued, have overt or subtle sexist biases. They treat boys and girls differently and as they grow up they consider this unequal treatment not only natural but also expected and appropriate.

In the United States, an accelerated move towards equal treatment of both genders, especially in schools and colleges, has been taking place in the past few decades. It can be observed in the increasing number of admissions of women to universities, in the growing number and type of courses that are being offered in such areas as women’s studies, legal studies of gender roles, and in the shifting content of many social science courses. Thus, American universities and other institutions of higher learning are moving rapidly towards equality of treatment and expectation between genders, both in their structure as well as in their teachings. As far as gender roles and expectations are concerned, they are transmitting a different culturally determined attitude to their students.

Answer 1

The article specifies that the differences between men and women are very much present across societies and cultures.However, men and women should be equated ,irrespective of what an individual's perception is.The belief of prejudice and sexism is a strong discrimination factor for women and exists in the cultural set up of developing,developed and under developed nations.At this point, the scenario has changed to an extent that dynamic positions are being taken up by women in American societies, but unfortunately this is not the scenario in other countries.

Despite of these upgrades, Many experts highlight the differences on the grounds of neuro-biology, biology and structural formation of brain parts.Some biological studies states that men and women differ on the grounds of how they process emotions in amygdala.In terms of behavioural grounds as well, men and women have different leadership roles.It is crucial to note that the definition of men-women equality has changed in few cultures, defining it as progressive.But this has still to go a long way because the equality is not randomly present everywhere. Despite of these differences, there lie a uniformity of being a 'human' and demands equality.