Divided Labours: An evolutionary view of women at work

by Kingsley Browne from the Darwinism today series

I have just finished reading this book Paul recommended. Here are some interesting bits that relate to my area of study:

"Although women constitute approximately 40% of the US workforce –and, indeed, 40% of all managers –they hold only 5 to 7% of senior executive positions."

"It might sound terribly sexist to suggest that men are more competitive, more driven towards acquisition of status and resources, and more inclined to take risks; and that women are more nurturing, risk averse, less greedy, and less single-minded."

"Many of the traits Darwin studied had obvious functional significance and were clearly related to survival"

"Competition for mates creates winners and loosers in the genetic lottery of life, and the greater reproductive variance of males makes the stakes of the game higher for them than for females. Males thus have more t gain by adopting greater risk-taking behaviour (particularly when it comes to requiring resources and mates), greater aggressiveness, and greater promiscuity. After all, if the male can establish himself as a desirable mate, he may sire many children; if he cannot, he may sire none."

"One of the most consistent differences between the sexes is in 'aggressiveness'...'assertiveness', 'competitiveness','achievement-motivation' and 'dominance-seeking'."

"Males also exhibit more competitive behaviour and respond more positively than females to competitive situations. While competition significantly increases the motivation in men, it does not do so for women. The more competitive an achademic programme is perceived by women, for example, the poorer the performance, while the correlation is reversed for men."

"Studies consistently find that girls prefer co-operation to competition and boys prefer competition to co-operation." As the graphic design industry is very competitive this may explain why men seems to flourish more than women.

"Evolutionary theory also predicts a sex-difference in risk-taking – a behavioural trait relevant to workplace outcomes."

"Psychologist Elizabeth Arch has suggested that sex differences in achievement-orientation may be attributable to differences in risk-taking. From an early age, females are more averse to social, as well as physical, risk, and 'tend to behave in a manner that ensures continued social inclusion'. Arch notes that achievement opportunities often present the potential for loss of resources or group support. Thus, it is not female lack of ability, but rather a difference in attitudes towards failure, that leads women to avoid competitive situations."
"Arch's description of male and female attitudes fits easily within an evolutionary framework. She observes that females need explicit positive feedback in order to maintain confidence in themselves, which is an excellent mechanism for ensuring that they will be hesitant to venture into potentially risky situations...On the other hand, males tend to maintain confidence in themselves despite feedback, 'a response that would be very useful for situations where people challenge and are challenged and where a tendency to face the opponent with a sense of confidence just might provide the margin necessary for victory."

"Women everywhere exhibit more nurturing behaviour...women not only define themselves in the context of human relationship but also judge themselves in terms of their ability to care."

"In sum males and females have grossly different temperamental styles. Men tend to be competitive, while woman tend to be more co-operative. Men want to be at the top of a dominance hierarchy, while women seek to cement less-stratified social relations. Men tend to be single-minded in their pursuits, while women have more varied interests." So are women more distracted by nurturing and forming relationships, making sure everyone is happy than the job in hand, men generally head straight for the goal and don't care too much what anyone else thinks or if they upset anyone in the process. This definitely helps to explain why men succeed beyond women in becoming successful designers. Although obviously we can't generalise, there are always exceptions to the norm.

"One study found that the more 'masculine' the woman, the greater her career achievement. Masculine traits included assertiveness, competitiveness, dominance, and standing up well under pressure,while feminine traits included nurturing, accommodating warmth, and eagerness to sooth hurt feelings. Career achievement was positively correlated with masculinity and negatively correlated with femininity. Interestingly, whether a woman was classified as masculine or feminine was unrelated to her marital status or fertility."