Traits viewed for women and men, why it matters to strategies
Even decades after the book, Men are from Mars Women are from Venus, we are still seeing the same level of gender stereotypes and biases in both men and women. Some marketers stick to these stereotypes, mainly because it still sells, but also because it’s easier to get. And some marketers get it right, knowing that stereotypical messages don’t appeal to younger generations. Thanks to the perfect storm of factors, such as the #MeToo movement and political polarization, we are seeing more and more women running for political offices and leaning in for higher business positions. Yet, at the core of most discussions, men and women alike, there is this persistence and obsession about how men and women are different.
Even in my own circle of friends, particularly when it’s just us women, without a doubt, at some point we get right into how men and women are different. Why don’t we ever talk about how men are different from other men…or how women are different than other women….we know those differences are just as significant. Perhaps we’re all trying to solve the inevitable questions about personal relationships, why it’s not working, trying to make some sense of it all. Perhaps these biases and stereotypes are so culturally deep rooted, that it’s tattooed in our subconscious minds. Nature or Nurture? I don’t question the nature part, I’m simply pointing out that the nurture part is ignored at our own peril and it’s causing social and economic injustice.
I recently read two fascinating research studies by Pew on how Americans describe what traits society values (or doesn’t) in each gender. As you read my highlights, keep in mind that these are common traits and values that Americans are associating with gender–and if you’re anything like me, some will scare you.
I think this chart is most telling, and in my opinion, the best summary. Some traits were used more for one gender than the other, shown by size of the dots. Yellow dots for women, green for men.
Take a look at powerful. Americans view powerful in a positive way to describe men (67% positive) but very negative for women (92% negative). I think this reveals the deep rooted psychological cause for the gender gap in the corridors of power. Disturbing, but true. I’ve known for years, and research has proven, that women have to trade off likability for power and strength. This particular research does not break down responses by gender (click here for methodology) but at 92% negative for women, it looks fairly obvious that the responses were similar with both men and women.
And provider was used only for men? 40% of American women outearn their husbands and 60% have more personal wealth….and we still associate the provider trait with men only?
Although honest was valued similarly for both men and women, it was used twice as often for men than women.
Strength was listed as a valued trait for men, but less so for women. And this research also shows (although not on this chart) that Americans saw leadership and ambition as traits that society values more in men than in women.
I’m not surprised compassionate was viewed 100% positive for women, but I was very surprised to see that this trait was viewed as negative for men. Perhaps American society views compassion as making men less ambitious and strong, as if they are polarized traits.
This study also showed that there were certain words that were primarily used primarily for one gender (95% mentions). For example, protective and emotional were used almost exclusively for men – protective in a positive way, emotional in a negative way. Multitasking, beautiful, brain, outspoken, promiscuous were used almost exclusively for women…and I’m sure we all know the first three in a positive way and last two in a negative way. Alarmingly, brain, outspoken and promiscuity are given traits for men but judged for women, positive or negative. (to read the complete report, click here.)
You’ve probably heard my continuous sound bites about gender bias and stereotyping being major contributing factors to gender pay gap and women underrepresentation in business, social and governmental leadership positions. This study simply proves it.
Another Pew study revealed that while Americans say society places a higher premium on masculinity than femininity, there was no consensus on nature versus nurture. Participants acknowledged the gender differences in how people express feelings, physical abilities, personal interests, parenting, etc, but there were no consensus on the origin of these differences. However, women tend to attribute these differences to societal expectations and cultural norms (nurture) while men tend to point to point to biological differences (nature).
We are entering an era where marketing meets politics and social justice. Right, wrong, or indifferent, companies like Nike, are taking a political position to stand with Colin Kaepernick for social justice. MarketWatch reported that since Colin Kaepernick’s Nike campaign, the company’s online sales jumped 31%. Strong returns, I call that effective cultural branding and expect this trend to continue. We are seeing powerful women represented in films, TV series and media negating all these stereotypes. So if your leadership and marketing teams are still stuck in these biases and stereotypes, ignoring the rapidly shifting culture with women, I would safely say that you will hit a wall fairly soon. But these biases don’t exist just in the board rooms. Perhaps we should each first try to work on our own unconscious biases before we can bend the culture, even a tiny bit.
You can also read my other blog about how to overcome unconscious gender bias.
