tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/men-and-women-5257/articlesMen and women – The Conversation2023-10-04T16:16:30Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2083342023-10-04T16:16:30Z2023-10-04T16:16:30ZWomen take fewer risks because they think about losing more than men, research suggests<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550997/original/file-20230928-21-wf9uds.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3175%2C2080&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fearless-highliner-walking-on-tight-rope-369170321">Roman Tarasevych/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>One difference between men and women has been well documented by <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167268111001521">economists</a>, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1999-13573-004">psychologists</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40750-014-0020-2">biologists</a> – that women are tend to be more cautious and take fewer risks. Evidence has also been <a href="https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/aer.101.2.556">gathered</a> about how this difference affects women’s lives, particularly with regard to careers and earnings. </p>
<p>For instance, men are more likely than women to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1111/jsbm.12080">start a business</a> or invest in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165176502000459?pes=vor">stock market</a>. And in the UK, the <a href="https://ifs.org.uk/publications/characteristics-and-incomes-top-1">top 1%</a> of income tax payers are disproportionately male.</p>
<p>But why does this variation in attitude to risk exist? My <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjop.12668">recent research</a> suggests that the reason women are less willing to take risks than men is because they are more sensitive to the pain of any resulting loss.</p>
<p>I realise of course that when people read about claims regarding sex differences in behaviours or psychological attributes, their immediate reaction is to list people they know – including themselves – who don’t fit this pattern. </p>
<p>But these studies are about averages, and there is a huge amount of overlap between the distributions of male and female risk-taking. And there will indeed be large numbers of women who act more riskily than the average man. </p>
<p>So going with the averages, I used psychological data that tracked over 13,000 men and women from the UK for almost two decades, and looked at how they approached risky choices. That is, how they assessed the probability of losing something, and then evaluated how painful that loss would be. </p>
<p>I found that on the whole, women focused more on the possibility of financial loss and anticipated experiencing more pain from those losses. They therefore took fewer risks. </p>
<p>The data I used measured how participants viewed their financial future, as well as their reactions to changes (negative and positive) in household income. </p>
<p>So with something like investing in the stock market, they look at the probability of ending up with a financial loss if the markets fall, and how bad the consequences of this would be. Women were less keen to invest.</p>
<p>And when asked how they saw themselves financially a year from now with expectations about outcomes under the individual’s control, men were significantly more optimistic. (This optimism may be linked to men’s overconfidence about their abilities in the workplace compared to women, which <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167268117300379?via%3Dihub">previous studies</a> have highlighted.)</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Sky view behind smashed glass." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551199/original/file-20230929-15-b7vwoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551199/original/file-20230929-15-b7vwoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551199/original/file-20230929-15-b7vwoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551199/original/file-20230929-15-b7vwoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551199/original/file-20230929-15-b7vwoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551199/original/file-20230929-15-b7vwoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551199/original/file-20230929-15-b7vwoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Broken glass.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sky-background-sunny-blue-seen-through-2209912065">Gergitek Gergi tavan/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>These differences in attitude to risk could partly explain why women are less likely to be entrepreneurs, and are underrepresented in highly paid jobs and upper management positions. For while sexual discrimination <a href="https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jel.20160995">plays a role</a> in maintaining the glass ceiling, it’s also true that if you really want to make the “big time” financially, you’re going to need to take on some risk. </p>
<h2>Changing behaviour</h2>
<p>As a society then, if we are aiming for equality across the sexes, we may want to encourage women to take as many risks as men. But is it possible to change people’s behaviour – and their psychology – to this extent? </p>
<p>The answer to this question largely depends on whether sex differences in behaviour have biological or environmental roots. For instance, <a href="https://skepticalinquirer.org/2023/06/the-ideological-subversion-of-biology/">one theory</a> is that males and females are born with the propensity to behave in similar ways, meaning any clear differences stem from socialisation and the environment. </p>
<p>And a <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1808336116">recent study</a> showed how the environment is extremely important in shaping risk aversion, finding that girls from matrilineal cultures – where women tend to have a higher social status than men – often take more risks than girls from patriarchal societies. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, biologists have compiled a long list of differences that have evolutionary origins. One of the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/brv.12507">most prominent</a> theories indicates that some of the attributes associated with risk-taking – aggression and impulsiveness for example – are derived from the sexual competition between males for access to females (or the resources those females desire). </p>
<p>So both biology and the environment matter. And this in turn suggests that while we may be able to narrow some psychological sex differences, it is unlikely that we can fully close the gap. </p>
<p>That said, we may not even want men and women to have the same approach to risk-taking, if the differences that exist are there for biological, genetic or evolutionary reasons. But this of course leads to enormous challenges in the pursuit of equality – and the clear risks in failing to achieve it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208334/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Dawson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s a difference which can have a big impact on careers and earnings.Chris Dawson, Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Business Economics, University of BathLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1664462021-08-20T13:40:09Z2021-08-20T13:40:09ZWomen may not be more pessimistic than men after all – why that matters for the gender pay gap<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417217/original/file-20210820-13-1r3zyjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">'Who are you calling pessimistic?'</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/ybPJ47PMT_M">Clarke Sanders/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We live in a world largely designed by men, <a href="https://www.evoke.org/articles/july-2019/data-driven/deep_dives/the-dangers-of-gender-bias-in-design?linkId=70880874">for men</a>, and according to a particular limited view of what it is to be a man. This has had a lot of unfair consequences, one of which is that women are paid less than men. It’s vital that we address this. </p>
<p>First we need to understand the causes of this inequality. Otherwise, a well-intentioned attempt to redress one inequality can exacerbate others. For example, <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/715835?casa_token=P3yiWvAiAtMAAAAA:0BRvpNiOjepxrHu-7e5Bi6Sb8Gh0Qcsq2GGm_Jgk2xoamCmQcF9hbJ93jfqEH2_NzZ_OgEjcPtwE">two recent</a> papers <a href="https://web.stanford.edu/%7Ediamondr/UberPayGap.pdf">analysed the</a> gender pay gap in terms of data from jobs that involve driving, where in many cases, men earn more. Neither paper found evidence to suggest that the employers were discriminating against the women. Instead, they explained the gap in terms of the choices and behaviours of the workers. </p>
<p>For instance, <a href="https://web.stanford.edu/%7Ediamondr/UberPayGap.pdf">male Uber drivers</a> were found to choose gigs closer to their current location, spend less time waiting for customers and drive faster than female drivers. <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/715835?casa_token=P3yiWvAiAtMAAAAA%3A0BRvpNiOjepxrHu-7e5Bi6Sb8Gh0Qcsq2GGm_Jgk2xoamCmQcF9hbJ93jfqEH2_NzZ_OgEjcPtwE&">Male transit drivers</a> were found to be more likely than females to choose to work antisocial shifts that pay a premium.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417219/original/file-20210820-17-1ac1dug.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Male transit driver at night" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417219/original/file-20210820-17-1ac1dug.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417219/original/file-20210820-17-1ac1dug.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417219/original/file-20210820-17-1ac1dug.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417219/original/file-20210820-17-1ac1dug.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417219/original/file-20210820-17-1ac1dug.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417219/original/file-20210820-17-1ac1dug.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417219/original/file-20210820-17-1ac1dug.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Men are more likely to work the night shift.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/dK0Bjy7XwRI">Alexander Schimmeck/Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This means that a law requiring equal pay could be treating a symptom rather than the underlying problem. Additionally, a law to “level up” the take-home pay of female drivers would increase labour costs for the employers. All else being equal, this would reduce the number of drivers that these firms employ.</p>
<p>Society may decide that these costs are worth incurring to reduce the gender wage gap, but it is important to recognise the trade-off. In the example, reducing inequality in drivers’ pay could exacerbate other inequalities, such as reducing transport provision for those who cannot afford a car. </p>
<h2>Optimists vs pessimists</h2>
<p>This highlights the importance of understanding the root causes of why men and women make different choices at work. A follow-up question is whether there are any innate differences between men and women that would explain these choices. </p>
<p>Optimism is one candidate. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00036846.2019.1610714?casa_token=QTorTePr3MkAAAAA%3AiIczFHtNqzHGVIgRclDNtfsKkjK_giRmUk1uMh_UP2HOQTXEox-HlK2ITjzA3pkjk2A97BKfp4FYUQ">Three</a> recent <a href="https://www.nzae.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/nr1215387911.pdf">papers</a> claimed <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/sbp/sbp/2010/00000038/00000001/art00006">that optimism</a> – defined as estimating a high likelihood of a positive outcome – was more prevalent among men than women. Men were found to be more positive than equivalent women regarding their expected <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/males-more-optimistic-but-to-their-detriment/408208.article">college results</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272775711000598?casa_token=pnb4-WFZMeEAAAAA:7JBpvP7HED-m3zh9bOdgPqiEpjXCg0H8SygjCTqp9NjBljw7vz25RgZCE6TBXcClhBwOhf6m8bc">expected earnings</a>. They are also more likely than women to participate in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165176515004115?casa_token=5pv9G2I9Mm4AAAAA:MKeReyPcQVkJpY_OlCpyZ6VL4V23unPl-PmqawRXlfMYhs7B2eUTi0vLV0K-w42FBUWV7bwms-0">stock market</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%252FBF02109939">betting</a>. And it has been reported that women in the <a href="https://read.dukeupress.edu/demography/article/45/1/95/170027/Using-subjective-expectations-to-forecast">US</a>, <a href="https://www.econstor.eu/handle/10419/200303">England</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165188915000512?casa_token=Lpwz3_koRmgAAAAA:paHSLdESdrkXFIfQUx-e8NJ4iHtibqNveDeSxkQRxAKU0g7bHhWoyMXMJ9waRnt6OWPNVflxyYg">Australia</a> and <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0229975">nine EU countries</a> underestimate their survival to a greater degree than men do. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417221/original/file-20210820-19-vjxxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two older women laughing on a bench" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417221/original/file-20210820-19-vjxxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417221/original/file-20210820-19-vjxxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417221/original/file-20210820-19-vjxxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417221/original/file-20210820-19-vjxxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417221/original/file-20210820-19-vjxxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417221/original/file-20210820-19-vjxxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417221/original/file-20210820-19-vjxxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women live longer, but don’t expect to.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/PAGBeJrLiDA">Dario Valenzuela/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>The relevance in relation to the gender gap is that higher levels of optimism predict higher <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0149206307305562?casa_token=wC5TyJY0p4QAAAAA:BHaO_o0pxIJ9FFBWRwkvwwJ6Kb-KaaZlKgGa4BRrNKb55K-MNHOqRQgDmEI1S1JKa-6hqQDFFEKp2g">job performance</a>. Steve Jobs might represent an extreme example of this phenomenon. The “reality distortion field” of the former driving force behind Apple has <a href="https://jhargrave.medium.com/how-steve-jobs-created-the-reality-distortion-field-and-you-can-too-4ba87781adba">been described</a> by the writer and entrepreneur John Hargrave as “his personal refusal to accept limitations that stood in the way of his ideas, to convince himself that any difficulty was surmountable. This ‘field’ was so strong that he was able to convince others that they, too, could achieve the impossible.” </p>
<p>This phenomenon of optimistic beliefs that engender enthusiasm in oneself and others might explain the result of a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1465-7295.2010.00295.x?casa_token=lzDFfs3RRm4AAAAA%3Au07G3M4M-aW8yyJnHuduFozKZheLnC2LKW_9J9mZTI5emrVPcy1xr_UHpt-IXg0P6PSwT--kTYKj_No">2012 experiment</a> that found that more optimistic leaders evoke better team performance. Groups showed greater cooperation if they were led by people who made more positive predictions about the outcome of the game.</p>
<h2>A different perspective</h2>
<p>But consider again the data invoked to support the claim that men are more optimistic than women. Each of those three recent papers that I referred to relied on data from surveys that asked men and women for predictions about the future state of the economy. </p>
<p>But men own a <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/women-make-only-1-percent-wealth_n_969439">disproportionate</a> share of economic resources and hold a disproportionate number of <a href="https://www.fca.org.uk/insight/financial-services-senior-jobs-are-still-mostly-for-boys">finance jobs</a>. Their expectations about the economy probably draw on particular information. Differences in economic expectations might be explained by differences in information across men and women rather than anything innate.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417220/original/file-20210820-21-136c6k0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Men gambling in a cafe" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417220/original/file-20210820-21-136c6k0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417220/original/file-20210820-21-136c6k0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1000&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417220/original/file-20210820-21-136c6k0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1000&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417220/original/file-20210820-21-136c6k0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1000&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417220/original/file-20210820-21-136c6k0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1257&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417220/original/file-20210820-21-136c6k0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1257&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417220/original/file-20210820-21-136c6k0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1257&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Eyes down.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/UY_AihWLfm4">Laura Thonne/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>The other ways in which men are supposedly more optimistic than women can also be called into question. Expectations about exam results and future earnings <em>might</em> measure optimism but might alternatively be explained as differences in self-confidence. As for men being more likely to participate in the stock-market or gamble, this might be because they have a greater appetite for risk. </p>
<p><a href="https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.4102/sajip.v46i0.1704">Self-confidence</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167268111001521?casa_token=ElGxhEPsTNYAAAAA:AEUKy_cbaCf8eKWDsZh1n9FD4fvqAiZiygcYM-rToqDLM2OSmH2nOfTUwl7Ps6eTJMybOaAQoBY">risk-taking</a> are indeed higher among males than females. But unlike optimism, both are often detrimental to workplace <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1048984311000609?casa_token=BTRvsRLhBakAAAAA:tqZ-_zc9C7Gq0ngfhILqSOp9DdMaXed8jjKZNjG6tojo4CqiBd1Q3EBkx1A97D08hiZIUO1ATgE">productivity</a> – not to mention <a href="https://academic.oup.com/qje/article-abstract/116/1/261/1939000">profitability</a>.</p>
<p>But if all these supposed measures of optimism are arguably confusing it with different characteristics, how do we measure it? I would argue that the best evidence is data on how long men and women think they will live. After all, there is no reason to suspect that the average man has access to richer information regarding his own lifespan than the average woman. Additionally, we can compare survival beliefs against excellent objective data – statistics agencies do a thorough job of recording deaths.</p>
<p>But even in the domain of survival beliefs, <a href="http://journal.sjdm.org/21/210219/jdm210219.pdf">my research</a> shows that the purported higher optimism among males is illusory, stemming from a reporting bias. Survival beliefs are measured by asking respondents for the percentage chance they will live to some given age, such as 85. But a lot of people make mistakes when <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165176519301259?casa_token=zeqAkxYEIt4AAAAA:OP1qyEdnkONaG33PIE16mHBY9nlYZc5tnrPHUjoaCQOw0ujhJDLzfvoi9uDaoqOe5ka--P-Lm4M">reporting their beliefs</a> as a percentage chance. These mistakes are larger and more systematic as beliefs diverge from 50% towards 100%. </p>
<p>Because women on average live longer than men, they are being asked about events that are closer to 100% likely. As a result, females appear to under-report the true probability of their survival to a greater extent than do men. Once we account for the reporting bias, females and males are equally accurate in predicting their survival. In other words, men are not more optimistic than women after all. </p>
<p>So what to take from all this? Be optimistic. Gender differences in optimism seem illusory and, to that extent, there is one less excuse for women to be paid less than men.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166446/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Comerford receives funding from UKRI for research on response to Covid-19. </span></em></p>Superior optimism is often given as the reason why men earn more than women.David Comerford, Senior Lecturer of Economics and Behavioural Science, University of StirlingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1610812021-05-19T19:57:31Z2021-05-19T19:57:31ZMen are from Mars, women are from… Mars? How people choose partners is surprisingly similar (but depends on age)<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401542/original/file-20210519-19-1psbexl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=41%2C17%2C3952%2C1479&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As behavioural scientists, we have a keen interest in how people make decisions, and particularly how these decisions incorporate a range of emotional, cognitive and psychological factors.</p>
<p>Choosing a life partner is arguably one of the most important decisions a person can make. And <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-26/australia-talks-national-survey-where-to-find-a-partner/11692170">research</a> <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/2019/08/21/online-dating-popular-way-u-s-couples-meet/">has shown</a> the most common way to do this these days is to go online.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401526/original/file-20210519-21-kk0ghq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401526/original/file-20210519-21-kk0ghq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401526/original/file-20210519-21-kk0ghq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=951&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401526/original/file-20210519-21-kk0ghq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=951&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401526/original/file-20210519-21-kk0ghq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=951&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401526/original/file-20210519-21-kk0ghq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1195&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401526/original/file-20210519-21-kk0ghq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1195&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401526/original/file-20210519-21-kk0ghq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1195&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">John Gray’s famous 1992 book purports that men and women have innately different natures.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wiki</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As increasing numbers of people wade cautiously through the digital dating market, many still subscribe to stereotypical ideas about what men and women find attractive in a partner.</p>
<p>Our latest research, <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0250151">published</a> today in PLOS One shows the truth, as ever, is more nuanced. </p>
<p>Using survey data from 7,325 heterosexual users of dating websites, aged 18 to 65, we show there is no absolute difference between the preferences of men and women when it comes to choosing a mate. Both essentially desire the same qualities, but prioritise them slightly differently.</p>
<h2>The democratisation of dating?</h2>
<p>Dating in the 21st century is <a href="https://theconversation.com/sex-bots-virtual-friends-vr-lovers-tech-is-changing-the-way-we-interact-and-not-always-for-the-better-159427">a truly unique experience</a>. For millennia, the human search for companionship had been constrained by access, distance and resources. Most people had to find a partner through close or extended family, or religious, cultural or social organisations.</p>
<p>Today, online dating allows seemingly unrestrained and “<a href="https://www.cs.ubc.ca/%7Ekevinlb/teaching/cs322%20-%202005-6/Lectures/lect32.pdf">nonsequential</a>” decision-making.</p>
<p>Imagine if you met someone at a bar and told them to wait around for two hours, just in case you managed to find someone better. It sounds bizarre, but that’s what <a href="https://medium.com/@therealnair/tinder-and-cognitive-overload-5c7650f5fe00">online dating allows</a>. You can search through thousands of people and never have to make a decision. </p>
<p>This is good news for researchers of human behaviour. With such a vast and growing pool of data, we can study mating choices in a way we never could before.</p>
<h2>Pressure to play the evolutionary game</h2>
<p>Obviously, a huge part of sexual attraction comes down to personal preference regarding what makes someone “sexy”. That said, there are many stereotypes relating to what heterosexual men and women find sexy. </p>
<p>It’s often assumed women favour more emotional, personality, intelligence and commitment-based traits in men, while men are often said to prefer physical attractiveness. </p>
<p>From an evolutionary psychology angle, these stereotypes aren’t unfounded. In the game of life, the main aim is to pass on your genes — and once you do, to ensure your offspring achieve the same success. </p>
<p>Naturally, men and women play different roles in the reproduction process. From an evolutionary standpoint, it makes sense for women to seek a man with traits that will benefit her offspring in both the short and long term, as women bear a bigger reproductive cost than men. </p>
<p>They have internal gestation for nine months and then must successfully give birth, all while facing discomfort and risk. They will then continue to nurse and care for the child. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Mother and child place their hands atop each other's" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401522/original/file-20210519-21-1bi2qzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401522/original/file-20210519-21-1bi2qzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401522/original/file-20210519-21-1bi2qzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401522/original/file-20210519-21-1bi2qzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401522/original/file-20210519-21-1bi2qzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401522/original/file-20210519-21-1bi2qzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401522/original/file-20210519-21-1bi2qzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Throughout the evolution of our species, mothers on average have had a far greater parenting responsibility across their offspring’s lives.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Men, at its simplest, need only to invest time into copulation to have offspring. Theoretically, then, the specific selection pressures on men and women to pass on their genes should be observable in the characteristics of the mates they choose.</p>
<p>Many of these assumptions fall under a school of thought called “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/parental-investment">parental investment theory</a>”, developed in the early 1970s by evolutionary biologist Robert Trivers. </p>
<p>More recent theories in gender studies and social and evolutionary psychology have countered the notion of absolute differences. They demonstrate men and women are far more similar in their preferences than previously thought.</p>
<p>Our research reinforces one such theory, referred to as “<a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/106/Supplement_1/10001">mutual mate choice</a>”. We found both men and women essentially desire the same qualities in a partner, differing only in the relative emphasis placed on each trait at different life stages.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/should-i-stay-or-should-i-go-here-are-the-relationship-factors-people-ponder-when-deciding-whether-to-break-up-153707">Should I stay or should I go? Here are the relationship factors people ponder when deciding whether to break up</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>If men are from Mars, women are too</h2>
<p>We asked survey participants to rate from 0 to 100 the importance they placed on nine traits when looking for a mate. They fell into three categories: </p>
<ul>
<li><strong>aesthetics</strong>, such as age, attractiveness and physical features</li>
<li><strong>resources</strong>, such as intelligence, education and income</li>
<li>and <strong>personality</strong>, such as trust, openness and emotional connection.</li>
</ul>
<p>Both genders rated aesthetics as highly important, along with all three personality traits, while income was much less important. </p>
<hr>
<p><iframe id="ScLiU" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/ScLiU/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<hr>
<p>Women, however, rated factors including age, education, intelligence, income, trust and emotional connection about 9 to 14 points higher than men. Men placed relatively more emphasis on attractiveness and physical build.</p>
<p>Importantly, the way both genders prioritised traits changed with age. Both cared less about physical attractiveness as they got older, whereas emphasis on personality increased. This makes sense, considering we require different things from a partner at different life stages. </p>
<p>Our findings reinforce that both men and women tend to give similar emphasis to certain traits, depending on their individual needs at a particular stage in life.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401520/original/file-20210519-13-ebp1j4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Older couple" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401520/original/file-20210519-13-ebp1j4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401520/original/file-20210519-13-ebp1j4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401520/original/file-20210519-13-ebp1j4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401520/original/file-20210519-13-ebp1j4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401520/original/file-20210519-13-ebp1j4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401520/original/file-20210519-13-ebp1j4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401520/original/file-20210519-13-ebp1j4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">On dating apps, users can at times be spoilt for choice. This may result in us not placing as much emphasis on the actual search for a partner that older generations historically did.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Men and women can both be very picky</h2>
<p>One interesting revelation came when we grouped participants’ preference data together. </p>
<p>Of those individuals who said one specific trait was very important to them, it turned out the majority of traits were very important to them. On the other hand were respondents who said they didn’t have a strong preference for any particular trait at all. </p>
<p>So while some people were happy to go with the flow, many of the participants actually cared <em>a lot</em> about <em>a lot</em> of different factors. For men, the likelihood of having such stringent preferences was most common between ages 20 and 40. Among women it was more likely between the ages of 35 and 50. </p>
<h2>Personal circumstance and preference is key</h2>
<p>The bottom line is there is no single unified theory of mate choice. Attractiveness matters to everyone to some extent. Resources and intelligence matter to everyone to some extent. </p>
<p>Beyond human biology and evolution, it’s likely our individual personal constraints — such as employment, education, family and social circle — still have a huge impact on how we choose a mate, even if we are dating online.</p>
<p>While dating apps and websites may come with an element of “cognitive overload”, they are ultimately just conduits for human communication. They let people search far and wide for a mate who will help them achieve their own relationship goals.</p>
<p>And our relationship goals, just as is the case with the importance we place on our preferences, change over time.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-one-could-dna-tests-find-our-soulmate-we-study-sex-and-sexuality-and-think-the-idea-is-ridiculous-158533">The One: could DNA tests find our soulmate? We study sex and sexuality — and think the idea is ridiculous</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/161081/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rob Brooks receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benno Torgler, Ho Fai Chan, and Stephen Whyte do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Each year, more and more people are looking to dating apps to find a partner. And a trove of data from these users is finally revealing what men and women really want.Stephen Whyte, Deputy Director, Centre for Behavioural Economics, Society and Technology, Queensland University of TechnologyBenno Torgler, Professor, Business School, Queensland University of TechnologyHo Fai Chan, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Queensland University of TechnologyRob Brooks, Scientia Professor of Evolutionary Ecology; Academic Lead of UNSW's Grand Challenges Program, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1571262021-03-15T17:47:06Z2021-03-15T17:47:06ZHow men can be allies to women right now<p>Men are primarily responsible for violence against women and girls. All men, including those who are not perpetrating violence or abuse, have a responsibility to play a part in helping to end it.</p>
<p>More men are starting to reflect on their own role in the problem and in tackling it. <a href="https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/mens-activism-to-end-violence-against-women">Our research</a> has explored why some men come to take an active role in improving the situation and what can be learnt from their experience to encourage others. </p>
<p>Often it was the impact of hearing from women in their own lives which initiated a process of awakening. In some cases, it was witnessing other men’s violence or learning about the experiences of someone close to them. Sometimes the men felt that they didn’t “fit” with dominant expectations of masculinity – “be strong, in control, don’t cry” – when growing up. For some, it was the impact of a horrifying high-profile death of a woman, similar to the situation in the UK currently, which finally spurred them to speak out. This moment can be an opportunity for more men to become allies. </p>
<p>If we are going to stop violence against women and girls, we need many, many more men to engage. This must start with an honest examination of men’s own attitudes, behaviours and attachments to masculine expectations. Sexist ideas and <a href="http://www.dur.ac.uk/criva/geotoolkit/">harmful gender norms</a> are so deeply rooted in institutions and public discourse that no one is untouched by them. This is not about blaming individual men, but recognising that for change to happen, each and every man needs to play a part in it.</p>
<h2>Reflecting on our relationships</h2>
<p>Men can make a real difference in their daily interactions with family members, friends, peers and colleagues. They can challenge sexism and misogyny when they encounter it. This includes making sure that we are “walking the walk” in terms of equal and respectful relationships with women and girls. At home, that might mean ensuring that tasks such as housework and childcare are equally shared, and prioritising enthusiastic consent and respect in sexual relationships. </p>
<p>Outside of the home, it includes understanding how women’s freedom in public spaces can be <a href="https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2021/03/11/sarah-everard-and-the-myth-of-the-right-amount-of-panic/">limited</a> in a way which isn’t the case for most men. We can take into account our own everyday behaviours and the impact they can have. Even if there is no malicious intent, consider that maybe it isn’t clear to the woman you are walking behind that you mean her no harm. We don’t control how our actions are received and we cannot know the negative experiences that a woman may have previously had with men.</p>
<p>In their daily lives, men can also be active bystanders; for example, by questioning sexist comments or stereotypes, or talking to a friend whose behaviour towards women doesn’t feel right. If you witness actual or potential abusive behaviour, options include challenging the abuser if it feels safe to do so, trying to distract them, checking with the victim if they need help, and getting the support of others.</p>
<p>Of course, some groups of men have much more power and privilege than others. Men in leadership positions, and in influential institutions such as politics, business, media and the police have a particular responsibility to speak out and work to build gender equality and inclusiveness in their own organisations and wider communities. There are also organisations already engaging with men and boys on these issues in the UK which men can get involved with, such as the <a href="https://www.whiteribbon.org.uk">White Ribbon</a> campaign.</p>
<p>When men do decide to take action, they should do so sensitively, recognising and supporting women’s longstanding leadership in this area. Without this, there can be a risk of men “taking over” by dominating conversations, claiming expertise that they don’t have, or taking credit for women’s efforts.</p>
<p>These are some examples of why it’s essential that male allies act in an accountable way. If you care about this issue, be prepared to receive and act upon critical feedback from women. One of the most important things men can do is really listen to women in their lives, and instigate conversations with other men about what women are saying.</p>
<p>It is vital that men explore what the implications of violence against women are for them, and the role they can play in shifting harmful masculine norms. Men must address these issues honestly and openly, engage with one another, and work towards a society which is free from men’s violence against women and girls.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157126/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Burrell is currently receiving funding from the Leverhulme Trust, and has received funding from the British Academy and the Government Equalities Office for research in this area. He is a trustee of White Ribbon UK, co-chair of the steering group for Changing Relations, and a member of the MenEngage Alliance.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicole Westmarland has received funding from the British Academy and the Government Equalities Office for research in this area. She is Vice Chair of the Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Centre (Darlington and Co. Durham). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sandy Ruxton is a member of the Steering Committee of MenEngage Europe, a regional grouping of the global MenEngage Alliance. He has received funding from the British Academy and the Government Equalities Office for research in this area. </span></em></p>It starts with a basic conversation about their needs and fears.Stephen Burrell, Assistant Professor (Research) in the Department of Sociology, Durham UniversityNicole Westmarland, Professor of Criminology, Durham UniversitySandy Ruxton, Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Sociology, Durham UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/859302017-10-25T13:23:49Z2017-10-25T13:23:49ZUnraveling what’s holding back women economists in academia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/190832/original/file-20171018-32345-n9pxlg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Data shows gender disparities in networking.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When it comes to academic success female scientists are – on average – usually behind their male counterparts. They receive <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2014/08/equally-productive-women-are-tenured-less">academic tenure</a> less often and win <a href="http://fortune.com/2015/10/12/women-nobel-prizes">fewer awards</a>. </p>
<p>This <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20141734">gender gap</a> exists in the academic discipline of economics, too. In 2016, <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/about-aea/committees/cswep/survey">less than 15%</a> of all economics professors were women. </p>
<p><a href="http://blog.central-places.net/">Data</a> I’ve collected and worked with during my PhD shows that women are also less central in the social network of informal collaboration. This refers to the process among academics of providing feedback and helping other authors to improve their work through comments and engagements. Such networks enable the global flow of knowledge, which is <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-plugging-into-well-connected-colleagues-can-help-research-fly-71223">crucial</a> for research. </p>
<p>My data suggests that men’s attitudes might be part of what’s keeping women in a subfield of economics from occupying a central position in the social network of informal collaboration.</p>
<h2>Fewer women</h2>
<p>The data focuses on financial economics, the field that deals with financial crises, inflation, banking, and corporate finance. </p>
<p>The dataset contains 14,529 researchers whose names appear in published research articles in major financial economics journals between 1997 and 2011. They are either authors, acknowledged commenters, or both. An acknowledged commenter is a person who advised the authors and helped guide or inform their thinking; their assistance is noted in the acknowledgements section of any journal article or book.</p>
<p>Across all the years, only 18% of the authors are female. This disparity between male and female authors alone exemplifies the gender gap. It’s also striking that female commenters only account for 11% of the total. This means that authors do not regularly turn to women economists for advice. </p>
<p>This low share of women commenters and authors is problematic for two reasons. The first is a lack of diversity. US Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard recently reiterated why <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/brainard20170728a.htm">diversity is so valuable</a>: it helps bringing out better ideas. </p>
<p>The second relates to the role that informal collaboration plays in the social network of financial economics as an academic discipline. People exchange information on conferences, during visits at other institutions or in phone calls. This information includes learning about unpublished results, emerging trends, new ideas, promising datasets and more. Nowadays a researcher has to be active even before their research is published. That’s why being part of the conversation matters.</p>
<p>Those who <a href="http://www.central-places.net/rankings?year=2011&rtype=com&ranking=betweenness">aren’t central</a> to such networks – in the case of my research and data, women – are simply less likely to receive relevant information than those who wield <a href="http://www.central-places.net/rankings?year=2011&rtype=com&ranking=eigenvector">great influence</a>: men. They are left out of the conversation. </p>
<p>A standard hypothesis is that women network differently – and less effectively – than men. There is anecdotal evidence that women <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/work/why-are-women-losing-out-when-it-comes-to-networking/">shy away from networking</a> for various reasons. One is that women are often <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/05/the-confidence-gap/359815/">less self-assured</a>, thinking their work will speak for their competence and that no advertising is necessary.</p>
<p>My data allowed me to test – and disprove – this hypothesis. Acknowledgements tell us a great deal about networking behaviour, because authors also use this part of an article to list conferences and seminars at universities where they presented their research. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191591/original/file-20171024-30605-1ryld0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191591/original/file-20171024-30605-1ryld0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191591/original/file-20171024-30605-1ryld0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191591/original/file-20171024-30605-1ryld0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191591/original/file-20171024-30605-1ryld0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191591/original/file-20171024-30605-1ryld0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191591/original/file-20171024-30605-1ryld0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191591/original/file-20171024-30605-1ryld0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michael E Rose</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As this figure shows, my data reveals that articles written by only women display more informal collaboration per author than those written exclusively by men. A group of female authors, on average, present their article more often and speak to more people than a group of male authors or a mixed-gender author group.</p>
<p>So the issue is not that women network less. Instead, they network more. Why, then, are they acknowledged less frequently?</p>
<h2>Women aren’t asked for advice</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191381/original/file-20171023-1748-1c2gq5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191381/original/file-20171023-1748-1c2gq5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191381/original/file-20171023-1748-1c2gq5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191381/original/file-20171023-1748-1c2gq5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191381/original/file-20171023-1748-1c2gq5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191381/original/file-20171023-1748-1c2gq5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191381/original/file-20171023-1748-1c2gq5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191381/original/file-20171023-1748-1c2gq5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michael E Rose</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>My data shows that male authors, on average, are either not asking women for advice or are not acknowledging the advice they get from women. This might be one reason why women are participating less in the tangled networks of world-leading research.</p>
<p>We do not know at this stage why men acknowledge women less often. One plausible explanation is men’s broader attitude towards women in society and at work. Studies on women on the workplace suggest that <a href="https://hbr.org/2015/12/even-women-think-men-are-more-creative">men perceive women</a> as less creative or and that <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/07/to-seem-confident-women-have-to-be-seen-as-warm">women have to work far harder</a> than men to be seen as equally competent. This might be case here as well.</p>
<p>A recent <a href="http://blogs.nature.com/naturejobs/2017/03/20/women-arent-failing-at-science-science-is-failing-women/">Nature post</a> put it very well: “Women aren’t failing at science, science is failing at women”. In our case, it’s male scientists – financial economists – who are “failing at women”.</p>
<p><em>This article is based on <a href="http://blog.central-places.net/2017/08/15/202/">a piece</a> that originally appeared on the author’s professional blog.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/85930/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael E. Rose does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The low share of women revealed in this data is problematic for two reasons: a lack of diversity, and what it shows about women’s participation in the social network of informal collaboration.Michael E. Rose, PhD Candidate in Economics, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/759522017-05-16T15:06:21Z2017-05-16T15:06:21ZWhy working with men could help efforts to combat violence against women<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169318/original/file-20170515-7005-e43ai9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Men march against
violence against women and children in Cape Town, South Africa.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Mike Hutchings</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Numerous <a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2017/05/15/Shocking-stats-show-one-in-five-SA-women-experience-domestic-violence">studies</a> have noted that South Africa is an extremely violent country with high rates of interpersonal violence and <a href="https://www.unodc.org/documents/gsh/pdfs/2014_GLOBAL_HOMICIDE_BOOK_web.pdf">homicide</a>. Along with this, the rates of sexual violence are high, with a report by the Medical Research Council showing that 25% of women in their <a href="http://www.mrc.ac.za/gender/gbvthewar.pdf">study</a> had been raped in their lifetime.</p>
<p>Although the rates of violence are extremely high in South Africa, the ways in which it plays out are similar in many ways to other countries. Around the world most violence is perpetrated by men, often against women, but to an even greater extent <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-05-10-analysis-how-south-africas-violent-notion-of-masculinity-harms-us-all/">against other men</a>.</p>
<p>Despite this knowledge, most interventions to combat violence tend to focus on women. Typically they provide support to women after they’ve been attacked, or they suggest ways to avoid or prevent violence by changing their behaviour or the clothes they wear.</p>
<p>These interventions have had little impact on the levels of violence in South Africa which suggests that alternatives need to be investigated. One possibility would be to specifically work with men as a form of violence prevention. </p>
<p>This was the focus of my recent <a href="http://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/101057">doctoral study</a> which primarily looked at the effect of working with men. </p>
<h2>Tackling masculinities differently</h2>
<p>My study drew on a growing <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books/about/Against_our_will.html?id=3jF6EIp8sUwC&redir_esc=y">body of research</a>, which suggests that focusing on <a href="http://www.raewynconnell.net/p/masculinities_20.html">masculinities</a> – the societal norms men are expected to achieve in order to “prove” their manhood – can help in reducing men’s use of violence in the future. </p>
<p>Masculinities include aspects such as men being financial providers in a relationship or family. Others are that men “need” more sex than women, and the notion that men are more aggressive. </p>
<p>While some consider these norms to be biological, or as something inherent to men, research <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03057070500493845">suggests</a> this isn’t always the case. A number of organisations in South Africa and globally have begun to focus on the societal norms surrounding men as they grow up. My study focused on a South African NGO implementing this kind of workshop. </p>
<p>Organisations like the one I focused on typically use workshops to question whether aggression is something men are born with, or merely something that they are encouraged to use. </p>
<p>Results from studies of these interventions have been quite positive. They show that men who take part in them often report using less violence after completing the workshops. They also tend to report a greater respect for women and their rights. </p>
<p>This has been shown in South Africa, as well as countries like <a href="http://www.leftvoice.org/Organizing-Against-Rape-Culture-Lessons-from-Brazil">Brazil</a>
and <a href="http://menengage.org/resources/reviewing-responsibilities-renewing-relationships-intervention-men-violence-women-india/">India</a>, where similar interventions have been implemented.</p>
<h2>Changing behaviour</h2>
<p>My own study found that a primary part of this success comes from the structure of the workshops that organisations facilitate. The participants report that creating a supportive peer group through the process is incredibly important in encouraging them to maintain lower levels of violence.</p>
<p>Along with this, the workshop facilitators – predominantly men – act as positive role models for the alternative notions of manhood that get discussed in the workshops. These positive role models were mentioned repeatedly by men who participated as being one of the most important aspects in helping them to change their behaviour in terms of violence or discrimination against women.</p>
<p>In my study, I found that a shortcoming of the workshops is that while they have an effect on specific behaviours, they don’t seem to have an impact on underlying attitudes which often drive these behaviours. For example, men might agree that using physical violence against their own partner is wrong, but not that gender inequality itself is an issue.</p>
<p>Similarly, they may assert that they themselves will not rape a woman, but still maintain that women’s clothing or behaviour is the cause of rape. Thus, certain behaviours were highlighted as problematic, but the fact that men are encouraged to use violence was seen as less of an issue.</p>
<h2>Shifting mindsets</h2>
<p>Overall, the findings suggest that workshops which specifically focus on men can play a role in lowering the rates of certain forms of violence. Along with this, involving men in efforts to lower violence is an important step, as it moves the conversation away from simply blaming men for violence, enabling them to become part of the solution instead. </p>
<p>It also questions the notion that men have no control over their use of violence, preferring to see them as active participants in efforts to reduce violence. While the impact is still quite limited - workshops usually only have space for 10-20 men at a time - the fact that this approach has the potential to reduce men’s use of violence is promising.</p>
<p>But some adjustments still need to be made to the workshops to focus more on the underlying attitudes of gender inequality that seem to be more resistant to change. Limiting certain forms of violence is definitely a positive step, but a shift in the mindset which underlies that violence could enable a much larger reduction in violence and gender-based violence as a whole.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75952/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen Graaff does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While men regard the social norm of ‘proving’ their manhood as normal, research shows otherwise. Combating these misconceptions can help reduce male violence.Karen Graaff, Lecturer in Sociology, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/380472015-03-01T19:29:15Z2015-03-01T19:29:15ZSydney’s stuck in traffic, putting the brakes on women and the west<p>Sydney is a city grinding to a halt, with the worst traffic congestion anywhere in Australia. </p>
<p>Our new analysis reveals that over the decade to 2012, the proportion of full-time employees in Sydney who commute for more than 10 hours a week rose from 22% to 29%. Those workers are spending almost three full weeks a year just to get to and from work.</p>
<p>That is one of the new findings in our book, <a href="https://www.mup.com.au/items/154135">City Limits: why Australia’s cities are broken and how we can fix them</a>, published today. It also shows that residents of large areas of outer Sydney have little choice about long commutes - and congested roads and crowded trains and buses are only symptoms of a much deeper problem facing Australia’s most populated city.</p>
<h2>Broken cities</h2>
<p>While some people are able to commute to their local area, a lack of local jobs means many have to travel further afield. In some suburbs, only <a href="http://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/188_productive_cities.pdf">14% of the jobs</a> available in Sydney can be accessed in a 45-minute car trip. The situation is even worse if you’re reliant on public transport: many outer suburbs of Sydney offer access to <a href="http://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/188_productive_cities.pdf">fewer than one in 10</a> of the city’s jobs within an hour on public transport.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/73371/original/image-20150301-16172-11rezwo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/73371/original/image-20150301-16172-11rezwo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/73371/original/image-20150301-16172-11rezwo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73371/original/image-20150301-16172-11rezwo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73371/original/image-20150301-16172-11rezwo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73371/original/image-20150301-16172-11rezwo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73371/original/image-20150301-16172-11rezwo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73371/original/image-20150301-16172-11rezwo.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There is a visible different in labour force participation in Sydney, depending on where you live.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Grattan Institute, Who lives where: Sydney Productive Cities: Supplementary Maps, May 2013</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Commuting can be stressful and unpleasant. Long drives caused by limited access to jobs and transport <a href="http://transportreform.org/file.php?fileID=143">add thousands of dollars a year</a> to household bills, and makes those households especially vulnerable to <a href="http://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/88851/urp-rp17-dodson-sipe-2008.pdf">petrol price rises</a>.</p>
<p>Poor access to jobs especially restricts the choices available to women. Because women still do most of the work looking after children or frail older people in Australian households, they are more likely than men to be constrained in how long they can commute for.</p>
<p>These pressures are opening up a big divide between women in the inner suburbs and those on the fringe.</p>
<p>Our research has shown that men and women in the eastern suburbs and inner west participate in the workforce at relatively similar levels. But in parts of Sydney’s outer west and south-west, women’s workforce participation falls to <a href="http://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/189_who_lives_where_sydney.pdf">more than 20% below that of men</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/73370/original/image-20150301-16182-1vmviyf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/73370/original/image-20150301-16182-1vmviyf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/73370/original/image-20150301-16182-1vmviyf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73370/original/image-20150301-16182-1vmviyf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73370/original/image-20150301-16182-1vmviyf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73370/original/image-20150301-16182-1vmviyf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73370/original/image-20150301-16182-1vmviyf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73370/original/image-20150301-16182-1vmviyf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The gap between how many men are in paid work versus women in much greater in some parts of Sydney, especially in the west.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Grattan Institute, Who lives where: Sydney Productive Cities: Supplementary Maps, May 2013</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Taking the heat out of Sydney’s housing market</h2>
<p>Along with traffic, housing is a hot topic of conversation almost anywhere you go in Sydney.</p>
<p>High prices mean many younger people are locked out of home ownership that their parents took for granted. </p>
<p>One in four Australian households now rent their home, and many face punishing rents and some of the <a href="http://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/800_Renovating_Housing.pdf">worst security of tenure in the developed world</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/73374/original/image-20150301-16188-x3qrul.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/73374/original/image-20150301-16188-x3qrul.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/73374/original/image-20150301-16188-x3qrul.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73374/original/image-20150301-16188-x3qrul.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73374/original/image-20150301-16188-x3qrul.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73374/original/image-20150301-16188-x3qrul.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73374/original/image-20150301-16188-x3qrul.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/73374/original/image-20150301-16188-x3qrul.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australian renters typically have fewer rights and less security of tenure than in comparable nations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Grattan Institute</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For years, even decades, politicians have surrendered responsibility for addressing the rising pressures on city life. Yet they have a vital role to play. Most importantly, the state government can make it easier to build new homes in all parts of Sydney, especially established areas that have good access to jobs.</p>
<p>Making it much easier to build new homes would help improve access to jobs, and give people more meaningful choices about where they live and the kind of home they live in. Less convoluted planning and zoning rules and decision-making processes are essential.</p>
<p>But it’s also vital to have transparent standards for appropriate development, so that residents and communities know what is planned for their community and can have their say about it.</p>
<p>Politicians need to ensure their commitments have effective implementation mechanisms and are followed through. </p>
<p>Over the years, state governments from both sides of the political divide have made and broken too many promises to tackle housing affordability.</p>
<p>Similarly, Sydneysiders have lost count of how many promises to tackle traffic congestion, improve access to public transport or build new transport infrastructure have then not been delivered. Failing to deliver on commitments is a guaranteed way to let Sydney’s problems get worse.</p>
<h2>Thinking beyond our own backyards</h2>
<p>One reason that promises have fallen by the wayside is because delivering them has required trade-offs between different members of the community. Such trade-offs are inevitable anywhere there is a finite amount of land, and finite amounts of money to spend on transport.</p>
<p>One such trade-off is between local residents of inner and middle suburbs close to employment centres, who may prefer fewer new homes being added in their area, versus residents further out who face longer commutes, along with more traffic on the roads that everyone uses.</p>
<p>Trade-offs are required because the city can’t simply build its way out of this problem. Improving public transport and roads can make a big difference to many people’s lives. But there are limits to what the transport system can do, and new roads and train lines are very expensive.</p>
<p>There’s no perfect way to balance the kinds of difficult trade-offs involved in improving Sydney’s complex traffic, housing and other urban planning challenges.</p>
<p>But it is possible to do better. As overseas experience in cities such as Seattle, Vancouver and Portland shows, genuinely involving residents in making the trade-offs facing cities is essential to making improvements endure, and see <a href="http://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/052_cities_who_decides.pdf">promises get delivered</a>.</p>
<p>State and local governments have a critical role in involving all residents in shaping their city’s future. So it’s incumbent on whoever wins this state election to involve the community more in making the hard decisions that are inevitable in tackling the challenges Sydney faces. </p>
<p>But Sydney’s problems are not just for politicians to solve.</p>
<p>Often people know that the status quo isn’t working, but resist the kinds of change in their local area that could turn things around. Sometimes that’s because residents feel it is being imposed on them, without having a say, and the only response is to resist, or pretend it can be avoided. </p>
<p>Yet resisting all change, such as opposing new apartment blocks in well-established suburbs blocks (regardless of their quality), risks backfiring on residents in the long-term. People are now seeing their own children and grandchildren forced to live far from where they grow up – and in a city as congested as Sydney, that means seeing family less often.</p>
<p><em>* City Limits: why Australia’s cities are broken and how we can fix them is <a href="https://www.mup.com.au/items/154135">published today</a> by Melbourne University Press. <a href="http://grattan.edu.au/events/city-limits-book-launch-melbourne-and-sydney-events/">Register here</a> to attend a free launch event in Sydney on Thursday March 5.</em></p>
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<p><strong>You can read more coverage of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/nsw-election-2015">2015 NSW election</a>, including NSW Premier Mike Baird’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/nsw-premier-mike-baird-on-health-privatisation-and-abbotts-shadow-38093">interview with Michelle Grattan</a>, which is also available as a <a href="http://michellegrattan.podbean.com/e/mike-baird/?token=b2e1efc5840b78f5750cc55b2aca1a3b">podcast</a>.</strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/38047/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Donegan has helped governments tackle some of Australia's biggest social and economic challenges, as a Commonwealth and state public servant, ministerial adviser and at the Grattan Institute.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane-Frances Kelly was Cities Program Director at the Grattan Institute from 2009 to 2014. She has led strategy work for the United Kingdom, Queensland, Victorian and Commonwealth governments. Before moving to Australia in 2004, she spent three years in the British Prime Minister's Strategy Unit.</span></em></p>Our new analysis reveals nearly a third of full-time workers in Sydney commutes for more than 10 hours a week. Those workers are spending almost three full weeks a year just to get to and from work.Paul Donegan, Fellow, Grattan InstituteJane-Frances Kelly, Program director, Cities, Grattan InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/354542014-12-19T06:16:08Z2014-12-19T06:16:08Z‘Get a lovely bust for Christmas’: tips from the 1930s on how to be a perfect festive woman<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67525/original/image-20141217-31052-xv0ycy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">You mean you don't make your stuffing from scratch?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nesster/5203437231/in/photolist-8VNYB2-7WvhAp-hQrCCY-jZxe4m-29bBqS-29bBqL-29bBr9-29bBqw-8SXexD-hb8fBs-7WvfR6-oqjhrh-nvpta9-hVd7no-kdBDPP-gAR7hk-im1iKt-h7pRrG-jvyDyE-8SXey2-oi4Jnf-7MkZ6e-mzEiDZ-puF7kW-pcFvfc-8D7PRS-29dWFL-8Uiofi-nB7krp-8CdqJb-8U5cU2-j9RJSB-edsHFX-8T1jbN-29dWFC-8Uwqpc-8SJwU4-29dWFs-29dWFm-oUhmHN-7isVQh-8UmsBf-8MCUGP-8Uzv5m-8SJwUr-7AqfTy-7Amx4z-b6GdFF-8ZMdiF-ecNJCm">Nesster</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When my good friend and long-term collaborator Sam Warren was given a pile of women’s magazines from the 1930s by her grandmother Jane Frampton, we found among them 11 Christmas issues of Good Needlework, Model Housekeeping, The Needlewoman and Stitchcraft.</p>
<p>We’re both preoccupied with popular culture but we’re also avid consumers of all sorts of total nonsense. And so the idea of comparing these issues to more contemporary versions emerged.</p>
<p>Because none of these magazines remains in print, we decided to buy up-to-date equivalents – namely the Christmas editions of <a href="http://www.goodhousekeeping.co.uk/">Good Housekeeping</a>, <a href="http://www.redonline.co.uk/">Red</a>, Woman & Home and <a href="http://www.prima.co.uk/">Prima</a>.</p>
<p>Then, sat on the floor of my living room, we conducted a close reading of all 15 magazines, looking for any and all references to Christmas. We took pages of handwritten notes, drank a lot of coffee, smoked a lot of cigarettes, laughed a great deal and sometimes found ourselves downright dumbstruck.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67516/original/image-20141217-31034-1sn6a5l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67516/original/image-20141217-31034-1sn6a5l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67516/original/image-20141217-31034-1sn6a5l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67516/original/image-20141217-31034-1sn6a5l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67516/original/image-20141217-31034-1sn6a5l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67516/original/image-20141217-31034-1sn6a5l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1009&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67516/original/image-20141217-31034-1sn6a5l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1009&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67516/original/image-20141217-31034-1sn6a5l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1009&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Priority number one.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://davewhatt.wordpress.com/2013/03/24/the-amazing-vegetable-flesh-former/">Dave Whatt</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>One particular favourite from the 1930s magazines was an advert in Good Needlework from 1937 claiming that readers can achieve a “Lovely Bust for Xmas” with the Beautipon <a href="https://davewhatt.wordpress.com/2013/03/24/the-amazing-vegetable-flesh-former/">amazing vegetable flesh former</a>. If only such non-invasive technology, we cried, was available for the less-than-well-endowed woman of today (ourselves included).</p>
<h2>Woman’s work</h2>
<p>It’s well known that the division of household labour by gender persists today. Despite all kinds of progress, women still carry a disproportionate amount of responsibility for this work.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67514/original/image-20141217-31031-4w762y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67514/original/image-20141217-31031-4w762y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67514/original/image-20141217-31031-4w762y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=801&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67514/original/image-20141217-31031-4w762y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=801&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67514/original/image-20141217-31031-4w762y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=801&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67514/original/image-20141217-31031-4w762y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1007&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67514/original/image-20141217-31031-4w762y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1007&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67514/original/image-20141217-31031-4w762y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1007&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Not bought from Aldi.</span>
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</figure>
<p>This applies even more over Christmas, where the majority of tasks are still considered women’s work. That includes buying, wrapping and dispatching cards and presents and decorating the house before the big day. When December 25 arrives, it means making and serving festive meals, keeping everyone happy (however young or old) during the festivities and clearing up the mess afterwards.</p>
<p>We found that these magazines provide very clear constructions of what Christmas ought to be and how it should be organised.</p>
<h2>The gift of giving</h2>
<p>Such a lot has changed for women since the 1930s that we expected to see significant differences between our two sets of magazines in terms of the depiction of women’s role in the organising of Christmas. </p>
<p>There is one element of the perfect Christmas recipe that hardly seems to have changed since the 30s though. That’s the puzzle of gift buying. Across all 15 magazines, the message is clear – Christmas presents must delight the recipient and be affordable at the same time. Women, it seems, continue to be socialised to see <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/2626799">gift giving as an important</a>, part of their gender role and to attend to it very carefully.</p>
<p>One key difference is that the gift puzzle presented in modern magazines is more difficult than it used to be. Apparently there are many more ways to get gift giving wrong these days and to fail at being a woman. Now women need to take account of their kith and kin’s interests when choosing a gift. Are they a fashionista, a technophile or an outdoorsy type, for example? </p>
<p>Back in the 30s, gift options were more of the order of perfume or household appliances like irons for women; and chocolates, dolls and prams for girls.</p>
<p>This serves as a reminder that the extensive consumer choice on offer in late modern capitalism can in fact be much more stressful than it is liberating.</p>
<h2>Festive guilt trip</h2>
<p>Rather more of a merciful relief is the liberation from the kind of Christmas-from-scratch ideal that was pushed on readers in the 30s. Everything was supposed to be handmade, including presents such as a hot-water bottle cover, an egg cosy or a stamp-book case. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67509/original/image-20141217-31018-ovxps.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67509/original/image-20141217-31018-ovxps.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67509/original/image-20141217-31018-ovxps.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67509/original/image-20141217-31018-ovxps.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67509/original/image-20141217-31018-ovxps.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67509/original/image-20141217-31018-ovxps.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67509/original/image-20141217-31018-ovxps.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/67509/original/image-20141217-31018-ovxps.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">While you wait for Heston to be born…</span>
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</figure>
<p>This all might seem like quite a challenge, but these magazines suggest that a competent woman should be able to achieve the perfect Christmas for her loved ones, all she needs is a healthy dose of forward planning. As Ann Capell writes in the 1934 Christmas issue of Model Housekeeping: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think it is a little bit our own fault if we don’t enjoy ourselves as much as we expect, for very often we put everything off to the last minute, and on the great day prepare our toilet in a violent hurry and tear off all hot and bothered.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The modern magazines, on the other hand, at least acknowledge just how strenuous – not to say impossible – it is to make Christmas work. Now, labour-saving options, such as buying and then icing shop-bought Christmas cakes or for “fast festive make-up” which can be done in the back of a taxi, are presented as essential for minimising women’s stress levels. </p>
<p>In fact, the modern magazines were more open to discussing the pressure associated with not being able to live up to lofty ideals at Christmas.</p>
<p>But that’s not to say the Christmas burden has been entirely lightened. For example, women are encouraged to spend, spend, spend on food, gifts, party clothes and decorations, but also not to succumb to a mad retail frenzy whilst simultaneously purchasing wisely in terms of cost.</p>
<p>Indeed Christmas in our 1930s magazines may have come with pressures about making everything yourself – and indeed to have the right bust and not rush your “toilet” – but it was an altogether more unified, sentimental and happy affair. The mixed messages sent out by modern magazines has brought in something more complex and potentially even more challenging.</p>
<p>The expectations for women when it comes to festive labour have persisted across the years and, perhaps surprisingly, seem to have grown more pressing. As I engage in my own Christmas preparations, I wonder if my various Christmas disasters over the years (including last year’s attempt to amputate my index finger when making bread sauce) are therefore simply to be expected.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35454/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo Brewis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When my good friend and long-term collaborator Sam Warren was given a pile of women’s magazines from the 1930s by her grandmother Jane Frampton, we found among them 11 Christmas issues of Good Needlework…Jo Brewis, Professor of Organisation and Consumption , University of LeicesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/352652014-12-10T09:45:11Z2014-12-10T09:45:11ZTo stop violence against women, we need to get men to help change social norms<p>A series of research projects is to take place in countries including Afghanistan, Palestine and South Africa to address our significant lack of knowledge about how to prevent physical and sexual violence against women.</p>
<p>A total of <a href="http://www.svri.org/WhatWorks.htm">18 projects</a> will be funded by the UK government, it has been announced. While awareness about violence against women is growing, we still lack good evidence about what actually stops it from happenening and these projects aim to contribute to filling that gap. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.genderjustice.org.za/one-man-can/">One Man Can</a> project in South Africa, for example, will engage men and boys to challenge traditional models of masculinity. Another in the Democratic Republic of Congo will work with faith leaders to change the social norms that enable violence to continue, and in Afghanistan, boys and girls will work together on peace programmes in schools. Male leaders and families will also be involved in projects that aim to promote an understanding of women’s rights, and build healthy relationship skills based on peaceful conflict resolution.</p>
<p>Another project will link international buyers and their supplier factories in Bangladesh with local NGOs to address sexual harassment in garment factories and a national media campaign will be rolled out across the Occupied Palestinian Territories to challenge the acceptability of violence against women.</p>
<h2>Wrong target?</h2>
<p>In recent years, attention has turned to engaging men and boys rather than talking to women about how to avoid violence. This approach started with programmes that focused on perpetrators of violence against women. But many women’s rights activists were sceptical. Some were concerned that projects like these would divert limited resources away from women’s programmes and others warned that they have the potential to further reassert male power, framing men as the protectors and saviours of women.</p>
<p>Now The UN’s high-profile <a href="http://www.heforshe.org/">He For She</a> campaign is just one example of the projects emerging that call on all men – not just those who are violent – to be part of the solution. They are asked to stand in solidarity with women and make equality one of their own personal missions.</p>
<p>Other projects include lectures and workshops for men to help them redefine what it means to be a man and to have non-violent, egalitarian relationships. Others engage men as bystanders – encouraging them to intervene when they witness other men being aggressive or sexist.</p>
<p>But for all these, the evidence about whether they actually work is limited.</p>
<h2>New ground</h2>
<p>It is being increasingly recognised that violence against women and girls is not just about individually violent men. It is a much larger systemic issue. Violence is caused by gender inequality and related to ideas about men needing to be strong and in control.</p>
<p>That means we can’t work with men and boys in isolation from the realities of the wider world. To stop violence against women, we need to change the norms and structural gender inequalities in society.</p>
<p>This may include work to change social norms in villages and societies, therapeutic interventions for boys and men who have themselves experienced violence or school programmes about healthy, equal relationships. It might even mean marketing and media campaigns to promote new models of masculinity.</p>
<p>The point is we don’t know which stands a chance of having an impact and which wouldn’t. These 18 projects can’t answer all the questions but they could give us a better idea about what works to bring down rates of violence – and indeed what doesn’t. </p>
<p>Through these projects and others we can start to learn more about what works to prevent violence, so that the work to engage men and boys, along with women and girls, can be driven by rigorous evidence. We will all benefit from that.</p>
<p><em>Emma Fulu also contributed to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35265/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lori Heise receives funding from UK AID as part of the What Works to Prevent Violence against Women and Girls global programme. </span></em></p>A series of research projects is to take place in countries including Afghanistan, Palestine and South Africa to address our significant lack of knowledge about how to prevent physical and sexual violence…Lori Heise, Senior Lecturer in Social Epidemiology and Co-Research Director of STRIVE, London School of Hygiene & Tropical MedicineLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/311612014-09-17T04:42:27Z2014-09-17T04:42:27ZWhy men still run newsrooms, defying the influx of women<blockquote>
<p>As I write this I can hear a clique of blokes guffawing at morning news conference. Not a woman at the table … We are marginalised and excluded by the blokes’ club because admitting women would change the blokey dynamic … It’s blind prejudice and they simply don’t see it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>– Participant in the Women in the Australian News Media Survey, 2012</p>
<p>In the last three decades there has been an influx of women working in the Australian news media, but numbers don’t necessarily mean power or influence. Most women remain clustered in low to middle editorial positions. Relatively few reach key decision-making roles.</p>
<p>Indeed, so few women have real influence that most people can quickly name those who have it – <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/fran-kelly/2913202">Fran Kelly</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/michelle-grattan-20316">Michelle Grattan</a>, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/">Leigh Sales</a> and <a href="http://about.abc.net.au/profile/kate-torney/">Kate Torney</a> are those most often raised when I talk about this issue.</p>
<p>Carolyn Byerly’s <a href="http://www.iwmf.org/our-research/global-report/">research</a> suggests that women account for just over a third of journalists in the Australian news media. </p>
<h2>Men still define and decide news</h2>
<p>Today, news is mostly defined and decided upon by men, reflecting their interests and values.</p>
<p>In Australian news media, 78% of senior management positions and 71% of middle management positions are held by men. These include positions like news directors and executive editors who decide on news assignments and other tasks associated with shaping the news (see <a href="http://www.iwmf.org/our-research/global-report/">Byerly’s report</a>).</p>
<p>Those in the industry often say it is just a matter of time until women share equal status with their male colleagues. Others I’ve interviewed have also suggested that because many women take time off to have babies and then do most of the child-caring, which interrupts their careers, women have less opportunity to reach top editorial positions.</p>
<p>Having childcare responsibilities alone, however, does not explain why women’s careers in journalism do not progress as well as men’s.</p>
<h2>What do female journalists think?</h2>
<p>To find out how female journalists experience their workplaces, and in part to explore what factors they think hamper their career progress, I undertook a survey in 2012 (detailed statistical data on the survey is <a href="http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=084950271981010;res=IELLCC">available here</a>). The <a href="https://theconversation.com/blokey-culture-means-sexism-still-rife-in-australian-newsrooms-10073">Women in the Australian News Media Survey</a> is the largest survey of female journalists in Australia with 577 women responding from all states, various levels of seniority and across all media platforms.</p>
<p>Despite a majority of respondents saying that women are not equally represented in decision-making roles (67%) in their organisation, an almost divided number (49%) think that women journalists have access and opportunity to be promoted to those top positions. One respondent summed up the dilemma this way:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>On the face of it, they [women] have equal opportunity. But a host of conscious and unconscious factors get in the way. For example, men still run most media groups and edit almost all papers. From years of experience, I know that men are more likely to try and poach other men from rival papers. They rarely try and poach women. And someone trying to poach you is the best and really the only way to get a pay rise.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The survey found a perceived pervasive blokey newsroom culture sits alongside a lack of organisational support for truly flexible work arrangements, as well as a lack of on-site childcare facilities that would enable mothers to work at their chosen capacity and progress in their occupation on par with their male colleagues.</p>
<p>For those reasons, respondents suggested that women often self-select away from advancement, not wanting positions of authority because of childcare responsibilities and the knowledge that the industry is inflexible in that area (although not all participants see this as a problem).</p>
<h2>Traditional media hierarchies die hard</h2>
<p>Many refer to their organisation’s management as a “boy’s club” where male managers tend to employ and privilege other men, even when equally skilled women are available. One participant wrote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Men are traditionally seen as leaders in news and current affairs. A broader range of behaviour and managerial style is acceptable in male journalists – toughness, competitiveness, decisiveness. Women leaders are rare and scrutinised more closely. They are not afforded the latitude in behaviour and managerial style that men are, and finally childless women are more likely to succeed than women with children.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Other written comments paint a picture of an industry-wide culture (more prevalent in metropolitan newspapers) where respondents perceive women to be often “overlooked”, “ignored” or “not taken seriously” in relation to promotional opportunities – whether or not they have children.</p>
<p>This discrimination is understood as immutable and the culture as “very aggressive”, “a men’s club”, and “favours men” over women. Women’s sense of marginalisation regarding inequitable promotion opportunities is also very clearly articulated. One respondent (indicative of others) wrote that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Women have to be much more talented to get into senior positions. Men are still given an easier ride, and looked after better in terms of pay and position.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The large number of women in journalism who do not have children under 15 (73% in this survey) remains a significant indicator that the industry is inflexible and incompatible with motherhood. This indicates a failure by many media organisations and the union to respond to the needs of the influx of women to the profession during the past three decades.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/31161/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Louise North does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As I write this I can hear a clique of blokes guffawing at morning news conference. Not a woman at the table … We are marginalised and excluded by the blokes’ club because admitting women would change…Louise North, Senior Research Fellow in Journalism, School of Communication & Creative Arts, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/308312014-09-10T04:45:01Z2014-09-10T04:45:01ZFour decades of thinking gender: the gains, struggles and debates<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58418/original/yq35zyzp-1410153148.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Women's Liberation was a worldwide mobilisation that paved the way for powerful critiques of conventional thinking about gender, sexuality and identity.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Warren K. Leffler, 1970/Library of Congress</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The past four decades have produced gains around the world for women and girls in <a href="http://www.uis.unesco.org/literacy/Pages/data-release-map-2013.aspx">literacy</a>, formal education, <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2014/world-health-statistics-2014/en/">life expectancy</a>, <a href="https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2013/sdn1310.pdf">workforce participation</a> and access to some professions. We have also seen new forms of misogyny, continued <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/domestic-violence-in-australia">domestic violence</a>, unabated <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/domestic-violence-in-australia">rape</a>, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-13/shift-to-casual-work-blamed-for-big-increase-in/5258822">casualisation</a> of women’s labour and reassertions of masculine authority. </p>
<p>Women are now more visible in politics, but are still almost wholly excluded from the top levels of transnational <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-evidence-is-clear-firms-do-better-with-women-on-board-20580">corporate management</a>, religious authority, control of technoscience and military power.</p>
<p>This turbulent history has an intellectual dimension. We have created a new field of knowledge – and conflicting theories of gender.</p>
<p>Next year will be the 20th anniversary of the <a href="http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/platform/">United Nations’ Beijing Declaration</a>, a landmark statement on women’s rights. <a href="http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/daw/">UN Women</a> is gearing up for a big event to mark the anniversary and renew the struggle for gender equality.</p>
<p>Next year is also the 40th anniversary of the <a href="http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/mexico.html">first World Conference on Women</a>, held in Mexico City. That conference launched the UN process. It was itself triggered by a remarkable worldwide mobilisation, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_liberation_movement">Women’s Liberation</a> movement.</p>
<h2>A global gender mobilisation</h2>
<p>Women’s Liberation launched powerful critiques of conventional beliefs about gender, especially two. First, the idea that men’s and women’s natures are fixed – whether by God or biology – and social inequality simply reflects their different characters. Second, the notion that breadwinner/housewife or aggressor/nurturer are divisions needed for the stability of society and can only be changed at the price of chaos.</p>
<p>In a key move, feminists such as <a href="http://books.google.com.au/books?id=JDhWjBzEkosC&pg=PA603&lpg=PA603&dq=Heleieth+Saffioti&source=bl&ots=evb3z2eHyo&sig=65csAozW1vMjW1tfchVl_r3JxnU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9EMNVMFzxeS5BJ-BgXg&ved=0CEQQ6AEwBDge#v=onepage&q=Heleieth%20Saffioti&f=false">Heleieth Saffioti</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Millett">Kate Millett</a> saw gender relations as a matter of social power – often enforced by violence. To some, this was an outgrowth of capitalism; to others, a system of power in its own right. The ancient term “patriarchy” was revived as a name for the entrenched social power of men and subordination of women.</p>
<p>A softer version of Women’s Liberation theory emphasised the social norms that define appropriate behaviour for women and men. The term <a href="http://psychology.jrank.org/pages/575/Sex-Roles.html">“sex role”</a> (later, “gender role”) came into widespread use for this idea. Boys and girls were thought to be socialised into restrictive roles as they grew up. The pioneering Australian report <a href="http://timeline.awava.org.au/archives/279">Girls, School and Society</a> from 1975 is a classic of this approach.</p>
<h2>Leaving simple gender divides behind</h2>
<p>Some thinkers saw only two categories, men and women, and a gulf of difference between them. Several trends demanded a more complex view. </p>
<p>One was the rise of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_liberation">Gay Liberation</a>, whose critique of homophobia among straight men and women showed important divisions within the main gender categories.</p>
<p>Another was concern with class and race. The idea that patriarchy and capitalism support each other as a dual system had some influence.</p>
<p>Later the looser idea of “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersectionality">intersectionality</a>” proposed by Kimberlé Crenshaw became very popular. In this concept, gender inequalities are seen as criss-crossing inequalities of class, race, sexuality, disability, age and so on to create a grid of differing social situations, some with intensified oppression.</p>
<p>Post-structuralist thought, treating gender as a subject position constructed in discourse, also had the effect of emphasising diversity, in this case diversity of gender identities.</p>
<p>In the 1980s and 1990s, what had been a minor discussion of the “male role” grew quickly. Social researchers found multiple forms of masculinity and showed that gender hierarchies exist among men, as well as between men and women. </p>
<p>As this research expanded around the world, and sexuality was linked to gender, the field of knowledge called women’s studies was often redefined as “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_studies">gender studies</a>”. But this was controversial, as it seemed to reject the historic link with women’s activism.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58420/original/7jkrtbb8-1410153558.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58420/original/7jkrtbb8-1410153558.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=928&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58420/original/7jkrtbb8-1410153558.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=928&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58420/original/7jkrtbb8-1410153558.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=928&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58420/original/7jkrtbb8-1410153558.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1167&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58420/original/7jkrtbb8-1410153558.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1167&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/58420/original/7jkrtbb8-1410153558.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1167&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble challenged the idea of a convenient gender-based identity.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 1990 the philosopher Judith Butler published <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_Trouble">Gender Trouble</a>, which rapidly became the most influential feminist text since Simone de Beauvoir’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Second_Sex">The Second Sex</a>. Butler adapted post-structuralist ideas to argue there is no fixed identity for women on which feminism could be based. Gender does not express an underlying essence but is “performative”, i.e. brought into existence by the very actions that exemplify it.</p>
<p>This idea became central in queer theory, which has continued to emphasise the underlying fluidity of sexuality and sees gender as an effect of heteronormativity – that is, the imposition of heterosexual patterns of identity.</p>
<p>But alternatives to post-structuralism were also emerging. Sociologists such as <a href="http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/sociology/profiles/sylvia-walby">Sylvia Walby</a> developed models of gender as a multi-dimensional social structure. Studies of organisations – corporations, armies, schools – generally showed permanence, not fluidity, in gender arrangements. Much of the debate about “work-life balance” and the double shift rests on this point.</p>
<p>Philosophers such as <a href="http://womenstudies.duke.edu/people?Gurl=&Uil=15948&subpage=profile">Elizabeth Grosz</a> emphasised the body as the point of reference for gender, and a new feminist materialism has been increasingly influential.</p>
<h2>A geopolitical knowledge shift</h2>
<p>Perhaps the most important change, however, has been a shift in the geopolitics of knowledge. Early critiques of the white, middle-class and “Western” character of mainstream feminism – developed in Australia by <a href="http://natsihec.edu.au/about/natsihec-executive/professor-aileen-moreton-robinson/">Aileen Moreton-Robinson</a> – have been backed by impressive growth of gender research around the global south. In masculinity studies, for instance, key contributions have come from India, South Africa, Chile and Australia.</p>
<p>The agenda is changing. For instance, the Indian economist <a href="http://www.iss.nl/about_iss/honorary_fellows/bina_agarwal/">Bina Agarwal</a> has shown how the land is a key issue for gender analysis. The gender dynamic in environmental change is now an important concern. And new concepts such as the <a href="https://globalstudies.trinity.duke.edu/wp-content/themes/cgsh/materials/WKO/v2d2_Lugones.pdf">“coloniality of gender”</a> – emphasising how modern gender patterns are products of global imperialism – are under debate.</p>
<p>How much this thinking will feed into the policy debates at the United Nations we have yet to see. Policy language often lags behind social science. But there’s no doubt that the ferment of ideas around gender relations continues.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/30831/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Raewyn Connell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The past four decades have produced gains around the world for women and girls in literacy, formal education, life expectancy, workforce participation and access to some professions. We have also seen…Raewyn Connell, Professor Emerita (social science), University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/261252014-05-07T09:34:19Z2014-05-07T09:34:19ZWhat is the point of spotting sex differences if science cannot explain them?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47410/original/5fb4kxfq-1398861649.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Do you have an answer, science?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonpratt/2347428960#">jasonpratt</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Differences between the sexes are one of those endlessly intriguing cases, begging for explanation. People categorised as belonging to different sex categories seem to behave differently, make different career choices, look differently, and so on. Both popular science and reputable scientific journals are replete with reports of sex differences in brain structure, cognitive capacities, behaviour, and so on. The long catalogue features differences in anatomical structure of the hippocampus, spatial abilities, propensity to take risks or cooperate and the list goes on. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/11/27/1316909110">recent study</a> by a research team at the University of Pennsylvania lead by Madhura Ingalhalikar added a new item: a difference in brain connectivity. The researchers report that male brains have better connections within the hemispheres, while female brains are better connected across hemispheres.</p>
<p>Such scientific reports of sex differences are generally taken as causal explanations of our everyday observations, revealing to us the underlying reasons why women and men generally do things differently and seem to be skilled at different activities. Such interpretation in turn drives many to claim that females and males are two kinds of people, different by nature. These scientific studies and their authors are celebrated in the media for excellence in providing the much-sought-after explanations. </p>
<p>But do these studies really explain the differences that we observe around us? We expect causal explanations to reveal the mechanism that produces the phenomenon we want to explain. Studies that document another sex difference – be it in brain or behaviour – simply provide another observation, adding to the list of things to be explained. That is, they do the same thing that we, lay observers, do when we see differences with the naked eye: describe them.</p>
<p>Zooming in on the brain does not tell us everything. Images depicting different connectivity patterns in sex-categorised brains are, by themselves, just another observation. They do not tell us where the differences came from. They could be a product of internal or external factors, or both. </p>
<p>Research on brain plasticity shows experience can shape the brain throughout the life-span. Cab drivers in London have <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10716738">different neural structures</a> compared to people who don’t have such an extensive navigation experience. Early bilinguals have <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811913009294">better connections</a> in some parts of the brain than monolinguals. </p>
<p>If we wonder why some people speak two languages and some people only speak one, would anyone accept “because their brains are different” as a sensible explanation? Probably not. The experience of learning another language likely brings about the difference in the brain, not vice versa. “Hidden from the naked eye” does not always mean “causally responsible for what is visible”. The brain does not necessarily explain behaviour.</p>
<p>Just like with bilingual brains, sex differences in brain connectivity could be an effect of sexed experience, which in turn could be a product of sex differences in education and social expectations. There is plenty of evidence that expectations can account for many of the sex differences we observe. For example, evaluations of job applicants are influenced by knowledge of <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023%2FA%3A1018839203698">applicants’ gender</a>, affecting who gets hired. Sex-biased expectations affect us from a very young age: people attribute different capacities and emotions to infants <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11063631">depending on their gender</a>, even when there are no such differences.</p>
<p>If we expect science to explain the differences we commonly see between people categorised as female and male, we have to demand something more than mere sophisticated (and technologically embellished) descriptions. Yet, it seems the joy of adding another item to the list of differences pushes the less sexy “why” question on the back burner.</p>
<p>This is not a crusade against descriptions. Descriptive science has value. Descriptions can lead to predictions. We had been able to describe the sun’s trajectory across the sky and predict astronomic phenomena long before we were able to explain them. But ultimately we wanted to understand the mechanism that produced our observations. We were not satisfied with descriptions alone. We care whether the sun rotates around the earth or vice versa. Likewise, it makes a big difference whether a person’s reproductive role shapes their brain, cognition, and behaviour or whether sexed environment and behaviour shape their cognition, brain and bodies. Why don’t we demand explanations of the mechanisms that produce observed sex differences?</p>
<p>Before accepting the claim that taxi drivers and bilinguals are “born that way”, we would at least ask for a convincing explanation. So why are we so easy to please with the “natures makes us different” slogan when it comes to sex and gender, accepting fancy re-descriptions for causal explanations? Perhaps it is time to become a bit more demanding.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/26125/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Differences between the sexes are one of those endlessly intriguing cases, begging for explanation. People categorised as belonging to different sex categories seem to behave differently, make different…Saray Ayala-Lopez, Visiting Scholar, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)Nadya Vasilyeva, Lecturer, Brandeis UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/246632014-03-23T21:39:08Z2014-03-23T21:39:08ZWhy can’t a man think like a woman, and a woman think like a man?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44487/original/jbdxpkfg-1395609903.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">d f a c b b</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Whether the brain functionally and structurally differs based on sex chromosomes, hormones and gender has become an intriguing topic in neuroscience as it is known that sex hormones including oestrogen and testosterone can shape neuronal architecture. <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/111/2/823">Recently, a neuroimaging study</a> suggested that female brains could be functionally more suited to social skills including language, memory and multi-tasking, while men may be hard-wired to be better at perception and co-ordinated movement. </p>
<p>But are these abilities innate to our gender, or are they influenced by the environment? Are these studies subject to gender biases themselves?</p>
<h2>Boy brain, girl brain?</h2>
<p>During foetal development, male and female embryos start off the same. But the presence of different levels of hormones such as <a href="http://www.livescience.com/38324-what-is-estrogen.html">oestrogen</a> and <a href="http://www.livescience.com/38963-testosterone.html">testosterone</a> during gestation causes physical differences to start to arise – for example guiding the formation of sex organs ovaries or testes. Exposure to different cocktails of hormones as a foetus may therefore change how the architcture of the brain develops.</p>
<p>A group of Cambridge scientists led by Simon Baron-Cohen suggested that men are, on average, <a href="http://edge.org/conversation/testosterone-on-my-mind">better at analytical tasks, whereas women are better at empathising and emotional processing</a>. These traits were linked with testosterone levels during development. </p>
<p>Baron-Cohen’s group analyzed foetal testosterone levels from amniotic fluid samples of their mothers. In later life they measured the children’s empathising or systemising abilities. He found lower levels of testosterone were correlated with greater empathy during childhood development. This supports the idea that women could be better at empathising and detecting emotion than men.</p>
<h2><strong>Does size matter?</strong></h2>
<p>Male brains are, on average, 10% larger than females (accounting for body size). But some scientists say that a <a href="http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/38539/title/Male-and-Female-Brains-Wired-Differently/">large brain is not simply a smaller brain scaled up</a>. A larger brain means more distance, which can slow the transmission of information down. So differences in structural connections and arrangement may reflect wiring adaptations of larger brains. </p>
<p>A group of researchers found regional size differences of <a href="http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/males-and-females-differ-in-specific-brain-structures">male and female brains</a>, which may balance out the overall size difference. In females, parts of the <a href="http://biology.about.com/od/anatomy/p/Frontal-Lobes.htm">frontal lobe</a>, responsible for problem-solving and decision-making, and the <a href="http://biology.about.com/od/anatomy/a/aa042205a.htm">limbic cortex</a>, responsible for controlling emotions, were larger. In males, the <a href="http://biology.about.com/library/organs/brain/blparietallobe.htm">parietal cortex</a>, which is involved in space perception, and the <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/a/amygdala.htm">amygdala</a>, which regulates emotion and motivation, particularly those related to survival, were larger. But size may not equate to functional efficiency.</p>
<p>But <a href="http://psychology.about.com/od/biopsychology/f/brain-plasticity.htm">experiences change our brain</a>. So are these differences due to the brain adapting to demands – in the way a muscle increases in size with extra use?</p>
<h2>Nature or nurture? Or stereotyping?</h2>
<p>Some scientists disagree completely that male and female brains differ structurally. Neuroscientist Prof Gina Rippon, of Aston University, Birmingham says that differences in male and female brains are <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/10684179/Men-and-women-do-not-have-different-brains-claims-neuroscientist.html">caused entirely by environmental factors</a> and are not hard-wired at birth. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44488/original/fcnm7pwh-1395610648.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44488/original/fcnm7pwh-1395610648.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44488/original/fcnm7pwh-1395610648.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44488/original/fcnm7pwh-1395610648.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44488/original/fcnm7pwh-1395610648.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44488/original/fcnm7pwh-1395610648.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44488/original/fcnm7pwh-1395610648.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44488/original/fcnm7pwh-1395610648.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Baby’s new toys – his or hers?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/geishabot/5625788521/">Flickr/Janine</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The gender specific toys children may play with - for example dolls for girls and cars for boys – could be changing how their brains develop.</p>
<p>Many toys aimed at boys involve physical skills and logic, whereas many girl-aimed toys involve nurturing behaviours and socialising. These kinds of gender-specific toys and encouraging only gender-specific play could limit potential in both sexes. This has recently lead to companies developing more <a href="http://www.babble.com/toddler/20-gender-neutral-toddler-approved-toys/">gender neutral toys</a> that can aid the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10578106/Gender-specific-toys-put-girls-off-maths-and-science.html">development of balanced skills</a> in children. </p>
<h2>Why won’t men ask for directions?</h2>
<p>Men generally perform better at activities that require spatial skills, like <a href="http://web.uvic.ca/%7Eskelton/CV/Ross%20Skelton%20Mueller%202006.pdf">navigation</a>. It is proposed men and women process <a href="http://cvcl.mit.edu/SUNSeminar/Gron_space_navig_NN00.pdf">spatial information differently</a>. Women are more likely to rely on landmarks – “go left at the post office”, which is proposed to require the frontal cortex to maintain the information. Men are proposed to use the <a href="http://biology.about.com/od/anatomy/p/hippocampus.htm">hippocampus</a> to a greater degree. So men are more likely to use spatial and landmark information – “go east then past the post office”. </p>
<p>But it’s suggested that women use their language skills to an advantage in certain situations. So a woman may be more likely to ask for directions than a man. </p>
<p>In laboratory studies with rodents it has been shown that <a href="http://cnx.org/content/m34748/latest/">male and female rats</a> use different strategies to navigate their way around a maze. Female rats mostly used landmarks, whereas males used global spatial information. Interestingly, both strategies were equally effective. Historically many laboratory studies with animals used male animals as the female oestrous cycle was thought to potentially interfere with behaviours being measured, and brushed aside male hormone fluctuations. Nowadays laboratory research is encouraged, and sometimes required, to use both males and female rodents as important differences may be present that wouldn’t necessarily be seen. This is of particular importance if this preclinical research is later translated to human clinical research.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44489/original/xc3fzt3r-1395612387.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44489/original/xc3fzt3r-1395612387.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44489/original/xc3fzt3r-1395612387.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44489/original/xc3fzt3r-1395612387.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44489/original/xc3fzt3r-1395612387.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44489/original/xc3fzt3r-1395612387.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44489/original/xc3fzt3r-1395612387.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/44489/original/xc3fzt3r-1395612387.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rat’s finding their way.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jshyun/2465725952/">Flickr/jshyun</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Whether the observed functional differences in male and female brains are innate or a consequence of experience remains difficult to determine. The social phenomenon of gender significantly impacts on the experiences individuals encounter through development and on a daily basis. </p>
<p>It is important in scientific research to avoid neurosexism - jumping to gender stereotypes as conclusions to explain observations. This can lead to <a href="http://www.cordeliafine.com/delusions_of_gender.html">misunderstanding and over-selling</a> of discoveries and observations in neuroscience.</p>
<p>But no studies currently exist that have looked and gender differences in brain structure in a human population that hasn’t been gender socialised.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/24663/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Whether the brain functionally and structurally differs based on sex chromosomes, hormones and gender has become an intriguing topic in neuroscience as it is known that sex hormones including oestrogen…Amy Reichelt, Senior lecturer, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/218462014-01-13T19:40:47Z2014-01-13T19:40:47ZWhy do we find muscular women wildly perplexing?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/38774/original/4jkvzxmz-1389308113.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Muscular women such as Serena Williams issue a challenge to received ideas about femininity.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/Dave Hunt</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We don’t see many muscular women in popular culture – and the display of much heavier and obviously stronger female bodies can be overwhelming or shocking. </p>
<p>Professional tennis playing sisters <a href="http://serenawilliams.com/">Serena</a> and <a href="http://venuswilliams.com/">Venus Williams</a>, who are currently in Australia for the summer tennis season, are good examples of female athletes who have received a lot of negative attention for their “thicker” arms and heavier-set, muscular bodies. </p>
<p>Other examples include retired world champion bodybuilder <a href="http://bevfrancis.com/">Bev Francis</a> and South African middle-distance runner <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/caster-semenya">Caster Semenya</a>. They have all been criticised for having bodies that can’t possibly belong to real women. </p>
<p>Why are we so afraid of strong, muscular women?</p>
<p>After all, there’s nothing unnatural about a strong and muscular woman. What’s unnatural is preventing and discouraging women from reaching their full physical potential in the name of femininity. </p>
<h2>Our fear of women with muscle</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/38773/original/nvjsgcp7-1389307964.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/38773/original/nvjsgcp7-1389307964.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=881&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/38773/original/nvjsgcp7-1389307964.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=881&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/38773/original/nvjsgcp7-1389307964.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=881&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/38773/original/nvjsgcp7-1389307964.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1107&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/38773/original/nvjsgcp7-1389307964.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1107&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/38773/original/nvjsgcp7-1389307964.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1107&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Caster Semenya at the 2012 London Olympics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Michael Kappeler</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Muscle is associated with male bodies and therefore with masculinity. </p>
<p>Muscularity isn’t linked to displays of womanhood or ideas about femaleness. Therefore, a muscular woman doesn’t conform to acceptable codes of femininity. </p>
<p>A muscular woman challenges what it means to be a “real” woman or a “real” man. It challenges the assumption that all men are big, strong and powerful and that all women are smaller, weaker and dependent. A muscular woman can be wildly perplexing.</p>
<p>Muscular women are often accused of taking steroids, being deviant, sexually confused or deliberately trying to offend others. They’re frequently told they’re unattractive, man-haters, selfish mothers or transvestites. They’re charged as having either too much testosterone or too little femininity.</p>
<p>On the other hand, we associate muscle with male-dominated sports such as bodybuilding. Bodybuilding is culturally coded as almost exclusively male. Men compete and are judged solely on their muscularity. Their muscular bodies are compared on symmetry, muscular form, size, development and overall presentation.</p>
<h2>Bodysculpting: muscle for women?</h2>
<p>Unlike male bodybuilding, women who compete in body sculpting are required to minimise their muscularity. Body sculpting or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitness_and_figure_competition">body figure competition</a> is a sport that only women can compete in. It’s also a sport where the contradiction of muscle and femininity is most obvious. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/38779/original/kmvybsm2-1389310356.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/38779/original/kmvybsm2-1389310356.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/38779/original/kmvybsm2-1389310356.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/38779/original/kmvybsm2-1389310356.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/38779/original/kmvybsm2-1389310356.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/38779/original/kmvybsm2-1389310356.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/38779/original/kmvybsm2-1389310356.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Muscle and a bikini.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Scott Butner</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many women train long and gruelling hours to become strong and muscular – only to be told on competition day that they’re not feminine enough. In contrast to men’s bodybuilding, femininity is part of the women’s judging criteria. </p>
<p>Competitors are told to emphasise femininity, symmetry, proportion, tone, definition and to minimise physique and muscle mass. </p>
<p>They’re also expected to display graceful gestures, soft movements and have an hourglass figure. They have to wear make-up, heels, revealing and sparkling bikinis. Judges have even been found selecting women who are big-busted, pretty and slim and whose muscles aren’t visible unless flexed. </p>
<p>Femininity is linked to a female body that is slender, neat and sexually attractive. Because the muscular female form is so challenging, sports such as body sculpting use femininity as a buffer to counter the fact that women also have muscle. (We don’t judge male bodybuilders on their masculinity, their “maleness”.)</p>
<h2>Is there a problem here?</h2>
<p>When female athletes train and use their bodies as men do, women become muscular and strong too. Femininity prevents us from accepting muscle on women. </p>
<p>The problem isn’t muscle. The problem is femininity itself. Ideas about womanhood make muscular women appear unnatural. Femininity normalises a female body that is round, soft, small and heterosexually appealing.</p>
<p>Because femininity can’t be located within the body, most women have to display it <em>on</em> their bodies. This performance is achieved by minimising muscularity, clothing choice, make-up, hair-styles, attending to grooming and nails. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/38778/original/3976kt55-1389310117.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/38778/original/3976kt55-1389310117.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/38778/original/3976kt55-1389310117.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/38778/original/3976kt55-1389310117.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/38778/original/3976kt55-1389310117.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/38778/original/3976kt55-1389310117.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/38778/original/3976kt55-1389310117.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Venus and Serena Williams off the court.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/David Crosling</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Femininity dictates what women can do with their bodies and there are grave social consequences for not conforming.</p>
<p>The result? Women operate within a restricted space. </p>
<p>Being thin, weak or helpless doesn’t allow full physical capacity. Indeed, women train their bodies to be inefficient. They become disconnected from their bodies, losing power and strength. This results in a distrust of their bodies, capabilities and an overall sense of insecurity. This affects how women experience relationships, how they carry themselves and relate to others.</p>
<h2>It’s time to change our thinking</h2>
<p>While we’re seeing a cultural shift from an emphasis on thinness to a more toned and athletic female body, many girls and women are still preoccupied with diet and weight loss – and there’s still a fear of women being muscular and bulky.</p>
<p>Let’s start thinking differently about women with muscle.</p>
<p>Women who care for their bodies through physical exercise become healthy, strong and capable. Ideas such as “real women are thin and weak”, are a bit like smoking: eventually, people will catch on that it just isn’t good for you.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/21846/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jamilla Rosdahl does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We don’t see many muscular women in popular culture – and the display of much heavier and obviously stronger female bodies can be overwhelming or shocking. Professional tennis playing sisters Serena and…Jamilla Rosdahl, Lecturer in Gender Studies, University of the Sunshine CoastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/207302013-11-25T14:59:02Z2013-11-25T14:59:02ZWomen act like men when they switch seats at speed dating<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/36046/original/fgr3xc3s-1385375467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Role reversal: evolution is not the only way to explain gender differences.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Linh Do</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On a TV show or in a movie, if a guy and a girl are at a party and one approaches the other to strike up a conversation, chances are that it was the guy who approached the girl. </p>
<p>That is because we have what psychologists call “behavioural scripts”, or a sequence of events that we typically expect to occur in social situations. In most cultures, expectations about male and female dating behaviour (such as “guys approach girls”) are so entrenched that there are special days or dances where the script is flipped. On <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2012/11/the-strange-history-and-uncertain-future-of-sadie-hawkins-day/265272/">Sadie Hawkins Day</a> (traditionally observed in early November) or at a Sadie Hawkins Dance, women have the opportunity to invert social convention by asking men out on a date or to a dance. </p>
<p>To study such scripts that underpin dating behaviour, researchers have used speed dating.</p>
<p>Speed dating is a structured way for daters to meet a lot of people quickly. The typical speed-dating event features women sitting at various locations around a room, often a coffee shop or bar, while men circulate and chat with each female for a few minutes. A signal will then indicate that time is up and the men should move along to the next woman. The process repeats until everyone at the event has “dated” each other. Later, the male and female participants let the event organiser know which partners they would like to see again. If the male and female indicate mutual interest, the organiser gives them each other’s contact information. If done efficiently, a speed dater could meet over a dozen potential dating partners in less than an hour.</p>
<p>The typical speed-dating event relies heavily on the “male approaches female” norm. Consistent with the norm, speed-dating research reveals that <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/104/38/15011.abstract">women are pickier than men</a> when indicating interest in potential partners, with men <a href="http://www.sas.upenn.edu/psych/PLEEP/pdfs/2005%20Kurzban%20%26%20Weeden%20EHB.pdf">indicating interest in roughly half</a> the potential partners and women indicating interest in roughly a third. </p>
<p>However, other researchers wondered if this apparent gender difference was actually a gender difference, or if instead <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19754525">it was the result of the social situation</a>. Specifically, these researchers investigated whether the results were a result of women sitting in one place, while men circulated around the room. To test this, they had more than 300 undergraduates participate in speed-dating events. In half of those events, participants engaged in the standard speed-dating procedure of men circulating while women stayed in one place. For the other events, men and women performed a Sadie Hawkins-like role reversal: men stayed in one place while women circulated around the room.</p>
<p>In the standard “men rotating” events, the researchers replicated previous findings (and the prevailing stereotypes) that women were pickier about who they liked relative to men. But in the non-standard “women rotating” events where men and women reversed roles, the researcher found the exact opposite pattern: men were picky, whereas women were less selective. Put another way, there was a “Sadie Hawkins Effect”. When women were forced to go from man to man during the speed-dating event, they debunked the gender stereotype by showing an interest in more of the potential partners.</p>
<p>These findings show how a widely assumed gender difference – women are picky about who they date, men aren’t – could largely be an artifact of social situations. Men may be less picky not because they are men, but because societal norms require them to do the majority of the approaching in dating scenarios. Women’s selectivity, meanwhile, might arise from their essentially arbitrary role as “selectors”. In other words, when lots of potential suitors are approaching you, it makes sense to be picky.</p>
<p>This brings up a much broader point: it is <a href="http://www.scienceofrelationships.com/home/2011/6/30/men-are-from-earth-women-are-from-earth.html">all too easy</a> to assume that men and women behave very differently because of evolved, inborn differences. Research like this shows how careful we must be to avoid assumptions about gender difference, and how we may not need to look far for other potential explanations.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This is an edited version of a post that appeared on <a href="http://www.scienceofrelationships.com/home/2013/11/18/the-sadie-hawkins-effect-gender-role-reversals-in-dating.html">Science of Relationships</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/20730/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gary W. Lewandowski Jr. does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>On a TV show or in a movie, if a guy and a girl are at a party and one approaches the other to strike up a conversation, chances are that it was the guy who approached the girl. That is because we have…Gary W. Lewandowski Jr., Professor of Psychology, Monmouth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/117252013-04-11T20:48:27Z2013-04-11T20:48:27ZGender differences: more fictions than fact?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/22353/original/2tv8nv22-1365661072.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The inclination to see differences between men and women makes us blind to their similarities.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniele Civello</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We see gender differences everywhere – in the psychology, thoughts and behaviour of men and women. But the inclination to see differences makes us blind to the overwhelming similarities of men and women, and we’re easily fooled into seeing dissimilarities that don’t exist.</p>
<p>This tendency can be seen in the great game we love to play called “spot the gender difference”. The game is so easy it’s even played by prepubescent children as they look into one another’s underpants.</p>
<p>Some differences are real, but some are illusory. But we’re so inclined to believe in the dissimilarities of men and women that we even make them up. Around the world, men and women are artificially distinguished from one another by hairstyles, clothing and body adornments.</p>
<p>Gender differences therefore run all the way from undeniable fact to complete fiction. The question is – which differences seem real but are merely imagined?</p>
<p>The answer to this question is important because our beliefs affect our behaviour; the judgements and limits imposed on men and women based on beliefs about differences are real, even if the presumed gender differences are not.</p>
<p>So, what evidence would justify a claim that a difference is real? Science struggles to clarify the situation. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/22350/original/jcyvx95c-1365660216.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/22350/original/jcyvx95c-1365660216.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/22350/original/jcyvx95c-1365660216.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/22350/original/jcyvx95c-1365660216.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/22350/original/jcyvx95c-1365660216.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=648&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/22350/original/jcyvx95c-1365660216.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=648&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/22350/original/jcyvx95c-1365660216.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=648&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The judgements and limits imposed on men and women based on beliefs about gender differences are real.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">stock xchange woman/Flickr</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Scientists are looking for gender differences in an untold number of medical and other scientific studies. A search on “gender difference” in <a href="http://scholar.google.com.au/">Google Scholar</a> since 2012, for instance, returns about 30,000 articles. What’s missing from this list are the untold number of studies where no difference was found because these are not usually published.</p>
<p>Science tends to rely on “statistical significance” to separate real from fictional difference, but simplistic reliance on this arbitrary rule <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-hypothesis-and-significance-tests-ask-the-wrong-questions-11583">is misleading</a>. If 100 studies examine for a gender difference where there is none, about five (5%) can be expected to return a “statistically significant” difference. This is the false alarm rate or Type I error in statistician-speak.</p>
<p>If Google Scholar reports 30,000 statistically significant differences, our confidence would be seriously undermined if these effects were derived from 600,000 tests for gender differences that otherwise returned no significant results. That is, the significant results are most likely false alarms.</p>
<p>Which gender differences then, are false alarms? It’s hard to say for any single study.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://theconversation.com/forgettable-study-sparks-sexist-headlines-about-women-remembering-10112">recent study claims</a> that women’s memories are more affected by stressful news stories than men’s. It was widely reported, but what assurance is there that it is not a false alarm?</p>
<p>Here’s another example - many people believe that women are better at multitasking than men. But at least some research suggests the evidence is more mixed. One <a href="http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-men-women-multitaskers-swedish.html">study even shows</a> that men are better than women some of the time, and otherwise, there is no difference.</p>
<p>To add to the problem, gender differences are more nuanced than simplistic and sometimes mistaken interpretations of research will allow. While gender is, for the most part, a categorical difference - you are either <a href="https://theconversation.com/male-female-ah-whats-the-difference-12786">male or female</a> – many related variables such as height, are more graded.</p>
<p>That is, we find a mean-difference between men and women, and interpret that as a categorical difference. Men are taller than women, but the rule is far from universal; there are many exceptions. On many dimensions that we might measure, the distributions of men and women overlap considerably. There may be a difference in degree (a mean-difference), but the difference is not categorical.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/22352/original/kf9bdjdx-1365661038.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/22352/original/kf9bdjdx-1365661038.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/22352/original/kf9bdjdx-1365661038.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/22352/original/kf9bdjdx-1365661038.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/22352/original/kf9bdjdx-1365661038.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/22352/original/kf9bdjdx-1365661038.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/22352/original/kf9bdjdx-1365661038.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Recent research has found men and women are more similar than different.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tom Magliery</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That men and women are more similar than distinct was shown in some <a href="http://www.futurity.org/society-culture/trait-by-trait-sexes-don%E2%80%99t-differ-much/">recent research</a>. Examining 122 psychological traits including sexual attitudes, behaviours, intimacy and interpersonal orientation in 13 studies comprising over 13,000 individuals, the researchers found that women and men were more similar than distinct from one another. </p>
<p>Even on gender-related dispositions such as masculinity-femininity, inclination toward science, care orientation and fear of success, men and women were found to be more similar than distinctive.</p>
<p>It <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com.au/news/2005/08/0831_050831_chimp_genes.html">is claimed</a> that humans and chimpanzees share 96% of their genomic content, despite the many obvious differences between our species. But when looking at the two sexes of <em>Homo sapiens</em>, both with 23 pairs of chromosomes, we choose to focus on just one pair to underscore arguments about gender differences.</p>
<p>Under the spotlight, differences can appear bigger than they are, and can contribute to sexism. So why do we see difference where there is none? We see what we believe. We look for and find evidence supporting what we believe while ignoring contradictory evidence. This is called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias">confirmation bias</a> and it affects us all.</p>
<p>Yes, there are differences between male and female, as we saw when we were very young. But whether all the differences we have marked out since are real is less certain. And while they may make for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Listen-Women-Cant-Read/dp/0767907639">entertaining bestsellers</a>, such books merely reinforce popular but often false stereotypes.</p>
<p>At best, the public and the scientific community are being misguided by the unchecked reporting of gender differences. At worst, those with an agenda related to gender differences – be they male or female – can cherry-pick studies to support their case.</p>
<p><em>Correction:</em> One figure in this article has been amended. The original said 20 was 5% of 100. That was obviously incorrect. Thanks to the reader below for pointing it out. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/11725/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen S Holden does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We see gender differences everywhere – in the psychology, thoughts and behaviour of men and women. But the inclination to see differences makes us blind to the overwhelming similarities of men and women…Stephen S Holden, Associate Professor, Marketing, Bond UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.