o Women are detail-oriented.
o Men see the big picture.
o Women are better at multitasking.
o Men can only focus on one activity at a time.
o Women are caregivers.
o Men are leaders.
o Women are more organized.
o Men are more productive.
Have you ever been told that you wouldn’t be good at something because of your gender, age, or race?
All of the statements above are examples of stereotypes, and most of us would say that we don’t believe them, much less allow them to affect our performance. However, we are continually exposed to this type of message, sometimes overtly and sometimes subliminally. There seems to be a strong, albeit unconscious, link between our cognition and our emotion, and stereotypes can affect us even when we rationally dismiss them.
To test this, Maryjane Wraga of Smith College used an MRI of the brain while refining the typical stereotype that men have more spatial ability. Using female volunteers, one group was told that women do better than men on a Tetris-type test, while others were told that men are more capable at these types of puzzles. The result was that women exposed to the negative stereotype that men did better than women made 14% more mistakes. The scan showed how the anxiety stereotype interacted with the brain areas involved in the spatial analysis, even when the women claimed they were not influenced by the statement.
In the same vein, when women were told that a math test was gender neutral, they did better than when reminded that “boys do better than girls in math,” according to Joshua Aronson of New York University. Even having to check a gender box before starting an exam can affect the result because at some point we have all absorbed messages that imply limitations.
In 2005, Rutgers University conducted a survey and found that three-quarters of women believe they perform better when required to multitask. One third of the men surveyed agreed with this assumption.
In rebuttal, Paul Burgess, a neuroscientist at University College London, found that there is no significant difference between the genders in this ability. However, he also found that perceptions between the sexes vary.
A study by Harvard University psychology professor Ellen Langer (published in Psychological Science, 2/2007) delved into the power of the mind in relation to training. His test compared two groups of housekeepers who worked in a Boston hotel. One group was told that what they did in their regular routines was great exercise, while the other group was told nothing. Although the two sets of cleansing routines did not change, the first group demonstrated positive physical results when they believed they were exercising. That crew lost weight and fat, and their blood pressure dropped. While this loss was not in the double digits, it was widespread for everyone.
Professor Langer’s explanation is: “If you can put the mind in a healthy place, it can have dramatic physiological consequences.” Now we see that it is not only physiological responses that can be evoked by suggestion. It can be impossible to separate an emotional reaction from a cognitive exercise, even when we do not consciously believe in the statement and do not think that we are allowing it to affect us.
If you want to develop the most productive work environment for your company or department, be careful about the messages you send to your staff. Also be aware of any negative innuendo that may be directed at you.
With the proper training, you CAN be an organized person and a skilled time manager. There is nothing gender specific about the ability to achieve a high level of productivity when given the right tools.