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    of 3

    Men and Women: No Big Difference

    Studies show that one's sex has little or no bearing on personality, cognition, and leadership.

    The Truth about Gender "Differences"

    Mars-Venus sex differences appear to be as mythical as the Man in the Moon. A 2005
    analysis of 46 meta-analyses that were conducted during the last two decades of the 20th
    century underscores that men and women are basically alike in terms of personality,
    cognitive ability and leadership. Psychologist Janet Shibley Hyde, PhD, of the University of
    Wisconsin in Madison, discovered that males and females from childhood to adulthood are
    more alike than different on most psychological variables, resulting in what she calls a
    gender similarities hypothesis. Using meta-analytical techniques that revolutionized the
    study of gender differences starting in the 1980s, she analyzed how prior research assessed
    the impact of gender on many psychological traits and abilities, including cognitive abilities,
    verbal and nonverbal communication, aggression, leadership, self-esteem, moral reasoning
    and motor behaviors.

    Hyde observed that across the dozens of studies, consistent with the gender similarities
    hypothesis, gender differences had either no or a very small effect on most of the
    psychological variables examined. Only a few main differences appeared: Compared with
    women, men could throw farther, were more physically aggressive, masturbated more, and
    held more positive attitudes about sex in uncommitted relationships.

    Furthermore, Hyde found that gender differences seem to depend on the context in which
    they were measured. In studies designed to eliminate gender norms, researchers
    demonstrated that gender roles and social context strongly determined a person's actions.
    For example, after participants in one experiment were told that they would not be identified
    as male or female, nor did they wear any identification, none conformed to stereotypes about
    their sex when given the chance to be aggressive. In fact, they did the opposite of what
    would be expected - women were more aggressive and men were more passive.

    Finally, Hyde's 2005 report looked into the developmental course of possible gender
    differences - how any apparent gap may open or close over time. The analysis presented
    evidence that gender differences fluctuate with age, growing smaller or larger at different
    times in the life span. This fluctuation indicates again that any differences are not stable.

    Learning Gender-Difference Myths

    Media depictions of men and women as fundamentally "different" appear to perpetuate


    misconceptions - despite the lack of evidence. The resulting "urban legends" of gender
    difference can affect men and women at work and at home, as parents and as partners. As
    an example, workplace studies show that women who go against the caring, nurturing
    feminine stereotype may pay dearly for it when being hired or evaluated. And when it comes
    to personal relationships, best-selling books and popular magazines often claim that women
    and men don't get along because they communicate too differently. Hyde suggests instead
    that men and women stop talking prematurely because they have been led to believe that
    they can't change supposedly "innate" sex-based traits.
    Hyde has observed that children also suffer the consequences of exaggerated claims of
    gender difference -- for example, the widespread belief that boys are better than girls in
    math. However, according to her meta-analysis, boys and girls perform equally well in math
    until high school, at which point boys do gain a small advantage. That may not reflect biology
    as much as social expectations, many psychologists believe. For example, the original Teen
    Talk Barbie ™, before she was pulled from the market after consumer protest, said, "Math
    class is tough."

    As a result of stereotyped thinking, mathematically talented elementary-school girls may be


    overlooked by parents who have lower expectations for a daughter's success in math. Hyde
    cites prior research showing that parents' expectations of their children's success in math
    relate strongly to the children's self-confidence and performance.

    Moving Past Myth

    Hyde and her colleagues hope that people use the consistent evidence that males and
    females are basically alike to alleviate misunderstanding and correct unequal treatment.
    Hyde is far from alone in her observation that the clear misrepresentation of sex differences,
    given the lack of evidence, harms men and women of all ages. In a September 2005 press
    release on her research issued by the American Psychological Association (APA), she said,
    "The claims [of gender difference] can hurt women's opportunities in the workplace, dissuade
    couples from trying to resolve conflict and communication problems and cause unnecessary
    obstacles that hurt children and adolescents' self-esteem."

    Psychologist Diane Halpern, PhD, a professor at Claremont College and past-president


    (2005) of the American Psychological Association, points out that even where there are
    patterns of cognitive differences between males and females, "differences are not
    deficiencies." She continues, "Even when differences are found, we cannot conclude that
    they are immutable because the continuous interplay of biological and environmental
    influences can change the size and direction of the effects sometime in the future."

    The differences that are supported by the evidence cause concern, she believes, because
    they are sometimes used to support prejudicial beliefs and discriminatory actions against
    girls and women. She suggests that anyone reading about gender differences consider
    whether the size of the differences are large enough to be meaningful, recognize that
    biological and environmental variables interact and influence one other, and remember that
    the conclusions that we accept today could change in the future.

    Words:

    Leadership: Liderazgo.

    Self esteem: Autoestima.

    Dozens: Docenas.
    Summary:

    According to the article, the differences between men and women is a myth but that society
    continues to believe, because it continues to see women as the weakest and most delicate
    gender, on the other hand, men in theory are more aggressive but actually studies. They
    have shown that they are very different from us in reality and this myth puts women at a
    disadvantage in any field because they are already pigeonholed in a stereotype whereby in
    most of the time their abilities go unnoticed since childhood.

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