That finding can be explained by differences in social sensitivity, which we found is also important to group performance. Many studies have shown that women tend to score higher on tests of social sensitivity than men do. So what is really important is to have people who are high in social sensitivity, whether they are men or women.
2 Comments
Meggin
I have actually met some very socially sensitive men and some not so socially sensitive women.
For me, the signs of social sensitive people are their desire to want to work together, to collaborate, their tendency to lean towards the optimistic, and their ability to be empathetic towards the needs of others in a group.
Thanks, Gina, for your wisdom – we should focus far more on the characteristics of social sensitivity than something biological like gender.
Robert Bigelow
When published in academic journals and publications, findings will include words like “suggests” or “infers” to disclaim that these findings may or may not have a bearing on any sort of overall reality.
I honestly don’t like the idea of people being picked out for a certain social or behavioral characteristic because of something they were born with, like their gender.
I just don’t think it’s fair to *any* of us.