Feb 28, Chapter 5 response

Chapter 5 focuses on the differences between genders. Men are considered to be more aggressive, domineering, and competitive whereas women are viewed to be softer and more family-oriented. The differences between males and females are particularly evident in a survey about work which asked men and women what they viewed as more important. Men thought that earning a higher pay, being recognized, and holding a challenge were the most important characteristics to have while working. On the other hand, women think that maintaining a good relationship with the manager, working well with others, and maintaining a sense of security in terms of staying with the company for a long period of time is important (pg. 139) I think that this would be particularly true with me because I believe that working well with others will ensure greater than success instead of trying to gain recognition for myself. In addition although women and men differ on several levels, it is possible for them to overlap as well. For instance, although men are generally taller than women, there are many women that are taller than men (pg 137). Furthermore, even though men are considered to be more associated with sports and winning medals, many women participate in sports and have won championships as well. 
Another concept that is discussed in this chapter is that of feminine society vs. a masculine society (pg 140). A feminine society is one in which roles of gender overlap whereas a more masculine society is one where the roles of women and men are distinct and traditional. Countries that tend to be more feminine include Sweden, Norway, and Latvia, whereas those that are more masculine include Costa Rica, Chile, Portugal, and Guatemala. A fact that I found particularly interesting was that wealth does not determine whether a country is more masculine or feminine. I thought the opposite was true since it would make sense to me for more wealthy nations like America to demonstrate more equality among everybody, On the contrary, there are roughly just as many feminine/masculine wealthy countries as there are feminine/masculine poor countries (pg 145).