Gender Differences in the Brain and Behaviour

MOLONEY
MINDS Ltd

CAUTION: Men and Women
at Work
Dr Karen Moloney and Dr Elizabeth Healey

Moloney Minds Ltd 00 44 208 374 8770

MOLONEY
MINDS

Blame biology

• Reluctance to admit difference
• Sex?
• Gender?


There are two genders… MOLONEY
MINDS

Generalise, but don’t stereotype


MOLONEY
MINDS

NEUROLOGICAL
DIFFERENCES


MOLONEY

Conception MINDS


MOLONEY
Our Genetic Inheritance MINDS

MOTHER FATHER
XX XY
Mother gives X Father gives either X or Y
Chromosome via the egg chromosome via the sperm

If father gives Y + mother’s X = BABY BOY

If father gives X + mother’s X = BABY GIRL


MOLONEY
Crucial Role of Hormones MINDS


MOLONEY

Testosterone MINDS

• At 8 weeks the brain appears to take
on a MALE or FEMALE pattern

• Whatever the genetic makeup of the
embryo, it will only develop as male if
male hormones are PRESENT, and
will only develop as female if male
hormone is ABSENT


MOLONEY

Hormones and Behaviour MINDS

‘The more male hormone the
foetus is exposed to the more the
adult will be male in behaviour.

The less amount of male
hormone, the more feminine the
adult behaviour’


MOLONEY
Anatomical Differences MINDS

RIGHT LEFT
HEMISHPERE HEMISPHERE

Controls LEFT Control RIGHT
side of body side of body


MOLONEY
MINDS

LEFT HEMISPHERE RIGHT HEMISPHERE

verbal visual

linguisti spatial
c
details overall picture

practical abstract

Orderly Shapes
sequences and patterns

Moloney Minds Ltd 00 44 208
374 8770

MOLONEY

Neurological differences MINDS

Corpus Callosum

CORPUS CALLOSUM

MOLONEY
MINDS Ltd

Female brain function


MOLONEY
MINDS Ltd

Male brain function


QUICK QUIZ MOLONEY
MINDS

1 Who’s better at solving geometric puzzles?
2 Who’s better at long term planning?
3 Who’s more sensitive to pain?
4 Who’s better at abstract mathematical problems?
5 Which gender speaks more fluently?
6 Which tender takes higher risks?
7 Which gender sees better in the dark?
8 Who’s a better judge of character?
9 Which gender talks more?
10 Which gender sings more in tune?


QUICK QUIZ MOLONEY
MINDS

11 Who’s better at reading maps?
12 Who’s better at learning foreign languages?
13 Which gender interrupts the other more?
14 Which gender speaks more directly?
15 Who’s better at natural sciences?
16 Who’s better at understanding mathematical
concepts?
17 Who’s faster at mathematical computation?
18 Who’s better at hitting a target?
19 Who has a better spatial location memory?
20 Who’s more assertive?


QUICK QUIZ MOLONEY
MINDS

21 Who’s more helpful?
22 Who smiles more?
23 Who fidgets more?
24 Who stammers more?
25 Whose spelling is better?
26 Who’s more likely to abuse substances?
27 Who’s more likely to suffer from depression?
28 Who’s more likely to suffer from sexual dysfunction?
29 Who keeps a greater physical distance when talking
to you?
30 Who’s more likely to suffer anxiety?
31 Who’s more conforming?
32 Who has finer eye-hand coordination?

MOLONEY
Measured Behaviour MINDS

MEN… WOMEN…
•Want to win •Want to engage
•Deal with one issue at •Deal with several
a time, think linearly issues at once, switch
topics easily
•Forge ahead
•Need to justify
•Look for gaps, conflict
and weaknesses •Look for areas of
agreement
•Usually want to get
straight to the point •Usually explore every
detail before concluding
•Deal with stress by
fight or flight then •Deal with stress by
remove themselves to sharing and validating
focus on a solution with others


MOLONEY
Other Behaviour MINDS

MEN… WOMEN…
•Look at things through •Look at things through
binoculars a kaleidoscope
•Remember isolated •Remember
incidents and facts connections and
patterns
•Move from problem to
solution to action •Juggle possible
solutions, explore all
•Find it difficult to filter
angles
out background noise
•Can listen to several
•Separate emotionality
noises at once
from rationality
•Take things more
•Don’t verbalise emotion
personally
easily
•Verbalise emotions
Moloney Minds Ltd 00 44 208 374 8770 easily

Male and female worlds: MOLONEY
MINDS
a psycholinguist's view

Prof. Deborah Tannen


MOLONEY
Communication differences MINDS

MEN… WOMEN
•Talk more in mixed •Ask more questions
company
•Seek opinion more
•Interrupt in a way that's
•Give more praise
seen as dominating
•Say thank you more
•Appear more certain
•Apologise more
•Boast more
•Soften criticism more
•Use opposition and
debate more •Complain more
•Use more direct than •Down play their
indirect speech authority
•Allow themselves to be
interrupted more

Male and female worlds: MOLONEY
MINDS
a social anthropologist's
view

In same sex company, men and women
engage in conversational rituals designed to
establish relative positioning and help
bonding

Kate Fox


Typical male/male MOLONEY
MINDS
interaction…


MOLONEY
MINDS

MINE IS BETTER THAN YOURS


Typical female/female MOLONEY
MINDS
interaction…


MOLONEY
MINDS

YOURS IS BETTER THAN MINE


Unlikely male/male MOLONEY
MINDS
interaction…


Unlikely female/female MOLONEY
MINDS
interaction…


MOLONEY
Male and female worlds: MINDS
a psychologist's view

The male brain is predominantly hardwired
for understanding and building systems.
The female brain is predominantly
hardwired for empathy.

Prof Simon
Baron-Cohen


Women should MOLONEY
What's to be done? become like men MINDS

•Confidence problem? Talk about your achievements more
•Visibility problem? Get out more, speak up in large groups, make
connections with senior influencers

•People steal your ideas in
meetings? Challenge
them openly, claim
ownership
•Not competitive or
ambitious enough? You
need to compete with your
peers


MOLONEY
Female organisations MINDS

Focus on relationships rather than results
Lots of meetings of different types and lengths
Large decision making team
Published set of values
Frequent discussions about purpose and ethos of
organisation
Holistic approach to organisational design
Vision and goals not necessarily materially-based
Lots of ideas and possibilities
Connections with different industries
Less competition more cooperation
Pace of innovation slower and more cautious


MOLONEY
Female organisations MINDS

Sharing and dialogue preferred over debate
Comfortable with ambiguity and paradox
High on experimentation, low on risk
High on individual and team learning
Leadership shared and determined by suitability
for project, not status
Coaches rather than bosses
No corporate uniform
Large phone bill
Frequent thank you’s.

from Itzin, C., The Gender Culture in Organisational Change, Routledge 1995


MOLONEY
Male organisations MINDS

Atmosphere buzzing and busy with action
Concern with profit and bottom-line
Emphasis on results and pay-back
Focus on structuring and restructuring
Strong individuals and small teams run the
business and make the decisions
Decision-making rarely shared
Breakdowns into functions and regions
Profit and cost centre mentality
Internal competition


MOLONEY
Male organisations MINDS

Performance league tables
Emphasis on measuring the past
Knowledge is power and not shared
Unconcerned with people’s feelings
Seek one right answer and quick solutions
Take big risks
Less emphasis on learning as a group, more
on performing as individuals
Salaries competitive, especially at the top.


CAUTION: MEN AND MOLONEY
MINDS
WOMEN AT WORK

Main risks for the business:
1. Excessive systematising/empathising
2. Moving too fast or too slowly from decision to action
3. Speaking too directly or indirectly
4. Understanding workplace as a competitive game to
be won or lost
5. Maintaining focus or exploring alternatives


1. Excessive systematising or MOLONEY
MINDS
empathising
“Are we talking
about the same
meeting?”

Do not become
exasperated by
each others'
different focus

Pay attention to how things work and
the people that work them

Excessive systematising MOLONEY
MINDS
or empathising

“That was awful”

Take criticism
personally, but
not too
personally

Give criticism sensitively, but not too sensitively

MOLONEY
Moving from decision to MINDS
action

Mind how yes “Yes/No”
and no might be
interpreted

Check with the
other gender
before
proceeding


MOLONEY
Direct/indirect speech MINDS

Do not judge
different styles
Try to read
between the
lines or ask for
clarification

Be clear
“Would you like to take
a break?”

MOLONEY
Winning and losing MINDS

“Which ones
would you
like?”
(Not an invitation
to decide alone)

Recognise and For some,
respect its not a
collaborative game
cooperative style


MOLONEY
Focus/diffusion? MINDS

“Why are you always
changing the subject?”

“It’s my corpus
callosum”
Welcome
Come to the verbalisation
point
Invite diffusion
and related
thinking

MOLONEY
Tolerance of difference MINDS


Gender Differences in the Brain and Behaviour

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Gender Differences in the Brain and Behaviour