Gender Role And Success

It’s official, men and women do define success differently

Has he battle of the sexes gone so far that we have to differentiate between male success and female success? The truth is that there are many differences between men and women (otherwise why have an opposite sex?), and it is perfectly natural for this to be represented in a general distinction in gender motivations. Just as we are advised to think about Mars and Venus in evaluating other gender differences, we should think about the different ways men and women define success.

Before we get too deep into this, it bears mentioning that there is no absolute here. You can never say something is true about a group of people 100% of the time. It is interesting, and often helpful, to learn more about what tends to define men and women, though. The more you can learn about you own and the opposite sex the better equipped you’ll be to handle your interpersonal relationships.

Speaking in purely general terms, women tend to view success in terms of relationships and security. The care giving and nurturing that has been associated with women as long as we can remember is represented in a desire for wellness in the people they love, along with the security of knowing that they will be safe themselves. Although not all women are mothers, the fact of motherhood seems to factor in here. A woman who is heavily pregnant and recently post-partum (with the addition of a small child to care for) is not as able to create success for herself without assistance. The desire for security seems natural, and certainly a viable definition of female success.

Men, on the other hand, have traditionally been the hunters and protectors. The historical definition of success from the male perspective, then, is about the ability to provide and about stature and power. While all men are not fathers, just like all women are not mothers, there’s still a biological and historical urge to be the provider for a family. A stereotypical illustration of a caveman beating his chest and dragging his woman by the hair comes to mind, and although we hope that we’re not seeing a whole lot of that in real life it’s not a bad representation of what success means to the stereotypical man.

Remembering, of course, that these statements cannot be said to be universally true as an absolute gender distinction, it’s still clear that men and women tend to look at success differently. Why is it important? What does it really mean? Well, it helps in the workplace (not to mention in your personal relationships) to have some clues about what makes people tick. If you can understand how gender motivations impact an individual’s perception of success, then you can adjust your approach accordingly for greater overall success. The same thing said in different ways, with different approaches, can have far different responses and results. Therefore, it’s beneficial to arm yourself with as much information as possible. At the end of the day, after all, it’s not about male success or female success, but total success.