It was a hot topic the other day on a few sites. It generated some great discussion.
I believe our behaviour is situational. I'm not a 'mom' all the time, nor am I lady (no snickering :-) - though I try not to swear like a sailor when I'm not at a pub with my IT peers.
However, I am consistent in my ethical framework at all times even if how I deliver my message takes differing forms.
My brain has no gender. The "right action" to solve a problem has no gender. Negotiation is less about gender and more about creating opportunity for dialogue.
Don't get me wrong - I don't think it's all a bed of roses to be a woman or that there are not some serious issues still to face even here in Canada. Sexual harassment, rape, abuse, misogyny are all still kicking.
But we were asked when women should act like men and I'm still struggling with what that really means. What are unique female or male behaviours? I have been known to be a girl on a date. It has helped to have a man's name sometimes. But I am the sum of my ideas and actions; I find it hard to identify any of those as uniquely female with the exception of birthing my child.
Oh! and as a woman I can hug a friend without anyone flinching.
Maybe the real question - that no one asked - should have been: "When should men act like women?"
I would have been most interested in that answer!
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