Gender Perspectives
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As a nurse, I have come across similarities and differences in my field of work when it comes to communication in the workplace. The majority are differences that will be discussed in this section.
Differences
There is a difference in communication when it comes to giving orders by both the male and female leaders. From my experience, female leaders are soft when they give orders at the workplace as compared to males. Males, on the other hand, are aggressive and direct in their orders, unlike females.
There is also a difference when it comes to their leadership styles. Female leaders work through consensus, whereby they seek our opinion when making major clinical decisions at the hospital. On the other hand, male leaders are usually hierarchical and only confront those close to them at the workplace. They base their decisions on the opinions on the few that will be consulted, which at times the outcomes are biased.
Another difference in terms of communication is experienced when we have meetings at the workplace. It can be noticed that males are more talkative as compared to females. Research shows that men, as compared to women, tend to talk more (cite). At work, male leaders always want their opinions to be heard, and during meetings, they do most of the talking as compared to female leaders. Male leaders keep interrupting females when they give their opinions, and it always leads to miscommunication. Meetings keep getting adjourned since no agreement is reached, and the fact that males don’t want to listen to females leads to loss of ideas that could be great in making some clinical decisions.
Similarities
When both parties agree on the same matter, they tend to work together and listen to each other’s opinions to come up with quality decisions. They also have a similar way of communicating when they are motivating their workers even though its not always the case.
There are various things that can be done in order to overcome the division that is there in terms of leadership. One of them is understanding that both males and females have different styles of leadership (Point Park University, 2017). Through this, males will understand that females do not lead by being aggressive, and on the other side, females will understand that men are naturally commanders. This will help avoid conflicts when it comes to leadership.
During meetings, males should not find it hard to give females a chance to air out their decisions. They should normalize giving equal opportunities to both parties and give room for the opinion of female leaders to be heard as they qualified to become leaders for a reason (Victoria, 2017). Equal chances should be given to both parties to avoid meetings that are dominated by males. This will help avoid holding more meetings about issues that could have been discussed in one staff meeting. It will also ensure efficiency in making significant decisions as all opinions have been aired out.
Resources could be devoted to supporting developing managerial careers for women at the workplace (El-ko & Burke, 2011). This will help boost their confidence and help them understand that they also have the right to contribute to decisions concerning the hospital and that no one should undermine their opinions, however small or insignificant they may be.
References
C, V. (2017, June 29). Gender Communication Differences and Strategies. Retrieved from Experience By Simplicity: https://experience.com/advice/professional-development/gender-communication-differences-and-strategies/
El-kot, G & Burke, R. (2011). Gender similarities in work and well-being outcomes among managers and professionals. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship. , 56-74.
Point Park University. (2017, December 12). Gender Differences in Communication Styles. Retrieved from Point Park University: https://online.pointpark.edu/public-relations-and-advertising/gender-differences-communication-styles/#:~:text=Men%20are%20much%20more%20likely,close%20proximity%20with%20other%20women.