In which areas of life, if any, do women outperform men?

Question

Yahoo! Staff Note: This is the real Denise Robertson, please see the Yahoo! Answers blog for further details:
http://uk.blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-qT1KKPQoRKdVT4lowpJCljbFokkuIzI8?p=1032

Answer 1

I'd like to get to a point when comparing men and women in this way becomes as unacceptable as saying that you are better or worse at something because of your race.

Parents, teachers and contemparies emphasise certain skills when bringing up girls, and different ones when bringing up boys. I don't think we should see qualities as being exclusively male or female, but that each individual is a blend of different skills and attributes. This male-female polarised view of life is impractical and outdated. And I'm also not sure it was ever entirely true. Working class women always worked while bringing up the kids and minding the house. The idea of a stay at home mum was a pretty middle class one.

I was brought up with many examples of strong, hardworking, intelligent women around me and I learnt to respect the contribution they made to my family, the wider community and to their work. I know families where the woman had to be both provider and carer because of divorce or death - quite common after the last war. But I also know of a family where the father took on the mother's role after his wife died. Despite everyone saying he wouldn't manage he did and was a brilliant dad to two daughters and now a brilliant grandad.

Obviously there are some physical differences, but strength comes in many forms. My wife might not be able to lift as much as me, but I absolutely know that I would not have been able to cope with child birth like she did.

The stresses of modern society, such as the cost of providing a home, mean that more than ever men and women need to work in partnership. And there can be positive side-effects to this: I've had much more opportunity to spend time with my children and watch them grow - unlike my father, to his regret - because my wife works.

I've seen many positive things change about the workplace because of the increase in women in work, and it's hard to imagine going back to how things were ten or fifteen years ago. Women have so much to offer in a business environment, and we lose so many opportunities because we don't take full advantage of their skills, insights and different working styles. I often wonder how long we can go on pretending that 50% of the population should be paid less or given less opportunities than the other 50% based simply on their genitalia.

But I think that things are changing and I hope that by the time my son and daughter are of working age, they will enjoy equal opportunities based on their skills, drive and goals rather than on their sex.

Answer 2

Women emotionally express themselves better, because they have internalized who they are, and what they are made up of. This releases into many creative avenues, both intellectually, and artistically. They don't have to stay on task. Example, some men will go to a store to get socks, they pick up the first thing they see, pay, and walk out the door. This is the same thing they do in the work place. They focus on the task, do it, come home, and they are satisfied. Women on the other hand, might not stop thinking about the previous day, and follow up on the task days later. This leads me to think that women may not outperform men, rather its how they perform, that outperforms men.Although its proven that girls outperform boys in education, I don't think there's much contest out in the real world. Generally speaking we are all equal, and individuals have different abilities. The world would be very dull if we stuck to traditional values and men and women would only aspire to be good at "what we are designed for".. Bring on the change and lets stop all the fussin and a feudin and accept that we are all only human.There will be great performers and poor performers in all walks of life. I think the main problem is that too many people have pre-conceived ideas and nothing will shift them from that point of view. When I left school 45 years ago I would have loved to be an engineer but girls didn't do that kind of job and the opportunity was not available (I think I'd have made a great engineer) - now we know better. Hopefully this will continue to be the trend and we will truly accept people as equal whether you're a male nurse or a female builder.

Answer 3

Women on the other hand, might not stop thinking about the previous day, and follow up on the task days later. This leads me to think that women may not outperform men, rather its how they perform, that outperforms men.Although its proven that girls outperform boys in education, I don't think there's much contest out in the real world. Generally speaking we are all equal, and individuals have different abilities. The world would be very dull if we stuck to traditional values and men and women would only aspire to be good at "what we are designed for".. Bring on the change and lets stop all the fussin and a feudin and accept that we are all only human.There will be great performers and poor performers in all walks of life. I think the main problem is that too many people have pre-conceived ideas and nothing will shift them from that point of view. When I left school 45 years ago I would have loved to be an engineer but girls didn't do that kind of job and the opportunity was not available (I think I'd have made a great engineer) - now we know better. Hopefully this will continue to be the trend and we will truly accept people as equal whether you're a male nurse or a female builder.

Answer 4

I am not so sure. When clients are in the counselling room they are almost always confused, usually tired, frequently frightened and often unsure why they are there and can't understand why they can't sort out their own problems. About the only difference I notice is that the men can initially resent needing to see you. Once they settle in to the relationship there is usually no difference between the sexes and neither out performs the other. I wonder if you have found the same and does your opinion change the longer you practice. I would say that it is mostly in parenting that women out perform men but I suspect that it is a genetic and hormonal thing and also a case of conditioning. It will be interesting to see whether that changes over time. As to jobs where brute strength is needed and the men have traditionally outperformed the women, women have usually used their brains to find ways round the problem but now old fashioned manufacturing has been updated (or ceases to exist) I suspect that is no longer the case.

Answer 5

Now I am not so sure. When clients are in the counselling room they are almost always confused, usually tired, frequently frightened and often unsure why they are there and can't understand why they can't sort out their own problems. About the only difference I notice is that the men can initially resent needing to see you. Once they settle in to the relationship there is usually no difference between the sexes and neither out performs the other. I wonder if you have found the same and does your opinion change the longer you practice. I would say that it is mostly in parenting that women out perform men but I suspect that it is a genetic and hormonal thing and also a case of conditioning. It will be interesting to see whether that changes over time. As to jobs where brute strength is needed and the men have traditionally outperformed the women, women have usually used their brains to find ways round the problem but now old fashioned manufacturing has been updated (or ceases to exist) I suspect that is no longer the case.

Answer 6

They don't have to stay on task. Example, some men will go to a store to get socks, they pick up the first thing they see, pay, and walk out the door. This is the same thing they do in the work place. They focus on the task, do it, come home, and they are satisfied. Women on the other hand, might not stop thinking about the previous day, and follow up on the task days later. This leads me to think that women may not outperform men, rather its how they perform, that outperforms men.Although its proven that girls outperform boys in education, I don't think there's much contest out in the real world. Generally speaking we are all equal, and individuals have different abilities. The world would be very dull if we stuck to traditional values and men and women would only aspire to be good at "what we are designed for".. Bring on the change and lets stop all the fussin and a feudin and accept that we are all only human.There will be great performers and poor performers in all walks of life. I think the main problem is that too many people have pre-conceived ideas and nothing will shift them from that point of view. When I left school 45 years ago I would have loved to be an engineer but girls didn't do that kind of job and the opportunity was not available (I think I'd have made a great engineer) - now we know better. Hopefully this will continue to be the trend and we will truly accept people as equal whether you're a male nurse or a female builder.

Answer 7

My own wife is pregnant currently and every day i admire her for what she is doing 24 hours a day, whether she is awake or asleep or whatever, shes making a person, and in the spirit of this question i think its fair to say that she is WAY outperforming my role in it all, no matter what i do, it will never be enough, i will always be outperformed, as will every other man in the world in the same situation... Although its proven that girls outperform boys in education, I don't think there's much contest out in the real world. Generally speaking we are all equal, and individuals have different abilities. The world would be very dull if we stuck to traditional values and men and women would only aspire to be good at "what we are designed for".. Bring on the change and lets stop all the fussin and a feudin and accept that we are all only human.

Answer 8

My own wife is pregnant currently and every day i admire her for what she is doing 24 hours a day, whether she is awake or asleep or whatever, shes making a person, and in the spirit of this question i think its fair to say that she is WAY outperforming my role in it all, no matter what i do, it will never be enough, i will always be outperformed, as will every other man in the world in the same situation.Although its proven that girls outperform boys in education, I don't think there's much contest out in the real world. Generally speaking we are all equal, and individuals have different abilities. The world would be very dull if we stuck to traditional values and men and women would only aspire to be good at "what we are designed for".. Bring on the change and lets stop all the fussin and a feudin and accept that we are all only human.

Answer 9

They have never stood up for equal rights when the world was at war, and only now--in times of relative peace--have women started voicing opinions of injustice. All of a sudden, they want to become CEOs, presidents, and whatnot. So when you ask the question concerning in which area women excel more than men, there are a few areas (aside from being sly and opportunistic), but these are of no concern. The fact remains that women have not earned equal opportunity (why didn't women who worked in munitions factories form a revolution and show up at the barracks and request that half the men be sent home?, and that they would substitute?). This results in an inequity, whereby in many areas, men have surpassed women in terms of performance just because men have been performing certain tasks and fillnig social niches for a longer period of time.There will be great performers and poor performers in all walks of life. I think the main problem is that too many people have pre-conceived ideas and nothing will shift them from that point of view. When I left school 45 years ago I would have loved to be an engineer but girls didn't do that kind of job and the opportunity was not available (I think I'd have made a great engineer) - now we know better. Hopefully this will continue to be the trend and we will truly accept people as equal whether you're a male nurse or a female builder.

Answer 10

Women emotionally express themselves better, because they have internalized who they are, and what they are made up of. This releases into many creative avenues, both intellectually, and artistically. They don't have to stay on task. Example, some men will go to a store to get socks, they pick up the first thing they see, pay, and walk out the door. This is the same thing they do in the work place. They focus on the task, do it, come home, and they are satisfied. Women on the other hand, might not stop thinking about the previous day, and follow up on the task days later. This leads me to think that women may not outperform men, rather its how they perform, that outperforms men.

Answer 11

Living on the moon is a real problem when all the resources are on the earth; one can always speculate, reason abstract from the comfort of the heart but feeling from the remotness of the intellect is next to impossible. Hopefully we'll be able to plan around educating a generation of men who can cope with being emotional beings. I see drama as a great tool of the heart. If people have to act out something conscioulsy they begin to identify feelings. My own wife is pregnant currently and every day i admire her for what she is doing 24 hours a day, whether she is awake or asleep or whatever, shes making a person, and in the spirit of this question i think its fair to say that she is WAY outperforming my role in it all, no matter what i do, it will never be enough, i will always be outperformed, as will every other man in the world in the same situation...