Men: Obsessed with Penises, Unemotional, Cheaters (If you believe a new book)
With [her first book], The Female Brain, Brizendine was attacked for shoddy science—and her follow-up should receive no less criticism. The author makes vast claims about male biology without really delving into the science, which leaves you with a manual for excusing every crappy thing your man has ever done. Emotional distance? It’s called “problem solving.” Cheating? It’s his “testosterone levels.” Aggression is a natural instinct. Ignoring you is the male brain’s natural acoustic system “automatically shutting off.” Now does that make you more or less annoyed?
Brizendine’s science may be shaky, but what’s more interesting to us is how her claims—or claims about biology in general—relate to the modern workplace. As the longtime domain of men alone, workplaces have long been setup to reward typically male traits like aggression, boldness and willingness to take on risk, while women excel at subtler, less measurable things like loyalty, diligence and teamwork.
In reality, those assets are no less important—and in fact, the World Economic Forum has estimated that closing the employment gender gap could increase U.S. GDP by up to 9 percent. As UC Irvine business professor Judy Rosener told us, “Difference does not mean deficiency. Difference means added value.”
But the corporate culture simply hasn’t caught up. So the question, then, is this: How do we change the institutional culture? How do we shake things up enough that women can rise to the top, without having to act like boys? Thoughts? Rants? Advice for corporations?
