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Jenny and Johnny, both age seven, sit in the playground during recess with a stack of brightly-colored blocks in front of them. Together they decide to build a fort, but problems soon surface. Jenny asks Johnny to halt the building of the fort to discuss their plans, but she cannot convince him that she has anything important to contribute. Johnny proceeds with the building while Jenny sulks and starts to hold a grudge. Johnny, believing that Jenny no longer wants to play, continues to build the fort by himself. Shortly before the end of recess, Jenny explodes in tears, knocks over the fort, and runs away. Johnny yells after her, “You ruined our fort!”
Twenty years later, Jennifer and John meet again, this time in a business meeting. They try to work out a problem, but of course they use the same styles they had when they were children. It will come as no surprise that this meeting also ends in failure.
From the playground to the workplace, behaviors and attitudes that separate us by gender influence the way we interact even though we like to deny that sex-role stereotypes still exist.
There is one cultural stereotype that should not be ignored because I believe it is true. Women are raised in an environment that encourages the expression of emotion; men grow up learning that only sissies show feelings. I recall the scene when I would meet my then three-year-old daughter at nursery school. The little girls would run to their mothers, who would scoop them up, giving them hugs and kisses. The little boys would hold their hands at their sides, just as their mothers did; greetings were exchanged only verbally. Similarly, it is acceptable for girls