Male and Female Behaviors in Sex-Typed Tasks: Two Experiential Exercises

Abstract

One obstacle to teaching gender issues in management is the attitude held by many students that women and men in organizations have the same experiences. An effective way for students to experience some of the differences that exist for women and men is to videotape them performing sex-typed tasks, have them observe the tapes, and note the different behaviors exhibited by women and men. Two experiential exercises are described that typically elicit sex role stereotypical behaviors of students when they perform them in mixed-sex groups. These exercises are used to allow students to observe and discuss differences in individual behaviors, the dynamics that occur within mixed-sex groups performing sex-typed tasks, and the effects of these behaviors and dynamics on group effectiveness.