Face it, in life some people just fold under pressure.
Blame it on society and gender roles if you want, but the problem is that whilst we still see women as differently from men, the focus on their actions will be different.
If you have a man in your group, and they have trouble at some point but are generally very good then you might work with them and try and resolve it.
If a woman had the same issue, gender differentiation in the midst of a very testosterone fuelled environment would lead most men to tag their actions as 'because they're a woman'.
In a man it might be listed as 'cowardice' or 'insecurity'. Even 'trauma related stress'.
But a woman will always have to fight that extra stigma.
Now, with my own background, I can say that men in action DON'T show off in front of the women. That's left to the bars and downtime. What typically occurred is that the men were constantly more aware of the women and their safety than that of their male team members. Sometimes at the point of risk to themselves or others. I don't mean it as them being gung-ho, but more as a fact that they did not treat them as equals but tended to a more paternal instinct to protect, even to the point of deserting their individual resposibility at the time. This is very prominent amongst men with sisters, wives and/or are close to their mothers. It's not wrong, but simply a natural or conditioned response.
For those men and women who have never been in the military, think about the time you saw a fight. If, as a guy, you're in a fight and you have a buddy with you, you don't worry about the buddy's welfare until you've sorted your opponent out. but if your girlfriend or your buddy's girlfriend is there, you tend toward not being as aggressive or holding her back whilst your buddy fights.
It's much harder to break this social barrier than it is to just separate the sexes.
I know I'm not quoting stats or reports here, but it's what I've seen with my own two eyes. Yes, even in a leadership role, where I might not have been perfect, but I wasn't bad.
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