Page 199 - Cultures and Organizations

He, She, and (S)he 175

Voters from masculine countries placed themselves mostly in the center;
voters from feminine countries were slightly more to the left. Few people
placed themselves on the right. 71
Masculinity or femininity in democratic politics is not just a matter

of policy priorities; it is also reflected in the informal rules of the political
game. In masculine cultures such as Britain, Germany, and the United
States, the style of political discourse is strongly adversarial. This is not a
recent phenomenon. In 1876 the Dutch-language newspaper De Standaard
reported that “the American political parties eschewed no means to sling
mud at their adversaries, in a way which foreigners fi nd disgusting.” 72
This statement is still valid today. In feminine cultures such as the Nordic
countries and the Netherlands, governments are nearly always coalitions
between different parties that treat each other relatively gently.
In democratic countries, cultural masculinity and femininity infl uence
the likelihood that elected delegates and members of government will be
women. In 2006, among twenty-four established parliamentary democra-
cies, percentages of women in parliament were below 20 in Britain, France,
Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, and the United States; they were over 30
in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands,
New Zealand, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. Female ministers in 2005 were
fewer than 20 percent in France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg,
Portugal, Switzerland, and the United States; they were more than 30 per-
cent in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway,
73
Spain, and Sweden. This is mainly a masculine-feminine split, although
the low percentages for France and Portugal and the high percentages for
Austria and Germany suggest that power distance also plays a role. How-
ever, women do advance more easily in politics than in work organiz ations.
The election process reacts faster to changes in society than co-optation

processes in business. Capable women in business organizations still have
to wait for aged gentlemen to retire or die. Possibly politics as a public good
attracts more women than does business as private achievement.

Masculinity, Femininity, and Religion

The issues related to the masculinity-femininity dimension are central to
any religion. Masculine cultures worship a tough God or gods who justify