Page 206 - Cultures and Organizations

182 DIMENSIONS OF NATIONAL CULTURES

between France, Spain, and Portugal on one side and Britain, Germany,
and Italy on the other can be interpreted as different outcomes of this
process.
Anthropologist Margaret Mead found in New Guinea very different
gender role distributions among adjacent tribal groups. She showed that
history and tradition allow the survival of considerable variety in gender

roles. We did not find strong correlations with outside factors that could
explain why some countries have dominant masculine cultures and others
dominant feminine culture. Feminine cultures are somewhat more likely in
colder climates, suggesting that in this case an equal partnership between
men and women improves chances of survival and population growth.
The concentration of feminine cultures in northwestern Europe (Den-
mark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden) points to common his-
torical factors. The elites in these countries consisted to a large extent
of traders and seafarers. In trading and sailing, maintaining good inter-
personal relationships and caring for the ships and the merchandise are
essential virtues. The Viking period in the Scandinavian countries (a.d.
800–1000) also meant that the women had to manage the villages while
the men were away on their long trips; however, Vikings did not settle
in the Netherlands for any length of time. The Hanseatic League (a.d.
1200–1500) covered all northwestern European countries, including the
free cities of Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck in northern Germany and the
Baltic states. The Hansa was a free association of trading towns in which
women played an important role:

Although the wife did not share her husband’s legal status, they usually
formed a business team. Even in merchant circles, the family was the small-
est functional cell of society, where the women and the children had a role

to play. This meant that women had a certain degree of emancipation,
and their independence and business skills increased. Indeed, some women
managed to win the “battle for the trousers” even while their husbands
were still alive. 85

Erasmus of Rotterdam in his Colloquia of 1524 compared the service
in French and German inns—both of which he knew from experience. He
referred to the charming behavior of French innkeepers’ wives and daugh-
ters, the quality of the food, and French savoir vivre. He opposed this to

German strictness, inflexibility, and lack of manners. He actually used the