Gender communication differences have been studied by a plethora of sociolinguists and sociologists all around the globe. Although the world becomes more globalized and versatile, there is still room for gender stereotypes or even discrimination that affects male-female discourse in different environments. It often results in misunderstandings, anguish, or distress for one of the dialog’s sides. Discourse differences usually stem from distinct purposes of communication and patterns of talk that can be explained by basic social and psychological reasons. For instance, women converse to establish and maintain relational connections with others, whereas men use communication as a tool to establish individuality. In general, there are feminine and masculine speech communities that have their own features, unique communication behaviors, and strategies. Discourse analysts need to identify the reasons for such differences, their effect on individuals, and ways to avoid related social damages. The gender differences in Kuwait currently is of interest to me. Thus, I conducted an informational interview with a discourse analyst to discuss gender issues of workplace communication, especially regarding the teachers’ professional life.
I enjoyed this activity as I got a chance to view the problem from a different perspective and enrich my own knowledge regarding real-world gender communication. For the interview, I identified my classmate with whom I graduated from my master’s studies. Although he is a relatively young discourse analyst, he has experience investigating gender differences in workplace communication in Pakistan. His current field of research intersects with my own one; hence, I considered his opinion and knowledge to be helpful for my future work. Another advantage of this person as an interviewee is the fact that I know him well what decreases the chance of misunderstandings and falsity.
Every successful interview requires careful preparation and a well-structured, relevant set of questions. For this very reason, I familiarized myself with as much background as possible. For example, I refreshed my knowledge reading the literature review I prepared earlier on gender differences in workplace communication. Many articles and publications have been read and summarized by me to understand the issue. In general, both communication styles driven by gender have their advantages and disadvantages in workplace settings. Women, who are more polite, tentative, expressive, perform better in collaborative environments. On the contrary, men perceived as more power-hungry and assertive, have an edge in decisive situations when quick actions should be taken (Goman, 2017). Meanwhile, I have been keeping in mind my own topic and looking for decent scientific sources that I will use later. Before the interview, I was not sure about the research questions and methodology. Hence, I decided to ask the interviewee for his suggestions and opinions.
For the interview, I prepared six questions that were eventually discussed. The first one was about the construction of workplace discourse which requires different language use by male and female teachers. My colleague revealed that, through the centuries, the male style of communication was a standard-setter in the work environment. Thus, the way women construct their verbal messages, and their language was viewed as inferior and incomplete by males. It can be explained by the social roles two genders used to play both at work and at home. For instance, men for centuries remained the main workforce in various fields, being in charge, whereas women were underrepresented and subordinated to them.
Although discourse at work is still dominated by the masculine version, the last few decades saw a significant increase in the presence and participation of women in the labor market. As a result, the feminine speech style has recently received greater representation and confronted with the masculine one, which raised a question of non-discriminative communication. Researchers regard gendered discourse as a key factor in building social identities. The social environment and its language norms categorize individuals and stimulate particular behavior in order to fulfill gender roles.
The second question discussed the main challenges of gendered discourse and how people try to overcome them. According to the interviewee, the main problems such as gender miscommunication come from behavioral stereotyping due to different socio-cultural and socio-linguistic backgrounds of professionals. For instance, it was found by researchers that almost all male teachers expect their female colleagues to be more polite, though all teachers are obliged to adhere to this social norm. Although they receive similar education and have the same rights and obligations, they still feel dissimilar from the opposite sex. The already mentioned features become visible in their grammar, syntax, semantics, conversational sample, and overall behavior. The majority of men and women are not aware of such differences in language use. Nevertheless, speech patterns can be adjusted by male and female staffers to accomplish comprehensive discourse at work. In the modern world, professionals representing different genders strive to adjust their language to avoid sex discrimination in communication.
Gender identities and ideologies were addressed by the third question. The former impacts the process of an individual’s self-identity development, shaping one’s believes, thoughts, and the language they use in communication with the opposite sex. The primary goal of communication for both genders is to share their feelings, thoughts, and messages with others. My classmate stated that teachers accommodate their language communicating in a mixed-sex environment to manage their social integration. In comparison to the same-gender conversation, the discourse style of the mixed-sex group requires greater communication adjustments from both sides. It was also found that women change their style of speech more often and significantly than their male counterparts. The latter have a strong dominant identity and traditional beliefs that make them less ready to adapt linguistically. Thus, workplace communication has a stronger influence on the development of women’s identity, ideology, and even language use. In general, females strive for social connection, association, approval, discourse effectiveness, and feel less uneasy not conforming to a gender stereotype than males.
The role of discourse analysts was further discussed in the interview. My colleague stated that discourse analysts are important as they can assess communication at the workplace between males and females in-depth. What is more, they are able to identify main issues regarding gender-related language use. The differences in speech styles may inform the analyst on the quality of communication, the presence of stereotypes, and gender discrimination. It means that such professionals can help researchers to define a precise standpoint and provide a meaningful perspective.
Furthermore, the interviewee suggested the potential solution to the issues found in gender communication at workplaces. As it was early mentioned, the professional world was male-dominated creating obstacles for women who wanted to have equal rights and adequate treatment. Today, there is no strict division of males and females at workplaces, instead, it is often addressed by a company’s management. Nevertheless, some relics of the past such as opposition to female authority by males just based on gender remain. Female teachers often face invisible socio-linguistic restrictions that hinder their career advancement as educators. Neutral discourse (neither male nor female-dominated) therefore should be encouraged at all levels to minimize the gender issue and establish a progressive environment. It would provide equal opportunities to female teachers based on performance and personal traits instead of archaic gender roles.
Gender discrimination and stereotyping remain the main problems that should be further studied and eliminated. An interdisciplinary approach should be applied to establish a gender-fair style of language that would treat men and women equally. I learned from the interview that feminization and neutralization are among the prevailing strategies addressing the issue. They both encourage the use of the gender unmarked forms, standardization of individual linguistic behavior, and language structure.
This activity assisted me in systematizing the knowledge I received in class and from the readings. I used it as an opportunity to expand my knowledge collecting information from the interviewee. My classmate provided important insight on gender communication at workplaces, as he is studying similar issues in Pakistan. Moreover, the informational interview is a great example of group work that allows a cross-disciplinary discourse with people either representing business studies, sociology, or anthropology. When working on the research, it is essential to collaborate or consult with a professional who has a different point of view and vision on gender roles in the workplace. This interview improves the research process and makes it less biased. In general, I enjoyed this kind of activity and look forward to working further on my research.
Reference
Goman, K. C. (2017). Are there gender differences in workplace communication? Linkedin. Web.