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Running Head: Communication and Gender: How Men and Women Communicate in
Taiwan's Offices
Communication and Gender: How Men and Women Communicate in Taiwan's
Offices
Submitted by
Michael Tang
1101100083
Submitted to
Dr. Aiden Yeh
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Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages
January 08, 2014
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction …………………………………………………………….……. 3
L i teratu re R evi ew ……………………… … …………… .…… …… .… ... 4
Methodology …………………………………………………………………. 5
References ……………………..………………………………………….…. 6
Appendix
Consent/Cover Letter ……………………………………………………….…7
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Introduction
Since the awakening of feminist consciousness, many women started to join the
businesses in the world. According to the statistic from Directorate-General of Budget,
Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS, 2013), there were about 4,777,000 women who
had jobs last year in Taiwan. Moreover, the BBC News (2013) indicated that the sex
ratio in Taiwan is 100.09, and the ratio is falling down continually. Therefore, we can
assume that the number of women in Taiwan is growing, and more women will have
jobs in the future.
With the phenomenon that more and more women join the industry, various
work-related problems can arise such as communication difficulty and sexual
harassment. To solve and prevent such problems, understanding the differences
between male and female is very important, especially the communication style. In
fact, the communication styles between men and women have become the theme of
many best-selling books on gender differences, such as “Work with Me: The 8 Blind
Spots Between Men and Women in Business” by Barbara Annis and John Gray (2013),
and “You Just Don’t’ Understand: Women and Men in Conversation” by Deborah
Tannen (1990).
In the book “You Just Don’t’ Understand: Women and Men in Conversation”,
Tannen (1990) thought that men and women are speaking different dialects, and
brought up the genderlect theory. The goal of genderlect theory is to find out how men
and women communicate differently, and bridge the gap between the two
communication styles. Therefore, the genderlect theory is the best theoretical
framework of this research.
The studies mentioned above only focused on the communication styles between
men and women, especially in the workplace or office. However, little research has
been done on workplace communication in Taiwanese context. In order to find out the
differences of communication styles between men and women, the research target
would be the employees of offices in Taiwan. Those target employees would be asked
to record the business conversations or discussions to obtain the data. By analyzing
the collected data, it would clearly show how men and women communicate in office.
The contribution of this research would be very helpful to the workplace,
especially in Taiwan. Indeed, as Tannen (1994) mentioned in her book “ Talking from
9to 5: How Women’s and Men’s Conversational Styles Affect Who Gets Heard, Who
Credit, and What Gets Done at Work”, if people start to understand and accept the
communication styles of others, the conflicts between people can be reduced. Also,
the study would create a better environment where people can do their best work, and
both company and individual would derive benefits.
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Literature Review
Since there are more and more women working in the offices of companies, the
conflicts and misunderstandings between male and female employees have become an
important issue in recent years. To solve the problem, people started to show concern
about the differences of communication styles between men and women. In fact, the
research of gender differences in communication had already started in 1970s as a
sub-field of language and society studies (Qin, 2012). However, there were only few
researches which related to communication styles between sexes in Taiwan. Therefore,
the references of this research paper were mainly from foreign countries.
In the study of Merchant (2012), she stated that “Gender differences in
communication styles and influence tactics have created stereotypical gender roles
that have affected the behaviors of both men and women in the workplace.” (p.16).
She also pointed out that the biggest difference of communication styles between men
and women is they have different views on the purpose of conversations.
Genderlect Theory
Tannen (1990) first pointed out the idea that men and women are speaking
different dialects in her book “You Just Don’t Understand”. This idea had also
extended to the theory – genderlect theory to identify the differences between sexes,
and encourage people to acknowledge and accept the language of men and women
and achieve mutual respect and understanding. In the genderlect theory, Tannen (1990)
concluded that the communication style of men is report-talk and instrumental
approach. In contrast, the communication style of women is rapport-talk and
relational approach.
Figure 1: List of Genderlect
Men
Women
Purpose of Communicating
To seek status
To seek connection
Style of Communicating
Report talk
Rapport talk
Language
Talk to get things done
(instrumental approach)
Talk to interact with others
(relational approach)
Women’s Communication Style
Women use communication as a tool to enhance the social networks with others
and create relationships (Wood, 2011). Moreover, Tannen (1990) indicated that
women’s purpose of conversation is to create an intimate connection with others. To
gain the rapport with others, they would talk about people, relationships, or topical
problems and issues which they are facing (Gray, 1992). Researchers also found out
that women tend to be more expressive and polite than men in conversation,
especially in situations of conflict (Basow & Rubenfield, 2003). Women also interrupt
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less than men in the conversation. However, this phenomenon was hypothesized by
Thorne and Henley (1975) that women perceived their social status is lower than men,
which could be due to the stereotype or social norms.
Men’s Communication Style
On the other hand, men use language as a tool to get tangible result and exert
dominance (Wood, 2011). The research from Tannen (1990) also showed that men see
conversations as a way to maintain their social status and establish dominance. She
also thought that a conversation between people is more like a negotiation to men.
Therefore, men have to get the upper hand in order to protect themselves. Moreover,
they are more assertive than women, and tend to be specific, logical, and powerful
(Basow & Rubenfield, 2003). At the same time, Basow and Rubenfield (2003) also
found out that men are more likely to offer solutions to problems in order to prevent
further discussions. Another founding from the previous studies is that men are more
independent and unemotional in conversations (Eagly, 1987).
The research in gender differences of communication styles had come to the
conclusion that women are more cooperative, sensitive, and concern about the
feelings and relationships with others (Mason, 1994). Lakoff (1973) also indicated
that women would use less powerful words and terms, and speak politely in
conversations. In addition, the process of communication is extremely valuable for
women because it is related to the relationships with people (Statham, 1987). In
contrast, men tend to be assertive, specific, independent, unemotional, and logical,
and use conversations as a tool to obtain dominance and tangible results (Eagly, 1987;
Tannen, 1990; Basow & Rubenfield, 2003; Wood, 2011).
Methodology
Participants
The target participants of this study were people who worked in different
companies in Taiwan. The total number of the participants was 32 (12 males and 20
females). The age of the participants were from 25 to 50, and most of them had high
school degree or above. All of the participants were recruited via Facebook.com,
telephone, or email correspondence from December 2013 to January 2014.
Materials
In order to grasp how participants communicate with each other, the participant
observation was used to collect data. The participants were required to use recorder or
any device which has voice recording function to record their conversation. The audio
files were transcribed in order to compare with the categories which mentioned in the
literature review.
Procedure
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Before the qualitative study began, the researcher contacted several companies
and got the permissions and volunteers to participate the experiment. All the
participants agreed and signed the consent for the participation in research. During the
observation, the researcher went to the office and recorded the conversation between
participants personally, or the participants recorded the conversation via theirs
recorders or cellphones by themselves. The types of conversations were group
discussions, negotiations, and meetings. The length of each audio record was about
10-20 minutes. After recording, all the received audio files were typed into word
documents verbatim in order to analyze and compare with Deborah Tannen’s
genderlect.
References
Basow, S. A., & Rubenfeld, K. (2003, 2). "Troubles Talk": Effects of Gender and
Gender-Typing. Sex Roles, 48, 183-187.
Eagly, A. H. (1987). Sex Differences in Social Behavior: A Social-role Interpretation.
Hillsdale: L. Erlbaum Associates.
Gray, J. (1992). Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus: a Practical Guide for
Improving Communication and Getting What You Want in a Relationship. New
York: HarperCollins.
Lakoff, R. (1973, 4). Language and Woman's Place. Language in Society, 2, 45-80.
Mason, E. S. (1994). Gender Differences in Job Satisfaction. The Journal of Social
Psychology, 135, pp. 143-151.
Merchant, K. (2012). How Men And Women Differ: Gender Differencesin in
Communication Styles, Influence Tactics, and Leadership Styles. CMC Senior
Theses.
Statham, A. (1987, 4). The Gender Model Revisited: Differences in the Management
Styles of Men and Women. Sex Roles, 16, 409-430.
Tannen, D. (1990). You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation.
New York: Ballantine Books.
Thorne, B., & Henley, N. (1975). Language and Sex: Difference and Dominance.
Newbury House Publishers.
Wood, J. T. (2011). Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, & Culture (10 ed.).
Cengage Learning.
Qin, C, H. (2012, 6). Gender Differences in Communication among Undergraduates
Students. Overseas English.
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Appendix
Appendix 1: Consent/Cover Letter
Consent for Participation in Research
Title: Communication and Gender: How Men and Women Communicate in Taiwan’s Offices
Introduction
The purpose of this form is to provide you information that may affect your decision as to
whether or not to participate in this research study. The person performing the research
will answer any of your questions. Read the information below and ask any questions
you might have before deciding whether or not to take part. If you decide to be involved
in this study, this form will be used to record your consent.
Purpose of the Study
You have been asked to participate in a research study about how men and women
communicate in Taiwan’s offices. The purpose of this study is to find out the
communication styles and differences between men and women.
The findings might
improve the relationship between male and female employees in offices, and prevent
fights, misunderstandings, and arguments.
What will you to be asked to do?
If you agree to participate in this study, you will be asked to record the business
conversations or discussions during working in the office by yourself. This study will
take about 10 to 20 minutes for you to record the conversation whenever it began, and
will include approximately 2 to 6 study participants.
Note: Your participation will be audio recorded.
What are the risks involved in this study?
There are no foreseeable risks to participate in this study.
What are the possible benefits of this study?
Free drinks or snacks will be provided by the researcher.
Do you have to participate?
No, your participation is voluntary. You may decide not to participate at all or, if you start
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the study, you may withdraw at any time.
If you would like to participate, please send it to staralex123@hotmail.com.
You will
receive a copy of this form.
Will there be any compensation?
You will not receive any type of payment participating in this study.
What are my confidentiality or privacy protections when participating in this research
study?
This study is anonymous because all the names, companies, and anything which related to
your business will not be exposed.
NOTE: If audio/video recordings will be made include the following statements:
If you choose to participate in this study, you will be audio recorded. Any audio
recordings will be stored securely and only the research team will have access to the
recordings.
Recordings will be kept for five months until the end of the research and
then erased. The data resulting from your participation may be used for future research
or be made available to other researchers for research purposes not detailed within this
consent form.
Whom to contact with questions about the study?
Prior, during or after your participation you can contact the researcher 唐慕仲 Michael
Tang at 0988370002 or send an email to staralex123@hotmail.com.
Whom to contact with questions concerning your rights as a research participant?
For questions about your rights or any dissatisfaction with any part of this study, you can
contact, anonymously if you wish, The English Department, Wenzao Ursuline University of
Languages, 高雄市三民區民族一路 900 號, TEL：+886-7-342-6031; FAX：+886-7-342-7942.
Signature
You have been informed about this study’s purpose, procedures, possible benefits and risks,
and you have received a copy of this form. You have been given the opportunity to ask
questions before you sign, and you have been told that you can ask other questions at any
time. You voluntarily agree to participate in this study. By signing this form, you are not
waiving any of your legal rights.
___Michael Tang_唐慕仲___
Printed Name
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_________________________________
_________________
Signature
Date
As a representative of this study, I have explained the purpose, procedures, benefits, and the
risks involved in this research study.
_________________________________
Print Name of Person obtaining consent
_________________________________
Signature of Person obtaining consent
_________________
Date