The Difference Between Women and Men and The History of Women from Wives to Workers
How understanding the evolution of women and men since WWII matters
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Women used to be cooks, take care of children, clean, etc.
Then WWII started. And workers were needed.
So women shifted to the workforce.
This created a massive change in our social ecology that we are still making sense of today.
Women also started going to school.
Can women do that? Can they, should they, do they want to?
What does it mean to be a man? A woman? A homosexual? A hermaphrodite? An xyz…
Throughout these past ~50 years we have been learning a lot. I will share some of my reflections in this article. Please feel free to email me with yours at ashleyheacock@gmail.com
Table of Contents:
In The Workforce
Statistics about Women in Mathematical Subjects
Women in Leadership
At The House
Psychological Biases Leading to the Downfall of Communities
In The Workforce
Is there a difference between men and women?
Yes, there is a difference we have discovered between men and women.
Women do really well as nurses, caretakers, and educators. They have hearts that are typically more caring than men. However, be open to men who may also want to be in these positions. Feel their energy. Get to know them. Everybody is unique!
Women have hearts and are caring. Men sometimes enjoy just being in a little office all day long researching one little tiny topic that is also extremely important. Like a scientist.
Women are more bigger picture thinkers, I call this quantum thinking. They understand the interconnectedness of all things and beings, are more circular in their thinking, and are connection builders. Men are more linear and focused on one direction or subject.
Women do well in groups. Creativity. Sharing. Collaborating. With men and women. Men might know a little about one tiny topic. So a woman who has a diverse background can help connect a group of men who are all experts in one tiny field, and she knows enough about each field, so she can be a good translator among them.
Consider statistics and accounting. If you’re a woman do you go, wow, ew, no way? I do. But men are kind of fine with doing those things, thankfully!
However, I’m an economist. I LOVE economics. I love calculus, I love physics. But they are very different than being on a computer doing statistics and accounting all day — super boring and linear for me as a woman. Economics seems to be more quantum. And I also am an international affairs, cultural, and linguistic expert, etc. You can view my resume here. I’m extremely multi-dimensional. I don’t want to get a PhD in physics, but I enjoyed learning it in AP Physics in high school. Then I felt good enough about my understanding, and moved on to the next topic that I was curious about.
If you have an economics team, perhaps have the men do the statistics, while the women do the larger thinking. The bigger picture. It may be a good thing for women to diversify and take many subjects they enjoy, and then be able to be connectors for the men who are super linear and may need somebody who can connect their ideas.
Men seem to be focusers. So a combination of men and women may be a good thing. Don’t ask me to do statistics for Systems Dynamics and excel spreadsheets all day long. But I’ll help you understand the larger picture of what’s goin on in the world and really accelerate your progress.
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Statistics about Women in Mathematical Subjects
When checking Google AI, the rate of economist women seems to be 25%-40%. Those at the higher levels were men. Is this because they are focusers? Women might want to diversify into international affairs and cultural affairs to be more qualified to be quantum thinkers, connectors, rather than excel spreadsheets and be in a little office all day long like men seem to be okay with.
When I checked the rates of engineers at some companies (Uber and Lyft), I came up with an idea that the range of engineers for women at your companies may be around 13–23%. When checking Google AI it agreed, with 16.5% making up the workforce. So that means some women may be incredible engineers (we all have different types of brains).
When researching calculus and physics, it seems similar to the above. However, always be cautious. Calculus and physics came very easily to me. I then found my love of Economics in college. I received 5s, the top scores, in AP Physics and AP Calculus. So, there are some women with brains that can do these calculations.
When researching economics, I found through Google AI that the rates could be around 26–35% for women. “Women are more likely to be authors of papers in labor economics and health and education, while men are more likely to be authors of papers in econometrics, macroeconomics, monetary economics, and finance.” However, the same trend continues. Those who are at higher levels are males. But again, in my personal experience, I love economics, but I would never get a PhD in it. Boring. I want to be more diversified. I don’t want tot do statistics. But men are okay with just focusing on one topic. So they are the ones getting the PhDs. However, they may be limited. Having more diverse groupings of international affairs, cultural affairs, etc. with women would be beneficial for the world.
I would also be careful of hiring women just to fill a quota. You may end up with a less-brilliant woman who then destroys the reputation of women engineers everywhere. So please be careful with quota-filling versus qualification capability.
You also have to keep in mind the team. Perhaps if it’s a team of five, 3 men and 2 women. If it’s a team of 15, then perhaps 3 women and 12 men. These three women must be capable and be prepared to work with men. These companies should also be prepared with a Human Resource Team of Bad-Asses who ensure they are treated well and nothing fishy goes on.
Not sure if you’ve read the articles about sexism and racism in the workforce, but I would suggest having a strong Vice President of Human Resources who you have a close relationship with.
You don’t want one ugly icky person ruining your entire company, even if he’s a “high producer”. He could destroy your entire reputation, company, destroy your family life. Haha on you.
So, take Human Resources seriously. Take the complaints of employees seriously. Get the rats out.
There are plenty more people you can hire to take over his/her role, very easily. But it would be very difficult to defend your company’s reputation if you don’t take employees’ concerns seriously.
That would imply you are a CEO who doesn’t care about his/her employees. Character, dignity, honesty matters! And the news agencies will jump on those opportunities to display your lack of respect of human beings. So just fire the person immediately, and find peace that your company is now a safer environment for all, and your reputation and company are not in danger.
Perhaps make a mind upgrade in your thinking. Treat your workforce not as employees but as family. How are they doing? Maybe have Human Resources ensure people are doing well. In my recent article, Creativity, Freedom, and Flexibility in the Work Space, I mention Listening.
Creativity, Freedom, an Flexibility in the Work Space
Here’s an excerpt:
More Listening
Are you hiring people who are lesser than you because of your little ego? Then your company will be lesser and likely fail. Can you hire people who are differentials than you, but better than you in some way? People who you can Trust, Listen To, and Respect? Who you don’t have to hold their hand or worry about them screwing up all the time or ruining your company’s reputation. Hire people who are extremely bright, intuitive, a self-starter, entrepreneurial, creative, and able to pull a lot of weight, so you can relax more.
Do you want to hire a consulting firm to do an excel spreadsheet and powerpoint presentation for you? And pay tons of money for results that don’t add up?
How about listening? Listen to Martha and Jerry. What do they think is going on or could be improved?
Listen to the “lowliest” person of the company. Listen to the “middlest” person of the company. What is really going on here? It’s a good idea to have chats with everybody in the company to get an intuitive understanding of the ins-and-outs of the company. Otherwise, you’re just a CEO at the top who has no clue what’s really going on. Then you think you hire somebody smart at a consulting company, when in actuality, what would have been smart, is talking to the people in your company! Even the janitor, FYI.
Read more about this by the incredible Zeynep Ton at MIT.
Women in Leadership
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Women may not want to take on the President role of the company. That’s fine. Google AI says women in leadership are around 10%-28%.
However, be careful. If you are a President, I would recommend having perhaps a strong team of five, and include at least two women.
If you have five dudes together on a leadership team this can lead to like an alpha omega fraternity club and your entire company may end up ruined.
Women can balance you. They can help ask different questions than you may have thought of. One of the woman VPs could be the Human Resources VP. There could be a VP of Marketing who is a woman.
Also, consider your wife as a leader. When you get home and you have a conundrum, chat with her. What comes from her heart? She is your guiding light. She cares. She can help open your heart, and make sense of what you’re grappling with.
Your wife could also stop by the company occasionally and say hi and be part of the family. She may gain some intelligence that could be crucial for you. She may also make the employees feel loved and cared for.
At The House
Women are tired of working and doing all of the work they used to do at home (children, cooking, cleaning, plus working), WOW! That’s like doubling the work they have to do.
Solutions:
Cooking
Husbands, how about three times a week help your wife out:
After work, pick up Chinese, or Thai, or Indian takeout food. Just have your wife order it, and you pick it up and bring it home to the family. You’ll have left-overs for the next day too.
Another day, pick up something like Qdoba that is healthy. Fast food contains a lot of antibiotics, steroids, and toxins. Is there a local restaurant that you can pick up a family meal for after working? Have left-overs for the next day too. You know there’s lunch to be considerate of too.
Another day, take your wife out to dinner and have a date night. Perhaps trade off with a local friend group, and they can take care of the children while you two spend quality time together.
Women, crockpots are super simple. You can just put the food all in in the morning, and then at night, it’s ready to eat.
These are all just suggestions to try to make your lives easier in the 21st century.
If your wife has more energy because you are picking up to-go food, you may receive more pleasure in the bedroom. Just sayin’ ;) But if she’s so tired from cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the children all day, she may not have that much energy to do receive or give pleasure. That would be disadvantageous to you both.
Cleaning
You have to be careful with this one. You don’t want to demasculate your husband and reduce your sexual pleasure if he starts taking over jobs that are more feminine.
Here are some options that would not demasculate him: taking out the garbage, vacuuming (really hard work actually; you guys are much stronger), and of course doing yard work, which you probably already do (masculinity increase, pleasure increase).
Children
Why not spend time with each of your children separately or together on the weekends. Going to their sporting or musical events is kind. However, what about going on a hike separately with your son or daughter, just you two, and getting to know them better? Sometimes we think we have to do things as a family all together all the time. But, what if you got to know your child a little more intimately? I believe they would appreciate quality time with their father or mother.
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Psychological Biases Leading to the Downfall of Communities
You may have been a girl or a woman who wanted to be like a boy or man and prove yourself. That’s fine. Experimentation is always an adventure for your soul growth.
However, it can also be a temper tantrum. It can be going against who you really are.
Are you a woman or a man?
We need more people who care, are loving, are kind. Read the book Bowling Alone to understand the collapse of community better.
Our governments also started taking away the arts, theater, music, everything that leads to a more joyful life, but that is more feminine. Coincidence or not?
Did you fall into a trap of acting like a man to “get ahead” when really it’s about cooperation and working together to create a more loving world?
Did women in the workforce vacate community centers, not care about the environment, and stop being concerned about people in poverty, like a heart-less man who just wants to reach the top? Is that why we’re at where we are now? Women became men to prove they could, but then what happened to the heart of our society?
We now know women can do basically anything a man can do. However, there are differentials, as I noted above.
Perhaps instead of trying to fit into a male society, think outside of the box, and listen to your heart.
Who are You? As a Woman? An educated woman. How can you help a world in need? With your heart. With your intelligence. With your soul.
There is so much poverty, so much environmental destruction, so much malnutrition. Where did the women go? Where are your voices, your hearts, your courage?
Did you know the butterflies are dying? The earth is dying. Children are dying. You can read more about all of this in articles on my website.
Would you feel better if you were more helpful to your community in need?
Would the world be more lovely, and would you feel more lovely too? You may have psychologically programmed yourself to be a man, when you’re actually a woman. Men find women who are caring much more attractive, FYI.
Image by Hosny Salah from Pixabay
Written by
Ashley Heacock, Shaman, Medicine Woman, Mentor, Guide
MIT Sloan School of Management, MBA
Harvard Kennedy School of Government, MPA
The George Washington University, BA Economics, BA International Affairs
Contact for healing sessions: ashleyheacock@gmail.com
Website: awakeningconsciousness.community
Other articles you may enjoy written by me around this same topic:
Creativity, Freedom, and Flexibility in the Work Space
