Culture Clash
Culture Clash
Stereotypes about
women and math
can be dead wrongLong a believer in lifelong learning and staff development, Paul Strong offered his staff more advanced training programs than other companies he knew about. Paul was the president of a software development firm in Silicon Valley that had a reputation for being on the cutting edge. He asked a member of his extensive network for the names of good trainers who could introduce a variety of technical topics. The name "Ramon Perez" came up frequently, and so Paul asked Ramon to give a workshop on Boolean algebra and discrete mathematics to his programmers.
The workshop went well and Peter met with Ramon to determine how training opportunities could be improved. Ramon commented that several women from Asia were among the best trainees. He mentioned the names of six women who had recently moved to California from Japan, Korea, China and Thailand. Peter replied that he had been very happy with the job performance of these six people and that others in Silicon Valley had commented that Asia women were among the top programmers.
There is a cultural difference involved when discussions arise about women and mathematics. Boys and girls everywhere complain about how hard math is, and the cultural difference occurs after the complaints are heard. In the United States, teachers historically told girls that their reaction is common and so perhaps they should not take the advanced algebra course next semester. Boys were told of the many careers that demand good math knowledge and so were encouraged to take the advanced course. As a result, more boys than girls found themselves in advanced mathematics courses.
In Asia, teachers don't make a distinction in their reactions to boys and girls. All students are told to stop complaining and to work harder.
The teachers may say, "You have not been doing well with 100 homework problems a night, and so I will assign 200 problems." Sometimes, with the encouragement of their involved parents, students request more homework. Performance in mathematics is viewed as due to effort rather than to abilities that some people have but that others don't. If teachers view math as effort-based rather than ability-based, they have advice to give to students: Work harder!! With their background in advanced mathematics, people from Asia are able to benefit from advanced training programs such as those offered in Peter's companies.
Teachers in the United States now recognize this historical difference in their reactions to complaints about mathematics. They are now careful to offer equal encouragement to both boys and girls concerning advanced coursework.
The purpose of this column is to increase understanding of human behavior as it has an impact on the workplace. Special attention will be given to miscommunications caused by cultural differences. Each column will start with a short example of such confusion. Possible explanations will be offered to encourage thought about these issues.
Richard Brislin is a professor in the College of Business Administration,
University of Hawaii. He can be reached through the
College Relations Office: cro@cba.hawaii.edu