MBA in Japan - GLOBIS University - Tokyo

Should I be more like a man to succeed in business?–
This may sound like an outdated question to some, but, in reality, it still remains as the one that keeps bothering many working women across the world, according to various studies.

Therefore, this intellectually captivating book, The Sexual Paradox: Men, Women and the Real Gender Gap should be a very insightful read for all men and women in business. In this award-winning book, Dr. Susan Pinker, a developmental psychologist and columnist, introduces the latest findings from neuroscience and economics in challenging the common assumption that men and women are biologically equal and thus intelligence is all it takes to succeed.

Dr. Pinker argues that the prevailing corporate culture, which is extremely competitive and deeply hierarchical, is best suited to men’s biological tendency, and works against many women, who have a strong inclination for cooperation and empathic communication in intimate, flat organizations. This reality results in cases such as girls who excelled academically ending up earning significantly less than some boys who were college dropouts, or a number of gifted women opting out of their highly paid corporate jobs for teaching and community work. The book also points us to data that shows how job satisfaction among women declines as they climb up the corporate ladder. This may appear counterintuitive to men, but may ring true for women who have forced themselves to act against their authentic sense of self in the efforts to emulate men.

This book provides a fresh look into the scope of traditional management education and many businesses that suffer from a gender imbalance in their workforces. Given that management science has been built historically only upon male samples, women have had little access to leadership styles that resonate with their genuine nature. Men, on the other hand, are facing new challenges in a diverse work environment, where a linear way of thinking and acting is no longer effective.

The real gender gap should not be seen as a problem to be fixed. It is a space for new knowledge and possibilities to speak up in order to bring us closer to a real sense of happiness, both at work and at home.


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Written by Megumi Taoka, Lecturer at GLOBIS