group dynamics in majority female/minority male groups

[margerykemp]

Has anyone experienced this and noticed any interesting patterns?

my original MA wasn't WS - it was called 'women, gender and writing' (eng lit really) but they don't run that now either.

i'm always asking what othr people are working on. sometimes mners send me a copy of their stuff to read if i whine enough. [vicarious]

are you 'in' with what was the cawks thread?

i don't think it was designed like that - it was called 'crap academics with kids' and started as a bit of a support thread as they were all juggling trying get published, mat leave, misogynistic departments, grant applications, students demanding additional help, and RAE. but occasionally they would let slip what they were working on, which from a voyeurism pov was great. but it became a bit obvious that they could potentially be idenitifed by colleagues and students, so they were toying with other options so that they could discuss openly. some of the research sounded really interesting, but i'm a crap stalker so didn't follow them wherever they went off to - it just struck me that you might know! i think i just popped on as i'd been offered a phd place, and wanted some advice on something or other.

are you looking at the mo, ella?

Spitfire women is still on BBC iplayer, if anybody is interested.

ooooooo. do i have to go stalk, or will she tell me what it's about?

I know the thread's moved on, but... "even though many battles and wars were won by male leaders?"
Since just as many were lost by male leaders, I'm not sure that's a conclusive argument for the superior leadership abilities of the male sex.

i was slightly baffled by that comment - wasn't sure if it was supposed to be 'for' or 'against', so i ignored it wilfully.

I think it was a joke, wasn't it?

ah. that might make more sense.

not really ninja. Who kept you grandmother safe? Men with rifles and such

Who threatened my granny is the first place carpet? Men with rifles and such.

WTF does this have to do with the issue of group dynamics in male female groups?

exactly messy, don't forget if it weren't for men you may well not be here

what on earth is your point?

Shall we get back to the discussion? The sensible one, that is.

ok, glass elevator thingy - i suspect that's more to do with any minority position, not necessarily just from male in female environs. it certainly happened to me.

Female/female dynamics are by far the most problematic as far as I'm concerned. Most of the bullying I've experienced, or heard of is one, or two females take a dislike for any number of reasons, they take onside others in the group, a pack starts to form and thinking of some recent cases of school bullying has driven some to suicide.
Men may be more capable of physical cruelty but females win hands down when it comes to psychological cruelty.

MrsT I'd like to see stats to back that statement up as I am not convinced it is necessarily true.
Anyway back to the female/male dynamic thing, I have tended to find that where men are in the minority they still dominate (on the whole) and certainly the glass elevator thing appears to be very true. Take Univeristy Admin, still a largely female preserve, but look at who the Registrars are. My pet hate is when a woman says something and it is ignored (or not heard) 2 mintutes later a man says it and all the men agree, concur or whatever.

Interesting. The worst and most sustained attacks I have ever seen and experienced have been men unable to cope with women in positions of power over them.

But anecdote does not equal data as we all know

Blackduck:
www.punch.co.uk/images/Cartoons/business/03.gif

Hazel :o