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On International Women’s Day, it is timely to look at back at some research carried out by Mesmo Consultancy several years ago.
Not surprisingly, it showed that the differences between how men and women operate in business (and socially) carries over into how they communicate. For an in-depth review see Gender and Communication at Work edited by Mary Barrett and Marilyn Davidson and Managing in the Email Office by Monica Seeley and Gerard Hargreaves.
Meanwhile, here is a brief summary of the main difference.
| Criterion | Men and email | Women and email |
| Deleting | Often | Hoarders keeping too much just in case |
| Subject line | Limited | More accurate |
| Salutation | Often none | Nearly always included |
| Tone | Terse | Flowery |
| Content | Shorter, crisper and to the point | Rambling and often flowery |
| Gossip | Often – the main culprits email media disasters | Rarely |
| Imagery | Rarely included, but occasional includes text-speak emoticons | Often use stationary and ‘smiley’s’ |
| Sign-off | Professional, bland but can be terse | Flowery, often uses colour and fancy fonts |
What as changed. Judging by the many emails I see, very little.
For more information and especially how to bridge the gap see first published in Brilliant Email.
Tags: Brilliant Email, business email etiquette, Gerard Hargreaves, International Women's Day, Men's email etiquette, Women's email etiquette