Ranking Feminity Masculinity Country Rankings
Ranking Feminity Masculinity Country Rankings
(1980, 1984) plotted a low-to-high index for structure. This is supported by Kannungo and
these four cultural dimensions for 50 coun- Wright (1983), who discovered that many
tries and three regions. managers in Britain, a weak uncertainty
avoidance culture, placed much greater im-
Basically, Hofstede (1980) found that portance on individual achievement and
many of the countries included in his study autonomy than managers in France, a strong
are characterised by a large power distance uncertainty avoidance society. The French
cultural dimension. Individuals in these cul- valued competent supervision, sound com-
tures, according to him, tend to accept cen- pany policies, fringe benefits, security, and
tralised power and depend heavily on comfortable working conditions.
superiors for structure and direction, and the
laws and rules which differ for superiors and Many countries, Hofstede (1980) found,
subordinates are accepted. Hofstede (1984) are characterised by a masculine cultural di-
suggests improved QWL for these employees mension. Societies dominated by this dimen-
includes superiors making decisions for them sion stress material success and assertiveness
(no participative management). On the other and assign different roles to males and fe-
side, Hofstede (1980) found that many na- males. Males are expected to carry out the as-
tions are characterised by a small power dis- sertive, ambitious, and competitive roles in
tance cultural dimension, in which individuals the society; females are expected to care for
do not tolerate highly centralised power, and the non-material quality of life, for children,
status differences in these countries are sus- and for the weak - to perform the society’s
pect. Improved QWL for these employees, caring roles. In such societies a male might be
Hofstede (1984) suggests, includes participa- the manager of finance, and a female might
tion or at least consultation in decision mak- be his secretary; a role reversal would be an
ing. exception to the rule. On the other side,
Hofstede concluded that some nations are
Hofstede (1980) found that many na- characterised by a feminine (low masculine)
tions are characterised by a collectivistic cul- cultural dimension. These societies stress in-
tural dimension. People in these societies are terpersonal relationships, a concern for oth-
tightly integrated and they belong to “in- ers, the overall quality of life, and define
groups” from which they cannot detach them- relatively overlapping social roles for males
selves; they think in “we,” as opposed to and females. In these cultures, neither male
“me,” terms. Improved QWL for these per- nor female need be ambitious or competitive;
sons, Hofstede (1984) proposes, includes ob- both may aspire to a life which does not as-
taining satisfaction from a job well done by sign great values to material success and re-
the group and preserving harmony. On the spects others. Male secretaries and female
other side, Hofstede (1980) concluded that truck drivers would be more acceptable in
some nations are characterised by an indi- such societies than they would be in mascu-
vidualistic cultural dimension. Individuals in line societies. According to Hofstede (1984),
these societies look primarily after their own improved QWL for individuals in masculine
interests. According to Hofstede (1984), im- societies means increased job challenge, and
proved QWL to these individuals means indi- in feminine societies it means offering oppor-
vidual success and achievement. tunities for developing relationships on the
job.
Many societies, Hofstede (1980) found,
are characterised by a strong uncertainty The intensity level of organisations in im-
avoidance cultural dimension. Individuals in plementing QWL programmes no doubt varies
these cultures feel uneasy in situations of un- from organisation to organisation in all na-
certainty and ambiguity and prefer structure tions. How about nations themselves? The in-
and dirction. Hofstede (1984: 396) proposed tensity level of nations in implementing
that improving QWL for employees in these quality-of-life improvement programmes no
societies implies offering more security and doubt varies from nation to nation as well. To
perhaps more task structure on the job. On what extent is national culture a factor con-
the other side, Hofstede (1980) found that in tributing to the variations? Are feminine cul-
countries characterised by weak uncertainty tures more intense in implementing
avoidance cultural dimension, individuals quality-of-life programmes than masculine
tend to be relatively tolerant of uncertainty cultures? This study seeks to provide an an-
and ambiguity. Hofstede (1984) suggests that swer to these questions by examining the ex-
improving QWL for people in these societies tent that the femininity-masculinity index for
includes considerable autonomy and low 48 countries included in Hofstede’s study
Volume 7 Number 3 2000 27
an indicator of gender inequality in basic ca- positive in intensity, whereas only 53.8% of
pabilities. the masculine countries scored positive. Hy-
pothesis 1b, the support for the less-fortunate
Hofstede and Bond (1988) plotted the factor, might also be supported. As Table 2
femininity-masculine index and rank for 50 depicts, 100% of the feminine countries
countries and three regions. The Report does scored positive, whereas only 28.6% of the
not provide data for two of the countries - masculine countries scored positive. Hypothe-
Taiwan and Yugoslavia. Hence, only 48 coun- sis 1c, the female development factor, might
tries are included in the analysis. Table 1 not be supported. Both the feminine and the
presents the femininity index and rank - Swe- masculine countries scored moderately -
den ranks number one (the most feminine) 61.1% of the feminine and 50.0% of the mas-
and Japan ranks number 48 (the most mascu- culine countries scored positives. Hypothesis
line). 1d, empowerment of females, is likely not to
be supported - both the feminine (50.0%) and
Table 1 also presents the HDI, HPI, GDI, masculine (45.5%) scored low.
and GEM intensity measures. As the footnotes
to Table 1 explain, these measures basically Discussion
tell us whether a country does better (positive
intensity) or worse (negative intensity) on Looking at the total scores on Figure 2 for the
certain measures. It is assumed, as indicated four factors measuring human development
above, that a rich country can afford to invest intensity applied by countries, one might de-
more in human development than a poor duce that, overall, the feminine countries do
country. Hence, the rich country would natu- apply greater intensity in human development
rally rank higher than the poor country. The than masculine countries. A problem, how-
intensity measure therefore tells us whether a ever, is the relatively lower score by the femi-
country is at, above, or below its investment nine countries on the empowerment of
capacity. females factor. This may mean that the coun-
try’s power distance measure comes into play.
For example, if a country ranks 10th in
The GEM-HDI factor was subsequently com-
GDP per capita and it ranks 10th in the HDI,
puted on the basis of the 48 countries’ power
it does neither better nor worse. But if, for in-
distance measure. The results show that
stance, it ranks 7th in the HDI, it would do
68.8% of the countries measuring small
better (three points positive intensity). How-
power distance score positive on intensity in
ever, if it ranks 13th in the HDI, it would do
empowering females, whereas only 39.3% of
worse (three points negative intensity). The
the countries measuring large power distance
intensity measures for HPI, GDI, and GEM are
score positive. However, this result may actu-
determined by comparing their rankings to
ally have nothing to do with gender, as man-
the HDI rank. If the HDI rank is higher, there
agers in small power distance cultures, at
is a negative intensity; if it is lower, there is a
least theoretically, would tend to practice em-
positive intensity. Assuming that developed
powerment (both males and females) more so
nations provide the factors used to compute
than managers in large power distance cul-
the HPI, UNDP computed the HPI for only 78
tures.
developing countries.
Employment Opportunity have been imple- ministrators and research bodies seek to up-
mented; and in Japan, which measures very date or improve their estimates using new
strong on masculinity, where the Employment sources of data, such as census and surveys.
Opportunity Law of 1986 has been imple- Third, estimates of income used in the GDP
mented. are converted to international dollars by using
purchasing power parities (PPP) established
As far as research implications, one is by the World Bank, based on the results of
cautioned that the above hypotheses are surveys by the International Comparison Pro-
predicated on the “culture-specific” theory, an gramme (ICP). Revision and updating of the
“emic” view (Segall, 1986). However, there is PPP-based income estimates lead to fluctua-
an opposing theory, labelled the “culture-free” tions across time and country series.
theory, an “etic” view (Segall, 1986). This
theory posits that certain situational factors, The fourth problem is uneven data avail-
such as the economic environment, impact or- ability across country groups. Some issues,
ganisations in all societies (see Hickson et al., such as literacy, are well documented in the
1974; Haire, Ghiselli & Porter, 1966; Heyde- developing countries but less so in the indus-
brand, 1973; Child, 1981; Dore, 1973; Hick- trial countries, or vice versa. In such cases The
son et al., 1979; Harbison & Myers, 1959; Report presents the limited data available, pri-
Bottger, Hallein & Yetton, 1985; Stephens, marily from official national reporting sys-
1981). tems and compiled by the United Nations,
with the caveat that these data may not be
For example, a decline of a nation’s eco- readily used for international comparisons.
nomic growth rate can lead its decision mak- Fifth, the quality of data also suffers in coun-
ers to cut back on the intensity level of tries in which there is war or civil strife.
investment in human development pro- Where the availability and quality of esti-
grammes. For instance, around 1980, the mates have become extremely limited, report-
United States was confronted with a declining ing of data in The Report has been
economic growth rate. In the 1980s, many of interrupted. The sixth major problem is the
the US’s social programmes were cutback un- extremely limited availability of data on such
der the concept of “Reaganomics.” And, as re- important human development issues as
ported in The Economist (August 23, 1997: crime, violence, employment, the environ-
37-39), in the early 1990s, the highly femi- ment, child labour, gender equality, income
ninistic Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland, distribution, maternal mortality, informal sec-
Norway, and Sweden, found themselves in an tor activities and non-market unpaid work.
undesirable economic situation. To deal with
the problem, these nations’ policymakers have Notwithstanding the above problems, the
begun to cut back on certain social pro- HDI has found an increasing following as a
grammes. It should be noted that The Econo- simple measure of human development. It
mist reports that Denmark began dealing with provides an alternative to GNP for assessing a
this problem years before the other Nordic country’s standing in basic human develop-
countries - this may help explain why Den- ment or its progress in human development
mark, as Table 1 shows, is the only Nordic over time (The Report: 19).
country with a negative intensity (-8) on the
GDP per capita rank minus HDI rank factor.
Table 1. The Feminine and the Human Development Rankings for 48 Countries
1
Care-for-the
Femininity 2 Development-GDP Unfortunate
Factor
3 Factor
4 Equality-Between-Sexes-Factor
5
Country Index Rank HDI GDP per HPI HPI Rank GDI GDI Rank GEM GEM Rank
Rank capita Rank minus HDI Rank minus HDI Rank minus HDI
Rank minus Rank Rank Rank
HD Rank
Sweden 5 1 10 11 - - 3 6 2 7
Norway 8 2 3 6 - - 2 1 1 2
Netherlands 14 3 6 13 - - 10 -5 10 -5
Denmark 16 4 18 -8 - - 9 8 3 14
Costa Rica 21 5 33 27 5 2 31 -1 26 4
Finland 26 6 8 15 - - 6 1 4 3
Portugal 31 8 31 3 - - 25 3 18 10
Thailand 34 9 59 -8 11 1 34 8 52 -10
Uruguay 38 11 37 15 10 6 26 5 54 -23
S. Korea 39 12 32 5 - - 30 -1 73 -44
El Salvador 40 13 112 3 36 5 62 4 44 22
Peru 42 14-15 89 5 28 6 53 2 53 2
Panama 44 18 45 14 9 2 36 -2 36 2
Turkey 45 19 74 -4 - - 45 5 82 -32
Indonesia 46 20 99 -7 23 -4 57 4 59 2
Israel 47 21 23 3 - - 21 0 30 -9
Brazil 49 23 68 0 - - 46 1 58 -11
Canada 52 26 1 7 - - 1 0 6 -5
Belgium 54 27 13 -1 - - 13 -1 15 -3
New Zealand 58 32 9 15 - - 7 1 5 3
Australia 61 33 14 4 - - 8 5 11 2
Volume 7 Number 3 2000 33
Table 1. The Feminine and the Human Development Rankings for 48 Countries (continued)
1
Care-for-the
Development-GDP Unfortunate
Femininity2 Factor 3 Factor 4 Equality-Between-Sexes-Factor 5
Country Index Rank HDI GDP per HPI HPI Rank GDI GDI Rank GEM GEM Rank
Rank capita Rank minus HDI Rank minus HDI Rank minus HDI
Rank minus Rank Rank Rank
HD Rank
US 62 34 4 -1 - - 4 0 7 -3
Colombia 64 37-38 51 7 6 -3 35 4 38 1
Philippines 64 37-38 98 12 19 -7 55 5 35 25
Germany 66 39-40 19 -3 - - 15 3 9 9
Ireland 68 41-42 17 8 - - 24 -8 24 -8
Mexico 69 43 50 0 7 -1 41 -3 31 7
Italy 70 44-45 21 -4 - - 22 -2 16 4
Venezuela 73 46 47 1 - - 37 -1 55 -19
Austria 79 47 12 1 - - 14 -3 8 3
Japan 95 48 7 0 - - 11 -5 34 -28
1. The feminine index and rank is adopted from Geert Hofstede and Michael H. Bond (1988). The Confucious connection: From cultural
roots to economic growth. Organizational Dynamics. Spring; pp.12-13. The human development data are adopted from the Human De-
velopment Report 1997. Published for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). New York: Oxford University Press, pp.146-
148, 21, and 41. Hofstedes study included Taiwan and Yugoslavia, but the UNDP report does not provide data for them.
2. The ranking ranges from #1, the most feminine country, to #48 ranking, the most masculine. Hofstede plotted the coun-
tries ranked 1-19 as feminine cultures, countries 20-22 (Indonesia, Israel, and Singapore) on the line dividing feminine and
masculine cultures, and the countries ranked 23-48 as masculine cultures.
3. HDI = human development index. The UNDP data provide the GDP, HDI index and rank for 175 countries. The “Real GDP
per capita rank minus the HDI rank” figure tells us whether the country does better on its GDP ranking or its HDI ranking. For
example, Sweden ranks 10th on the HDI, and has a positive 11 (does better) because it ranks 21st on the real GDP index, and
Denmark ranks 18th on the HDI, and has a negative 8 (does worse) because it ranks 10th on the real GDP index.
4. HPI = human poverty index. On the premises that about all advanced countries provide the factors used to determine the
HPI, UNDP computed the HPI for only 78 developing countries and recomputed the HDI rankings (1 to 78) for those coun-
tries. Only 18 of the 78 countries are included in Hofstede’s study. The “HPI rank minus the HDI rank” figure tells us whether
the country does better on its HPI ranking or its HDI ranking. For example, Costa Rica ranks 5th on the HPI, and has a posi-
tive 2 (does better) because it ranks 7th on the HDI, and Indonesia ranks 23rd on the HPI, and has a negative 4 (does worse)
because it ranks 19th on the HDI.
5. GDI = Gender-related development index. UNDP estimated the GDI for 94 countries and recomputed the HDI ranking for
those countries. The “GDI rank minus the HDI rank” figure tells us whether the country does better on its GDI ranking or its
HDI ranking. Computed as in note #4 above. GEM = gender empowerment measure. UNDP estimated the GEM for 94 coun-
tries and recomputed the HDI ranking for those countries. The “GEM rank minus the HDI rank” figure tells us whether the
country does better on its GEM ranking or its HDI ranking. Computed as in note #4 above.
34 Cross Cultural Management - An International Journal
Intensity Measure
in Countries on
the Dividing Line
(n = 3)
HDI-GDP Measure 33.4 66.6 0.0 1
HPI-HDI Measure 50.0 50.0 0.0 1
GDI-HDI Measure 66.6 0.0 33.6 0
GEM-HDI Measure 33.4 66.6 0.0 0
Intensity Measure
in Masculine
Countries (n = 26)
HDI-GDP Measure 53.8 34.6 11.6 0
HPI-HDI Measure 28.6 71.4 0.0 19
GDI-HDI Measure 50.0 40.9 9.1 4
GEM-HDI Measure 45.5 54.5 0.0 4