Hello!

My name is Carmen Gadei, and together with my colleagues, Laura Mirăuţă and Larisa Brava
and we will talk about Sweden's femininity, but also about masculinity in Japan. Before my
colleagues tell you what this is about, I can tell you that in Sweden the percentage of femininity is
51.4% of the population, with women playing a very important role even in political influence. About
Japan I can say is the country with the highest level of masculinity.

Masculinity vs Femininity-Sweden achievement of personal goals,such as quality of life,caring for

others,friendly atmosphere, getting along with boss and others.

In feminine societies the dominant values are

This dimension focuses on how extent to which a society stress achievement or nurture. Masculinity
is seen to be the trait which emphasizes ambition, acquisition of wealth, and differentiated gender
roles. Femininity is seen to be the trait which stress caring and nurturing behaviors, sexuality
equality, environmental awareness, and more fluid gender roles.

Define Femininity

When we define femininity the word “Tender” makes good sense. However, a better way to define
femininity is “Process orientation and consensus“.

A low score (Feminine) on the dimension means that the dominant values in society are caring for
others and quality of life. A Feminine society is one where quality of life is the sign of success and
standing out from the crowd is not admirable. The fundamental issue here is what motivates people,
wanting to be the best (Masculine) or liking what you do (Feminine).

Sweden scores 5 on this dimension and is therefore a Feminine society. In Feminine countries it is
important to keep the life/work balance and you make sure that all are included. An effective
manager is supportive to his/her people, and decision making is achieved through involvement.
Managers strive for consensus and people value equality, solidarity and quality in their working lives.
Conflicts are resolved by compromise and negotiation and Swedes are known for their long
discussions until consensus has been reached. Incentives such as free time and flexible work hours
and place are favoured. The whole culture is based around 'lagom', which means something like not
too much, not too little, not too noticeable, everything in moderation. Lagom ensures that everybody
has enough and nobody goes without. Lagom is enforced in society by “Jante Law” which should
keep people “in place” at all times. It is a fictional law and a Scandinavian concept which counsels
people not to boast or try to lift themselves above others.

Masculinity vs Femininity –Japan

In masculine societies,the dominant values emphasize on work goals,such as earnings,advancement

and success.

Males were taught to be strong and tough and encouraged to have control and dominance over
children and women. Japanese women, on the other hand, were taught to be reserved, subservient
and obey their husbands in their marriages and act similarly to their male children in their old age.
The Japanese also embrace the traditional idea of gender division or gender roles where a man
provides for his family and a woman stays at home doing housework and caring for the children.

A low score (Feminine) on the dimension means that the dominant values in society are caring for
others and quality of life. A Feminine society is one where quality of life is the sign of success and
standing out from the crowd is not admirable. The fundamental issue here is what motivates people,
wanting to be the best (Masculine) or liking what you do (Feminine).

A high score (Masculine) on this dimension indicates that the society will be driven by competition,
achievement and success, with success being defined by the winner / best in field – a value system
that starts in school and continues throughout organisational life.

At 95, Japan is one of the most Masculine societies in the world. However, in combination with their
mild collectivism, you do not see assertive and competitive individual behaviors which we often
associate with Masculine culture. What you see is a severe competition between groups. From very
young age at kindergartens, children learn to compete on sports day for their groups (traditionally
red team against white team).

In corporate Japan, you see that employees are most motivated when they are fighting in a winning
team against their competitors. What you also see as an expression of Masculinity in Japan is the
drive for excellence and perfection in their material production (monodukuri) and in material
services (hotels and restaurants) and presentation (gift wrapping and food presentation) in every
aspect of life. Notorious Japanese workaholism is another expression of their Masculinity. It is still
hard for women to climb up the corporate ladders in Japan with their Masculine norm of hard and
long working hours.

Traits of Masculinity / Femininity

High Masculine Low Masculine (Feminine)

social norms ego oriented relationship oriented

money and things are important quality of life and people are important

live in order to work work in order to live

politics and economics economic growth high priority environment protection high priority

conflict solved through force conflict solved through negotiation

religion most important in life less important in life

only men can be priests both men and women as priests

work larger gender wage gap smaller gender wage gap

fewer women in management more women in management

preference for higher pay preference for fewer working hours

family and school traditional family structure flexible family structure

girls cry, boys don’t; boys fight, girls don’t both boys and girls cry; neither fight

failing is a disaster failing a minor accident

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp8-WKcheYA

That being said, we can conclude that Sweden is ranked first in Europe as the country with the
highest percentage of femininity, and Japan is ranked first in the world at the level of high
masculinity.
Thank you for your attention!