How Can I Get Men To Take Me Seriously?

There was a very popular and funny email during 2004-2006. The email was about the diaries of a man and a woman. In that when a woman went long and long about her husband neglecting her, the husband on the turn put his feelings in one sentence "India lost in today's match!"

The above idea seems to be true with many women in the present century. Working women are more likely to write long emails that express support and are emotive, while men prefer to stick to the point with precise orders. Men and women act in ingrained styles learned from birth and deeply embedded in the workplace structure.

But, that's not where the differences in sexes end- women are also more likely to stand by while a workmate takes credit for her ideas, get accused of being emotional and allow herself to be interrupted. In tense situations, women try to help everyone to agree. There are a number of women out there that are still happy to accommodate men that do not want to rock the boat, that have no assertive skills and don't want them.

On the other hand, men like to hold court in the workplace, initiating banter and offering solutions to problems rather than understanding. They will act in a more challenging manner, playing devil's advocate in tense situations.

The differences in men's and women's styles create a persistent "credibility gap," where women are credited with less authority and power than men. The biggest complaint from all professions of women, is, ''How can I get men to take me seriously?"

Claire Damken Brown and Audrey Nelson examined different email styles adopted by men and women in the workplace in their new book 'Code Switching: How to Talk So Men Will Listen.'' They suggested that in order to rub along together more effectively, men and women should go for "code switching," which they describe as using knowledge of more than one culture and language to communicate. The book teaches how women should respond to interruptions with certain phrases and body language. The book also makes women more self-conscious. Step up to the plate. Do something about it.