Male and Female work

My experience in Africa highlights the difference in gendered work. As I am walking along the streets I see men operating on motorcycles, pounding metal into a usable part, waiting tables and waiting at a taxi stand. I see women sitting behind market stalls, mixing flour into dough and rolling chat leaves into bundles. In my mind I struggle to find the difference in gendered work from what I can see on the street. From what I am seeing on the street (ie. Not what is indicated by larger studies of male and female work life)… Both men and women are doing physically toiling work. Both men and women are earning equally low pay. Both men and women are in various positions of status. Overall there may be gendered differences that I cannot see during my exploration of various towns, villages and cities. However, in contrast, there is one difference that shines out clear as day.

It is related to payout and revenue. Men are largely engaged in activities that have no incremental revenue, but a large payout at a specific point in time. Women are engaged in activities that have steady incremental revenue. For example men at a taxi stand will not make any money for hours, but then make a large amount of money after a drive. A woman behind a stall earns a little every hour the market is open and is steadily active during the time. A man working on a motorcycle is paid in one portion once the project is successfully completed. A women rolling chat can steadily earn a little each bundle she rolls.

Is there such a thing as feminine and masculine working styles at a fundamental level? We have seen the arguments showing gendered lines of work between income (women earn less), physical toil (men do more hard labor) traditional roles (women do teaching). But what about women earn their amount bit by bit and men risk not earning anything until one big payoff. In the business world I can see these styles applied to business situations. This is what I have heard:

Feminine: “We just need to roll up our sleeves and work on this project every day and keep chipping away at the problem”

Masculine: “We need a new strategy that will pay off big.”

Feminine: “Just keep working on it and eventually we will have a quality project that people will like”

Masculine: “We need a new idea or product”

Perhaps these different styles come down to the sexual fact that women bore children and needed regular sources of goods to take care of regular eating habits. Perhaps these differences relate to gendered notions of risk. Perhaps these differences contribute to the theory that men went out for days on the hunt while women incrementally added to the value of the group by gathering nuts and berries.