Chauvinism in China

It was suggested to me recently that the women of China are potentially far more usefully entrepreneurial than the men when it comes to innovating (as opposed to copying).

Maybe because they actually have some empathy whereas the men do not, and can thus imagine what annoys customers. Maybe because they weren’t spoiled as much as children. Maybe because they have female intuition. Maybe because they don’t label any new idea as absurd the minute they hear it. The options are virtually endless.

I have to accept that, although I go to China quite frequently, I don’t have enough data to test this hypothesis because women are mostly excluded from senior executive roles (of the type that I interact with).

In fact, I would say that in regards to women in the work place, China feels like Australia in the early 70’s. The men have a vague understanding that things will change but they still have absolutely no compunction about making fully chauvinistic statements in public.

Even if the women are better at strategic marketing and innovation, how in the hell are they going to get their hands on investment capital? The old blokes with their hands on the capital are truly old blokes in the youngest sense of the word.

I don’t think the Chinese have developed enough karma that warrants anyone helping them with these sorts of problems. And they won’t pay for help. And they won’t listen to anyone that knows what they are talking about.

They can sort it out themselves in their own odd but strangely effective way.