I observed an interesting interaction between my classmates recently. It involved them being together in a project group from my current university’s class. In this group of four, the only female was the group leader with the remaining three guys as group members. They were having a group discussion on an engineering project that was due in two weeks’ time.
Before the discussion began, I noticed each of their facial expressions, except for the leader. They seem really uninterested and reluctant to start the discussion. Two of them were pre-occupied with their mobile phones while the other had his head resting on the table. I was unsure if their restless behavior was a result of a long day at school or if they were just being disrespectful towards their leader. Whatever the reason, I was extremely upset with their way of behaving because they had no regards for the feelings of others. Perhaps it is in the culture of young men to behave in such an ill-mannered manner where, unless they receive instructions on what is required to be done, they will not make an effort to start on a task.
Next, the group leader began updating the group on its progress. Externally, it looks as if her group members were listening to what she had to say but judging from their body language, it looked contradictory. Each of them to my knowledge displayed negative body language which showed how they each felt about the current situation. One had his arms crossed over his chest, another had his legs crossed over other while the last member had his legs stretched on another chair. Instead of remaining still and giving their utmost attention to their group leader, they kept fidgeting and seemed uneasy. These could be possibly due to an influenced culture where age acts as an important role. As long as we are older than anyone, we assume we deserve respect from individuals younger than us and expect them to endure and not feel annoyed from any sorts of unpleasant behaviors portrayed by us.
These negative non-verbal cues could also be the result of the difference in gender or in other words, gender discrimination. In the context of gender role, most of us feel that girls are not good leaders or should not even carry that role for that matter. Most of us see males as being leaders and females as followers. However, this is just a belief, not a known fact. These may be possible reasons why the group members showed such negative behavior towards the group leader. For the same reason, I feel that was how the three male members of the group were feeling as well. In addition, the group leader did not disapprove or express her thoughts of their absurd behavior. As a result, it most probably further reinforced their beliefs that girls are not good leaders.
Farmunication 