Are there gender differences? What form do they take? Are the differences a result of other differences, e.g., socioeconomic factors, or a contributing cause to those differences? Are any deficits also explore as a source of opportunities? Is gender a well-defined category in this world of overlap on most traits and with the emergence of various trans- identities?
In a sense, the topic might be seen as an opportunity for conversation among the following four angles on critical and creative thinking. (Equivalent angles can be articulated for differences that refer to race, ethnicity, or European descent vs. other othernesses.)
- 1) Under-representation of women in writing or teaching about critical thinking or creative thinking; Obstacles to and under-recognition of their contributions; Possibilities for women’s standpoint to address aspects of the world under-recognized by men.
- 2) Biases in accounts of sound thinking that claim to represent progress, efficiency, or other universal interests, but in practice promote the elevated social status of men over women.
- 3) The pervasiveness of gender-like dualisms in which one category is subordinate to the other and complex spectra are purified into dichotomies; The suppression of ways these conceptual schemes are troubled by multiplicities and hybrids.
- 4) The contribution of gendered resources among the heterogeneous resources that knowledge-makers link together over time as they construct and reconstruct established knowledge and reliable practices. A very significant source of resources has been the existence of a feminist movement(s) based on a broader set of social and personal concerns.
(Adapted from p. 251 of Taylor, Peter J.
Unruly Complexity: Ecology, Interpretation, Engagement, U. Chicago Press, 2005)
Compare
Gender differences in creative thinking:... [Brain Imaging Behav. 2014] -
PubMed
- "While men and women were indistinguishable in terms of behavioral performance across all tasks, the pattern of brain activity while engaged in the tasks in question was indicative of strategy differences between the genders."
and
Gender differences in creative thinking...Personality and Individual Differences, 43 (5): 1137–1147, 2007 --
ScienceDirect
- "examines the relevance [=some] of sociodemographic factors on gender differences [=not much] in creative thinking"
A google search for "critical thinking gender" or "creative thinking gender" shows up additional articles, some of which may be added here in due course.
