Absolutely. Of course, these are stereotypes. But research shows that men and women manage differently. They have different behavior in work environment. And they also have different approaches to promoting themselves.
Men are often projecting more confidence in their actions and in their capabilities to address challenges. Even if they actually don’t have that confidence, they are ready to jump and swim. They often are more actively asking for new roles, tasks, challenges – and also for salary increases. So, in coaching situations men are often more confident to work on action plans and fight for what they want, even if its seemingly out-of-reach-goals.
Women on the other side are less often asking for more responsibilities, are downplaying their contribution to the team success even when they were key players, are doubting their skills. It seems they sometimes need encouragement before they accept new roles that might be a size to big and force them to grow – even when their skills and qualification are clearly visible. The lack of confidence and the different approach to growth are also leading women to ask less often for salary increases, resulting in lower pay for same work and qualification.
Coaching situations with women are therefore often centered around building confidence, recognizing, and accepting how outstanding their own contributions are – and accepting that it’s OK to use that and negotiate for appropriate pay, for growth, new positions, and roles.