Masculinity versus its opposite, femininity refers to the distribution of roles between the genders which is another fundamental issue for any society to which a range of solutions are found. The IBM studies revealed that (a) women’s values differ less among societies than men’s values; (b) men’s values from one country to another contain a dimension from very assertive and competitive and maximally different from women’s values on the one side, to modest and caring and similar to women’s values on the other. The assertive pole has been called ‘masculine’ and the modest, caring pole ‘feminine’.
For example, Germany has a masculine culture with a 66 on the scale of Hofstede (Netherlands 14). Masculine traits include assertiveness, materialism/material success, self-centeredness, power, strength, and individual achievements. The United States scored a 62 on Hofstede’s scale. So these two cultures share, in terms of masculinity, similar values.
Power Distance Index | Individualism | Masculinity | Uncertainty Avoidance Index | Long-Term Orientation
| Masculinity | ||||||
| 1-20 | 21-40 | 41-60 | 61-80 | 81-100 | 101-120 | |
| Country | PDI | IDV | MAS | UAI | LTO |
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| Japan | 54 | 46 | 95 | 92 | 80 |
| Hungary | 46 | 55 | 88 | 82 | |
| Austria | 11 | 55 | 79 | 70 | |
| Venezuela | 81 | 12 | 73 | 76 | |
| Italy | 50 | 76 | 70 | 75 | |
| Switzerland | 34 | 68 | 70 | 58 | |
| Mexico | 81 | 30 | 69 | 82 | |
| Ireland | 28 | 70 | 68 | 35 | |
| Jamaica | 45 | 39 | 68 | 13 | |
| China | 80 | 20 | 66 | 40 | 118 |
| Germany | 35 | 67 | 66 | 65 | 31 |
| United Kingdom | 35 | 89 | 66 | 35 | 25 |
| Colombia | 67 | 13 | 64 | 80 | |
| Philippines | 94 | 32 | 64 | 44 | 19 |
| Poland | 68 | 60 | 64 | 93 | |
| Ecuador | 78 | 8 | 63 | 67 | |
| South Africa | 49 | 65 | 63 | 49 | |
| United States | 40 | 91 | 62 | 46 | 29 |
| Australia | 36 | 90 | 61 | 51 | 31 |
| New Zealand | 22 | 79 | 58 | 49 | 30 |
| Czech Republic | 57 | 58 | 57 | 74 | |
| Greece | 60 | 35 | 57 | 112 | |
| Hong Kong | 68 | 25 | 57 | 29 | 96 |
| Argentina | 49 | 46 | 56 | 86 | |
| India | 77 | 48 | 56 | 40 | 61 |
| Belgium | 65 | 75 | 54 | 94 | |
| Egypt | 80 | 38 | 52 | 68 | |
| Iraq | 80 | 38 | 52 | 68 | |
| Kuwait | 80 | 38 | 52 | 68 | |
| Lebanon | 80 | 38 | 52 | 68 | |
| Libya | 80 | 38 | 52 | 68 | |
| Saudi Arabia | 80 | 38 | 52 | 68 | |
| United Arab Emirates | 80 | 38 | 52 | 68 | |
| Malaysia | 104 | 26 | 50 | 36 | |
| Pakistan | 55 | 14 | 50 | 70 | |
| Brazil | 69 | 38 | 49 | 76 | 65 |
| Singapore | 74 | 20 | 48 | 8 | 48 |
| Israel | 13 | 54 | 47 | 81 | |
| Ghana | 77 | 20 | 46 | 54 | 16 |
| Indonesia | 78 | 14 | 46 | 48 | |
| Nigeria | 77 | 20 | 46 | 54 | 16 |
| Sierra Leone | 77 | 20 | 46 | 54 | 16 |
| Taiwan | 58 | 17 | 45 | 69 | 87 |
| Turkey | 66 | 37 | 45 | 85 | |
| Panama | 95 | 11 | 44 | 86 | |
| France | 68 | 71 | 43 | 86 | |
| Iran | 58 | 41 | 43 | 59 | |
| Peru | 64 | 16 | 42 | 87 | |
| Spain | 57 | 51 | 42 | 86 | |
| Ethiopia | 64 | 27 | 41 | 52 | 25 |
| Kenya | 64 | 27 | 41 | 52 | 25 |
| Tanzania | 64 | 27 | 41 | 52 | 25 |
| Zambia | 64 | 27 | 41 | 52 | 25 |
| El Salvador | 66 | 19 | 40 | 94 | |
| South Korea | 60 | 18 | 39 | 85 | 75 |
| Uruguay | 61 | 36 | 38 | 100 | |
| Guatemala | 95 | 6 | 37 | 101 | |
| Thailand | 64 | 20 | 34 | 64 | 56 |
| Portugal | 63 | 27 | 31 | 104 | |
| Chile | 63 | 23 | 28 | 86 | |
| Finland | 33 | 63 | 26 | 59 | |
| Costa Rica | 35 | 15 | 21 | 86 | |
| Denmark | 18 | 74 | 16 | 23 | |
| Netherlands | 38 | 80 | 14 | 53 | 44 |
| Norway | 31 | 69 | 8 | 50 | 20 |
| Sweden | 31 | 71 | 5 | 29 | 33 |