For a female American employee assigned to a posting in Mexico, several key cultural differences exist. In any business context, regardless of the country, ineffective communication between employees and management often interferes with productivity, innovation and problem solving.
This paper will detail two of the key areas where an American female employee may encounter cultural differences that have the potential to derail effective communication within the workplace. The first area is physical contact in the workplace.
The second area occurs in the area of sexual harassment. Mexico also tends toward traditionally female centered family values which have to the potential to clash with career-oriented American women who rate highly on the masculine index.
Physical Contact in the Workplace
In the Mexican business culture, there is a warmth and familiarity between employees and management that differs greatly from the United States (Stephens & Greer 1995). Mexican employees tend to be extremely warm and friendly and communicate both verbally and physically; they regularly employ what is known as the abrazo, or embrace, at the beginning of each work day (Stephens & Greer 1995).
This custom involves “male supervisors kissing their female secretaries on the cheek at the start of the day” (Stephens & Greer 1995). In general, as one executive explained, “everyone hugs and kisses a lot more than we do in the States” (Stephens & Greer 1995).
On the whole the American business culture frowns on physical contact and maintains a formal physical space between employees and management. For the American female employee new to the Mexican workplace this custom may feel intimidating, inappropriate or threatening.
She may also feel that she is being demeaned and may consider it a means of rebuking her authority in the public forum. However in the Mexican business culture it is considered “social protocol,” therefore resistance to it or attempts to abolish it will likely ruffle feathers (Stephens & Greer 1995).
American female employees are best served to expect more physical contact in the Mexican business culture and accept it as part of the transition from one country to another.
Ethics
The Mexican business culture regularly employs what would be considered corrupt and unethical business practices – not to mention in some cases criminal – in the United States. Some of these ethically questionable business practices include bribery and profiteering (Silver 2003).
Whereas the American female employee new to the Mexican business landscape would likely perceive these practices as business problems, the Mexican business culture would perceive them as the nature of doing business and not a problem at all.
Therefore the American female employee expect to meet some ethically challenging situations, and must be prepared to have a discussion with her team as to ethical business solutions to business problems using the American model.
Sexual Harassment
One of the most ethically distasteful situations that can occur in the workplace is sexual harassment. In the United States sexual harassment is a deeply offensive situation for female employees; many female employees have used the courts to further their cases, and these legal precedents have created an environment in the American workplace where managers who sexually harass their employees face stiff penalties, not to mention social infamy.
In Mexico, conversely, sexual harassment is viewed as normal. According to Stephens & Greer (1995), “there are no legal protections in Mexico regarding discrimination on the basis of gender…Sexual harassment is perfectly acceptable.
It is almost considered a management privilege. A young woman would never think of complaining about sexual harassment. Some even think of it as positive interest (Stephens & Greer 1995). This cultural element will likely shock and dismay many American female employees, some of whom may have left previous positions for this reason.
Masculinity Index & the Role of Women
An interesting paradox exists in Mexico; though it has a masculine culture, it tends also to operate along traditional feminine lines (Stephens & Greer 1995; Borstorff & Hearn 2000; Dols & Gilbert Silvius 2010). Younger generations of Mexicans tend to have more gender egalitarian attitudes.
According to Stephens & Greer (1995), “younger women are more progressive, more proactive, [and] more career-oriented” (Stephens & Greer 1995). However, many Mexican women have little interest in attaining “high-ranking positions, and aren’t found in them,” because home and family is considered paramount and still largely the domain of women (Stephens & Greer 1995; Borstorff & Hearn 2000).
This occurs because many women in Mexico leave the workforce and never return once they become pregnant, and the concept of working mothers is problematic, since the cultural expectation is that mother should be home with their children (Stephens & Greer 1995).
American female employees with children may find themselves frowned upon or viewed with confusion by their co-workers as a result of this. Also, American female employees often find they rate quite highly on the masculine index, in that they value “assertiveness, performance and material success,” and often balance their careers with childcare duties (Dols & Gilbert Silvius 2010).
Also, American female employees may find Mexican hiring practices extremely biased. Mexican employers openly prefer males, and no legislation exists to counter gender discrimination. As a result, “Mexican employers tend to hire married men first, then single men, single women and finally (and rarely) married women” (Stephens & Greer 1995).
Conclusion
For a female American employee about to embark on a position in Mexico, the main thing to be aware of is the perceived role of women, especially married women with families. The culture is largely traditional. In the culture of the United States working mothers are considered normal, however few exist in Mexico.
References
Borstorff , P.C. & Hearn, W.M. (2000). Going abroad: Tyson foods in Mexico. Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies, 6,(1), 87-88.
Dols, T. & Gilbert Silvius, A.J. (2010). Exploring the influence of national cultures on non-compliance behavior. Communications of the IIMA, 10(3), 11-32.
Silver, S. (2003, September 22). Ethics on top of the Mexican curriculum: INTERVIEW JORGE GUTIERREZ VILLARREAL, IPADE: Changing attitudes in a business culture that is often endemically corrupt is an ongoing campaign, says Sara Silver. The Financial Times, pp.16.
Stephens, G. K. & Greer, C.R. (1995). Doing business in Mexico: understanding cultural differences. Organizational Dynamics, 24 (1), 39-56.